thrusters are good boards

General Discussion
1

watching big hollow home break today , it struck me how the guys surfing the best

were all riding thrusters…

how the boards held in the tube ,

turned well,

had heaps of speed ,

and made late drops effortlessly ,

and roundhouses were being pulled

whenever the surf here becomes good [big and powerful]

it is really noticeable how the mals and fishes and wider boards disappear

yep, i need to spend time on my thrusters again !

the good thing about thrusters , for those who may think they are …er…“all the same” or “boring” [!!!] , is the variety available …

outline , rocker, bottom shapes, tails , materials available , lighter blanks , different resins and glass…

not to mention ,

fin setups , of course …

“2+1”

widowmaker

twinny with trailer

standard thruster [three same sized fins]

bonzer

quad

“4+1”

yes , a thruster outline CAN work with ALL/ ANY of these setups.

cheers 



 ben
2

We have one man’s opinion here.

I differ only in that there are other set-ups that surf beautifully in very demanding conditions. Three that come to mind are Quad, Twinzer, & Bonzer. I’ve seen them all though performing differently doing just as well in their own right as any thruster.

A first hand report (Working on the fourth or fifth one as I write this)

No Worries, Rich

3

Couldn’t agree with you more chipfish. The “Thruster” is an excellent and versatile design. It’s longevity as a primary design concept validates the design. It performs well from 2 feet to 20 feet - hollow to mush - juicy to marginal. Those that say thrusters are all the same, boring, whatever just aren’t exploring all the options available within the design. I have built so many different thrusters and have so many different designs in my quiver it would make your head spin - all from a variety of materials and construction schedules. PU with polyester; PU with Epoxy (huge props to Greg Loehr); EPS / Epoxy; stringerless; T bands, 3 ply, 4 ply, & 6 ply stringers; variety of engineered flex and memory; carbon rails; parabolics; vacuum bagged; and hand laminated.

Not to say that mals, fish, quads, singles and other concepts aren’t valid. They certainly are. Nor to say that you can’t apply all those variables to these designs. I just believe strongly that if any of these other designs were as universally applicable across the demographic of surfers, board management skills and techniques, and surf conditions they would probably have replaced the thruster as the most versatile and primary surfboard design.

Match the variables with your needs and trust your thruster to get the job done.

SC

4

as someone who rides many strange fishes and bonzers in small waves i could’t agree more. when it is pumping the toys get put away and the good old pintail truster comes out!!!

5

I’ve got a jhall/frye colab (skosh) thruster that works when it’s overhead and thumpin. The thing is, saying that thrusters are better cause lots of people ride them is like saying Rascal Flats is good cause lots of people listen to them… It actually hurt, I mean literally was painful to type “Rascal Flats” note: The beauty of this argument is that so much in “POP” as in “POPULAR” culture stands out as being shit- thrusters aren’t, conformity is…shit I mean.

6

…man, its very easy

most of the boards (shortboards and semiguns) round the globe are thrusters…so massive

most of my customer when order a board dont think in other type of board

they suppose that THIS is the board and then the longboards or retros…

some dont know that thruster is the name of these boards…

AND most of the guys that surf with other options, are not so good surfers or have a soul fluid lines (not so inspiring for the local “hot rippers”) that when crank up the toobs, they dont know how to surf them properly right

AND that MOST of the fish out there are not a fish

they re retro boards or larger fish…they dont work

more in comparison with a modern contemporary shortboard in those conditions

happens with the Bonzers too

most are retro shapes!

how in the world somebody want a retro shape?

how somebody want a 3 fin bonzer? the 5 finned are the evolution of the design

or a big fish?

only for novelty

last time I ride a thruster was about 12 - 14 years ago

I have been riding single + stabilizer, 2 + 1 (in shortboard), 5 finned bonzers and quad fishes with TOTAL success

ALL except the fish are/were modern contemporary shapes

exactly like a thruster shape but with the other fins configurations thats the key! not retro shapes or boards

theres a lot of people out there that foolish ordering a bonzer with plenty of foam, outdated outlines and TOO MUCH big

HAPPENS exactly with fishes

the fish is a concept design not a mass or bulk of foam with a swallow tail or a big chunk of foam for begginers

also a quad fish is faaar better than those keel fins or twin finned ones (some quad fins are the evo of the keel fins)

why those bad designed-too-much-foam-tails?

2 choices, or the shaper is doing retro fishes or dont know nuthin at all about the design (or only wants money and not dealing with problems and design)…

my fishes also, are a bit different than the others, I did and do those with the volume extremely tapered out to tail

so, put a real single fin + stabilizer (the only few that I know in contemporary shapes are 2 made by me; 1 around 12 years ago or so; a D Silva board and some mid 90s Byrnes-but more in the mid range-)

or a real Bonzer (M C does beautiful “modern” ones, in a toob and you ll see, equal or better than a thruster but not less

7

Chip, you gotta try one of Greg Griffin’s 5 fins.

