Finishing up a fish and when I started it I considered installing Probox for a quad. But as it has gotten closer to done I’m reconsidering and leaning more towards a twin.
The board is 5’10" x 19 1/2" (I know, I know, really narrow for a retro fish but it was a canabalised blank) x 2 7/8". It has a 12" pod with a 5 1/2" buttcrack. Rails are 50/50 in the nose, 60/40 in the middle, and turned down in the tail.
If I decide to make it a twin the keels will probably be glassed on since I haven’t found a good keel template that will fit Probox. If the majority of suggestions are for a quad, they will obviously be Probox. I’ve looked up measurements for placement so that’s not a problem. Only issue is fin selection.
There’s a possibility the board will go to a friend, and I told him he could decide on the fins but he has no clue.
Bring on the suggestions. If I can I’ll post some pictures but I’m currently around 400 miles from the board. Thanks!
having made twin, keel, and quad fish, my favorite one is… three fins! Make your twin fin with boxes, ride it for a while, play with fin types, and then put a third box right in front of the butt crack and put a small trailer fin in it. Go ride it again… I guess since its the reverse of a 2+1 that could be called a 1+2 (ha ha) but it really works.
I have a twinzer, I felt some drag on the flats on bigger waves, I took off the smaller leading fins and it has noticeably less drag, even on steeper faces. Fins create drag. Nonetheless, Keith I’m going to give this third fin a try.
Glass on some keels, ride it for a while, then tack on a little trailer. I did it to a twinnie of mine and got really stoked on the third fin… what a difference. Much more stable, and I can’t tell the difference in down-the-line speed because it’s such a small, well foiled fin, and doesn’t create much drag.
soulstice i don’t know if it genus or crazy but it looks fun
but other than those words i’m speechless
how does it ride?
not my board…it’s a stock pic from Manny Caro’s website of one of his bat tail twinzers. i plan to make a similar board at about 5’10"-6’0" with a ProBox fin system. was talking to Robin at ProBox about those fins and we both agree with you – maybe genius, certainly crazy, and definitely worth a shot. going to use the ProBox elliptical fins as a quad setup, and then foil a pair of the gullwing-esque trailing fins for when i want to change things up a bit (still using the elliptical ProBox fins up front). just getting myself set to start glassing for a small-time local shaper, which will give me lots of opportunities to experiment. being a small-time guy, he wants his boards to turn heads. i figure a quad setup like that almost guarantees a second look.
For the record. Twinzer set-ups almost always have bigger main drive fins that quads. A good size for this kind of set-up is 3.0" lead fins set at 10 degrees cant about 1 1/2" ahead of the main fins and 1 1/4" outboard of them. The main fins need to be 5.125 to 5.325" deep and set at 2 degrees cant. Twinzer fins are not toed in as much as quad lead fins. If they are and the fins are all flat sided the drag coeffecient will be huge. If they aren’t placed right for the board or they don’t suit the board, like any set-up done wrong, performance suffers horribly. Setting up fin placement, toe in and cant have as much to do with board performance as the board itself. Be sure to get some good advice about this before you make your final decision.
If the two set-ups were ridden on the same board and compared, a well foiled Twinzer set-up is at least 5 times as lively and drivey as a keel fin set-up. You can actually surf the board in smooth transition rail to rail with a well designed Twinzer. Keel fin fish surfing is very much like having a couple of planing surfaces side by side and switching back and forth on them. Almost like a couple of longboards hooked to each other down the middle.
Build what will suit you surfing style and the conditions you’ll be in. Both set-ups will trim and slide across the flats nicely if the board is foiled and rockered well.
A thousand eyes yield a thousand different perspectives.
That was a sweet post Halcyon, almost as sweet as a set of custom Q quad fins! I would like to add that the twinzer’s I’ve made worked pretty well with the trailing edge of the primary fin at 7 3/4 to 8’’ up.
I’d like to cast my vote for twinzer. Anyone who bags the twinzer has not ridden a good one. If the board works better without the lead canards, then something was set up wrong. Word.
