I am in the process of making a roundnose fish but I want multiple fin options for this board. The shape is 6’0" 2 3/4" x 22", swallow tail with two rail bumps to taper the tail. I have never surfed a quad before but heard they have alot of speed compared to a thruster. I want to be able to play around alot with this board (twin fin, quad, thruster, maybe single fin). Is there any trick to fin placement? Will I be able to place the fins for a quad and still be able to convert to a thruster, cause I heard a quad setup should be placed slightly more forward in the tail?
you can place the fins up further for optimized quad placement , use all your standard fins for that .
for thruster placement just get ( or make ) fins with the tabs pushed forward 1/4 to 1/2 inch .
for the board you are describing big twins might be more fun anyway .
Von Sol boards do this , you can order fins from their website
Thanks. I got a pair of big twins and plan on using those with a small middle fin for my "thruster" setup.
...and ... with , say , an 8" finbox , fairly back near the tail pod ...
you can have both the thruster , AND a SINGLE fin option , too, if you like ...
by the way , DO you have a photo of the shape , please ?? have you cut it out yet ?
cheers !
ben
Ok W for a 5 box set up on your board I would run your fronts @ 11 1/2 x 1 1/2 off the rail go a little straighter then normal say about 4" off the nose because of the round nose. Then set your back fins at about 5 1/2 up and 2" off the rail lining them up to the same point about 4" off the nose. your center back fin should be up at about 4 to 5 " depending on how deep the SW tail is. I wouldn’t put in a single fin box but thats me. If your going to play with a Twin try a cutaway keel style.
Send a pic so we can see what your up too.
Hey SANOLOCAL Thanks for the advice. One thing I was wondering, what cant should I set the fins to on a quad? I typically do an 8 degree on a thruster, is that too much?
Hey SANOLOCAL Thanks for the advice. One thing I was wondering, what cant should I set the fins to on a quad? I typically do an 8 degree on a thruster, is that too much?
Around the 6 to 7 degree and 3 to 4 depending on the bottom contours. Going with 8 is a bit much but thats just me. If you go with to much cant as a twin with keels you may create a bit more lift then you may want. Twins like less cant and tri’s like a little more with quads in between them. Just a little rule of thumb. Most of the boards I work on are not round nose fish which is what your talking about. Rounded nose I would keep things more straight forward and up and down.
Good luck
Here’s my version-
thruster, rail quad, Griffin style five fin. I’ve tried all the set ups and turns out I like it as a thruster best. I think because it has a fairly narrow tail- 14’1/4".
thanks for posting that , lillibel !
very nice indeed !
did you make those fins too ?
have you got a shot of the WHOLE board , also , please ?
lastly ...have you ridden it as a SINGLE FIN yet ? [I really LIKE single fin swallow tails .... I've had a FEW over the years !]
cheers mate !
ben
Thanks Chip. Yes I made the fins too. Bamboo with two layers of 6 oz glass. The tabs have an 1/8" (2.5mm) carbon fiber rod in them. The center fins are hard to make because glassing one side then the other tends to make them lopsided/assymetrical. And the leading edge ends up with very little glass after you sand to try to correct the lopsidedness
hi jeff take the toein out of the rears and use double foiled fins , no cant and move em up and out a bit
cheers , looks GREAT ! [you must be STOKED with it , yeah ?!]
" lastly ...have you ridden it as a SINGLE FIN yet ? [I really LIKE single fin swallow tails .... I've had a FEW over the years !] "
....well ????
[ I'm always encouraging mates to give that a try !]
cheers !
ben
I had Gordon make me something similar to this. Here are some pics.
[img_assist|nid=1055451|title=Top|desc=Top|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=480]
[img_assist|nid=1055450|title=bottom|desc=bottom|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=480]
[img_assist|nid=1055449|title=Sting 1|desc=sting|link=none|align=center|width=640|height=480]
I have surfed this has a quad( as seen in the pics ), a thruster, and a twin with, and without a trailer.
Nice looking board. What fin set up do like best?
It really depends on the conditions, smaller weaker beachbreaks the quad setup works best, giving it a little more speed. But I’ve had it out on a big day at Hultons, and the thruster set up worked better, more hold off the bottom. I’ve only tried the twin setup once because they weren’t my fins so the jury is out on that set up. Gordon said I could try it as a single, but finding a fcs fin for the rear that would work is hard
No Chip, I haven’t ridden it as a single. I’m not sure if the FCS plugs would take the stress of a big single??? Also, I made another “convertible” that could be set up as a single, a widow maker (single with small sidebites) or thruster. I ended up using that one with the thruster center and the small side bites. As a single (and a couple of other singles I’ve ridden recently) just felt like they lacked drive, that ability to project down the line. I do love bonzers, they can do that pivoty in the pocket, kick stally thing, like a single fin…and then project down the line when the moment comes.
My next project is a twinzer…any suggestions?
ps Love the look of those new curved fins you’re using.