8

i have 2 opinions on the matter.

there is a shot of kye fitzgerald in the latest surfers journal in a quite heavy tube on a single fin his old man shaped in the 70’s.

good surfers can do amazing things on single fins.

opinion 2.

i have a 6’3" 22" wide single fin which is very wide in the ass.

used to spin out on the hint of a bottom turn.

got a mate to put some side fins into it and bam! different board. the transformation was amazing.

now i can crank it off the bottom.

cut backs even…

its user friendly now…

9

Im about to try a thruster setup in my 2+1 diamond tail. Not quite a performance shape, it has a 14’’ nose and 15’’ tail, and the widepoint at centre. I have an idea that 2+1 setup works better on widepoint forward boards. It feels a bit stiff on this board.

I’ve never been able to ride a shortboard well, ever, but i think that’s because they have been too small/under volumed to me. Most of the waves i surf are knee to head high, sometimes hollow, sometimes fat, so im not sure a thruster wouls work better in those conditions than my fish. I would love to make one that could though. SUggestions??? Shorter,wider thicker?? a “POD” or nugget style??

10

How many world championships have been one on thrusters since they evolved.

How many ex world champs now ride thrusters.

how many thrusters at any break today.

How many shapers on this forum ride thrusters.

YOU DO THE MATH

11

F**ck the math. There’s only one way to go.

12

Last time AI was out at Balian and it was pumping he was riding a quad. I think thruster were a good stepping stone but they can’t compare to quads when its big. go to mav’s on a good day. Last time I was at pipe their must of been almost half quads. All of my step ups to guns are quads now.

13

I will bet AI has a single fin as well. probly a twinnie. then count his quiver of thrusters.

As a matter of fact how many singles twins or quads were at the jbay contest in comparison to thrusters.

If you don’t like em thats up to you,

All I said was :go back to my original thread.

14
Quote:

How many world championships have been one on thrusters since they evolved.

How many ex world champs now ride thrusters.

how many thrusters at any break today.

How many shapers on this forum ride thrusters.

YOU DO THE MATH

or it could mean they have been the flavor of the last couple of decades because they were easy to mill out and shape compared to other types of boards and the money was easier than having to experiment with something else. I have nothing against them btw…I rode mine last time the surf was up.

Having said that…it’s hard to beat thrusters as boards that are easier to ride in a variety of conditions.

15

I just think that no one raised on thrusters in comps is going to change that easy. I didn’t want to make anyone mad, Sorry. I just think quads if done right are the next step in board evolution. I think kids being brought up in the next few years doing comps will start to use more and more quads. If you go to sunset now on a good day its mostly quads. I didn’t mean any harm just a opinion.

16

The beauty of truster set ups is they are so user friendly. You can put one on just about any board design and the board will work pretty well. High performance shorties, eggs, swallows, big wave, small waves, long boards,etc. I think they tend to remove some of the idiosyncracies. Makes them easier to ride. If I were to recommend a board for a beginner I would recommend something with a truster set up. The athletic surfing done by professionals and many amateurs on finely tuned trusters is frickin amazing. Mike

17
Quote:

The beauty of truster set ups is they are so user friendly. You can put one on just about any board design and the board will work pretty well. High performance shorties, eggs, swallows, big wave, small waves, long boards,etc. I think they tend to remove some of the idiosyncracies. Makes them easier to ride. If I were to recommend a board for a beginner I would recommend something with a truster set up. The athletic surfing done by professionals and many amateurs on finely tuned trusters is frickin amazing. Mike

I would always recomend a single for a beginner. They have to learn to surf properly to make them work and once they have learned on a single they can swith to anything and look good. I still think certain singles hold up to the thruster for consistency…but it depends on how you want to surf.

18

That’s it, Solosurfer… you hit the nail on the head… “IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU WANT TO SURF”.

and i also agree that the best way to start out is on a single… you learn use the rail, and trim, and use your weight. most kids starting out today seem to do all their turns off the fins, and pivot… and they they’ll (singles) standup to thrusters.

19

I totally agree that beginners should have singles. but they don’t. I have made myself singles and always go back to thrusters.

20

Yeh chip, Fish, mals, singles, twin fins etc. are even rarer on the South coast of NSW.

There only seems to be a few breaks around here where these boards can perform well.

I’ve said it before on here, that for me, nothing beats a high performance thruster in good waves.

Watching good surfers riding fish style boards in waves that dont suit the equipment is frustrating. you see them having to nurse every turn, and speed running to get to the shoulder so they drop a big cuttie while just having wasted(in my opinion) some good sections or pockets.

As for the pros, there is enough money in surfing at the moment that any performance advantage that a surfer on the tour could get by riding a different style of board they would be all over it like a rash. Thrusters are the ultimate all rounder for modern critical surfing.(at the moment).

The argument that its because they get them for nothing doesn’t hold up. If a pro could get boards that would help him/her win the world title they would be on them even if they had to pay retail.

Longboards, fish hybrids etc definitely have their place, I just dont think its in quality critical waves. North Coast NSW point breaks at 3ft on a Longbard or fish/hybrid boards are a lot of fun.

As for beginners It would be good if they did jump on an old single fin to learn how to use the waves and their bodies before they got on a thruster and jumped up and down on and wiggled the bloody things all the way to the beach. but maybe I’m just getting old.

Cheers

Daren