…I think that you re problem with the 5 finned is due to the volume of the board
there no way that these type of fish surf ok in that volume
no matter what top shapers say a fish should be under 6´
I made 5 10 s for guys about 1.85 m 90 Kg and works fine
by the way any board in 6 moves better in average surf than a 6 6…
is not only a fin issue
its a volume, type of outline and tail rocker combo
I agree on the issue of board size in smaller waves. In the above case I quoted, the board was converted from thruster to quad, with a significant performance improvement, so the fin setup in isolation made the improvement. In fact I retained the front fin positions, so specifically it was the replacement of the centre fin with 2 smaller rail fins which made all the difference.
Having a Fin is better than not having a fin, it’s up to you to pick how many you want.
Fins are very helpful for getting where you want to go, even dolphins agree!
Lots of opinions here! Love it.
I like to think of myself as an open minded cynic! Being a firm hater of the evil that is known as the twin fin fish (like driving a car in the rain with slicks.) I was very dubious about the benefits of quads over traditional thrusters for a board for daily duties. Having borrowed a few from friends nothing has changed my opinion of this and I surf in cornwall, uk, where a quads apparent extra speed should benefit me on generally weaker waves.
I have recently however had a slight change of opinion, Whilst on a work stint to portugal I had the oportunity to try out a bunch of the new range of rip curl boards (yaaawn, I know!)This was generally a bunch of eastern import much of the muchness by the usual suspects. Amongst the rows of js, dhds and all the rest sat a little 5’5 x 21.5 x 2.5 wade tokoro quad with a noticable amount of vee in the tail (a feature which has been mentioned in this thread on several occasions.)As the surf was 2 foot mush I was not going to bother but thought i should give the quad a go. I could rave all day about that board, in those conditions, on that day, that was the ultimate choice of equipment.
Every dog has his day and despite the cynic in me I may have to get one shaped!
1 fin = drops in faster than 3, self adjusts in pocket, must pull rail in on fast down the line
2 fin = faster rail to rail tighter radius then any other, no leverage action from center fin
3 fin = more drive aka thrust(er). Paddles faster to wave than single, drops in slower than 1
4 fin= drawn twin, leverage but at rail versus center, capable of faster down the line than 3
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… all variations of above 4.
Been there done that. News @ 11
easy…pay the extra 20 buck and get the five fcs boxes… try each board as quad or thruster… satisfaction guaranteeeeed.
i agree completely. quads definetly not replacing thrusters. just something new to try for certain conditions and skill levels. I like a quad in small crappy conditions but anything other than that i hate them. so thats just my style though. everybodys different.
Quads are great for certain waves. They are drivey and have a lot grip or hold like for a big cutback. or fast and straight down the line if your into airs or just like to pump a lot and go straight. Also Skatey and get speed outa crap waves. But for top to bottom surfing and hitting lip vertical you’ll need your thruster. Also easier to slide out your turns. Good to have a few of both in th Quiv
are quads better than thrusters?
i love to surf a quads, and i mean real quad’s not one of thises fishy sort of boards… a quad is a high performance surfboard so thats how it should be surfed.
it does take some time getting used to surfing a quad, simply becuase the fins are in different places under your back foot so it does feel different at first, but soon as you get used to it, you can really push your surfing too new levels.
i find a quad is a lot quicker off the mark and they maintain speed a lot quicker and lot more efficiently than a thruster where you really have to work with it more. the back fin on a thruster actually causes drag making it feel a little more heavy. a quad will also drive a lot harder especially off the bottom. and on the wave a quad will make it further across a flatter section than a thruster will so they even go well in worse waves aswell as good waves.
in my opinion the quad is still relatively unexplored to its fully potential, because of the way the thruster developed so quickley it kind of left quads behind, because the thruster was the next best thing at the time, everyone wanted some of that. the quad is starting to make a come back tho, starting to notice lots more boards with a 5-fin set up, also seeing lots of ‘guns’ with quad set ups and also seeing a few images of kelly slater riding quads in the past few months, which is promising for the quad. but, because quads are still being experimented with a lot especally on the fin placement e.g. fin placement being closer to rail producing more drive and hold, but the closer to the stringer the more pivot etc… it does leave a lot of room for error, so do your reaserch first, if your thinking of a quad.
apples n oranges. quads work best on long point type waves. thrusters are more for peaky short waves. i have quad short boards up to my 9'6" gun. i also have thruster shorties n guns. like golf clubs, it all depends on the conditions. but ai'nt it nice to have that option?
I see it written and spoken about quite allot [high performance board, high performance surfing, high performance blaar blaar blaar).
I have ridden a quad for the last 2 or so years, I love em, but are they better, my simple answer is NO, they are just different thats all, I rode different lines with the quad, it was a round tail with the mckee setup. My next board is going to be a thruster, why, because they are different and I want a change. Would really love a quad and a thruster, quad for noosa points but when its bigger there I would go the step up thruster or 2+1, and a small wave thruster.