Thruster fin setup vs. 2+1 fin set up

General Discussion
1

Hola amigos,

Need some suggestions on a board to compliment my high performance longboard.

I weigh 190lbs, 5’9" and slightly arthritic from college athletic surgeries.

I’m from deep south Texas where I learned to surf on a twin fin in the late seventies early eighties. I graduated from high school and went to college, moved inland and started my life in the real world. After a 20+ year layoff (30lbs heavier and 20+years older) I went back to the Rio Grande Valley and surfed with an old friend and got hooked again.

I was able to demo a lot of surfboards all of them thrusters. They either did not float me very well or when I found a board that floated I was never really comfortable with the feel.

Speaking with friends and some experienced surfers who came up with a suggestion of starting back with a high performance longboard. Fighting my ego (shortboarder mentality) I purchased a Surftech Mctavish Original with two fcs gl sidebites and a 7" center fin pushed all the way up in the box. Everything clicked!

This board has change my surfing life in several ways: 1. I can catch just about any wave 2. Excellent floatation and paddling power 3. It allows me to pop up and get set.4. I can still perform some of the manuevers I used to.

Finally to the questions:

1.What are the characteristics of people who surf a 2+1 fin setup very well as opposed to those who surf thrusters.

  1. If I went to a second board in my quiver for bigger days (epoxy 7’6’ to 8’ hybrid or performance funshape) would to the 2+1 fin setup performance translate into a smaller board? In Texas floatation and paddle power are a premium.

  2. Do y’all have any suggestions on epoxy makes and models. Also, what tail designs work well with a 2+1 in the 7’6" to 8’ range.

Thanks for the help,

T.Mex

2

Hello Tex- Go with the 2+1 set-up. That allows you to use it as a 2+1, single or a thruster depending on what kind of fins you use. In my opinion the thruster set-up doesn’t work all that well on boards over 8’. It forces you to surf off the tail too much which isn’t conducive to trimming and gliding.

3

I agree 100% with surfersensei. Thrusters have no built-in speed. Just like skateboards, they need to be pumped on to CREATE speed. Singles or singles + sidebites start going as soon as you put them in trim. BTW, I’m not certain about what sidebites are actually doing on a single-fin design. Maybe add some stability to a really widetail at high speed? Not much more, IMHO. I’d rather have a more pulled-in tail (pintails rule) and no sidebites. But then I’m not pushing very hard on my back foot and I’m certainly not what you would call a high performance surfer…