... this looks like FUN to me , dj ! [I'd love to try out some of my numerous fins in THAT !!]
how far up is that back plug , please ? [it looks a little bit more forward to me . ]
and the back SIDE plugs , how far up from the tail tip are they , too ?
you have a collector's item there , by the sound of it , so take good care of it , and when kelly has been retired for ten or twenty years from the tour , he might be interested in seeing his signature board again ?! ....
let us know regularly how it goes as a quad and as a thruster [AND ....as a 5 finner too , by the way !] please , mate ?
By the way ....if that was MY board , there would be no stopping me experimenting with twin keels , twin fins and 2+1 setups . I'd probably also get an extra back plug put in , for the SINGLE fin option ... [ but that's just ME ...I LOVE experimenting with board's fin setups ...thank goodness for plug systems , I reckon !]
I am a light powerless front foot surfer (i learn and still surf quick closeout power beach break). Since i surf with quad i finde i surf better in those waves: faster and more radical. I shape some quad for friends, one is a heavy backfoot surfer who like point break style waves, he don’t like his board, i had plugs and since he surf it with thruster set up he is happy. Two others (heavy too) used quad set up just for fast shorebreak waves. So a rule for me is: quad is good for front foot ride (fast waves or front foot rider). In general, back side surfers used to be more sitting with a stronger pressure on backfoot that’s way it’s less natural with quad. I find that deep 2xconcave between back fins + round tail makes quads ride better.
Tri-fin your bottom turn will go deeper into the trough, and then pivot to go nose-up vertical.
Quad, your bottom turn will stay more on the wave face, and an on rail-bottom turn will keep your nose more pointed down the line, and will feel like an an elevator ride to the top.
Tri-fins are more like small sports cars on a curving road, while quads are more like a pelican gliding on the air currents over the wave.
Tri-fins snap a turn while quads glide.
These are really general thoughts. Tri-fin fin placement is pretty standard with little variation. Quads can be set up with more variety in the trailers.
I think qauds open up a few shaping options as well. Mine 5’11" is pretty much a standard shorty (for a 180# rider) but is proportionately a bit wider in the tail than would work on most thrusters, giving it a bit of extra glide over flat spots and fatter waves, but since the fins are all out on the rails, it doesn’t break loose in steeper sections, high lines and barrels.
I find a very slight disagreement here - just my subjective experience. (keeping the sports car analogy) My thrusters seem VERY precise and predictable, yet a bit more forgiving, like a high end BMW.
The quad is closer to a Lotus Elise - quicker, looser, turns sharper and harder, but requires constant attention and input. One little foul up and it’s over - like when I forgot to consciously engage the rail on a hard cutback this morning.
That variation (in board shape as well as fin placement) can account for almost endless variety of setup and fun - the 5 plug setup is a great option for experimenting with setups and really dialing them in.
Think that statement needs a little exploring. Rusty, for example, sets fins further up on mid-length and longer boards then many other shapers do.
Two years ago, in HI on a 3 month work gig, I bought a used 8’2 Mike Tuten RP from his personal quiver for use at Sunset and bigger wherever, turned out to be the loosest and quickest semi I have ever ridden. Rocker was fairly average for the shape, however fins were set at 6" and 15", which is quite a push up from the “standard” for that length.
As a front foot, down the line surfer, the sweet spot for me on the single to double concaves with fairly conventional rockers I favor range from 4/12 to 5/14 depending on board length. Opening and moving the fin cluster up not only loosens the board up, it also allows you to really extend your bottom turn when you want to.
Just as shapers and surfers work so many formularies to dial in quads, for those of us who have tried both and still enjoy our thrusters, there is a lot to be gained working thruster fin placements for a personal best fit.
