Quad fin talk - my story and thoughts

[themathteacher]

So when I picked up my new quad fish last month I did not get the back fins, FCS did not give them to my shaper by mistake. I used some I had lying around and have been surfing it no problem, the board glides like a longboard and is uber fun like a bigger shortboard, the way a fish should.

Well, yesterday I picked up the GX and a pair of G1000 fins for my center fins. When I got home to replace them I noticed they where WAY smaller! I've been surfing GL center fins, the tiny size for longboards but as a center fin, super small, thought I was using a bigger size.

So, do you think the larger G1000 fins won't make too much of a difference or will it be a big difference in control and hold? And, will the bigger fins mean more drag and less glide?? Humm... I wonder I wonder. Your thoughts?

I'll re-post once I try the new fins to let you know, but thought I'd post this as a topic of quad fins discussion

[themathteacher]

Here is the stick to give ya an idea:

[Brent]

Got a couple of questions.
How heavy are you, how big are you, how big is the fish & how thick is it??
And; (finally) do you like a really loose skatey feel - or do you like a board that's less manoverable - but more drivey feeling?

Sorry to hit you with it. but alot depends on these details...

outer fins
If you put in longer (length wise) outer fins the board will hold better on steeper waves, it'll drive better but be less able to slip sideways if you give it a kick. If you put vertically higher fins (but shorter in length) in the board will hold better & turn sharper - but have less drive.

Inner fins
Start with bigger fins & work downwards, until you find the desired level of skateyness & looseness. As you go smaller the board will feel, essentially, like a shorter & shorter skateboard.

On my 6' quad fish I use G5's on the outside & GS trailers in the middles, if the surf is bigger and I still want to use a fish I'll put longer & higher g1000's in. makes it beat big sections easier too.

I've just scored a set of canard quad fins several weeks ago too, which I recommend - takes this fish platform up another peg. I'm still getting to grips with mine. Insane backhand...

But before a big thread develops all this has been well written about before. Search under these words. Rich Pavel, Rainbow quad, Mandala Surfboards etc.

[kitesurfer]

Here is the stick to give ya an idea:

Whoa those rear fins are a long way inboard from the rail.

Usually theres only a 1/8in difference in the position of the trailing edgeof the rear fin to the trailing edge of the front fin when measured in from the rail.

KS

[essex sucks]

lol here is mine made by ks it has lokbox speed dials with cutways think fcs make them too its good fun too ride fast with the right feet on it. will ride anything been on some half foot waves on it and still had fun

[CHarvey]

Have to agree with KS on this one. The fin cluster looks a little spread out on there which is going to affect the ride by quite a bit. I will see if I can find the doc I have that has more info on the quad fin systems and placement and copy it in here for you.

[themathteacher]

Oh, it looks spread out because, well, I cheated! This fish is 6'10" x 22" x 2 5/8", specific use is for small days in the summer or big mush days, but got the quad in case I occasionally got a steep wave. Preety much my longboard for when I have to paddlewar with longboarders. So, yea, they look far apart because the tail really wide, my shaper compensated for it, it actually glides uber smooth and hold the line nicely since I also got it with nice hard rails. Like I said, not really the intent of a fish, but I don't like to longboard much so this is my longboard alternative.

Also, the angle of the camera is decieving, I'll try to take a better pick.

[CHarvey]

Here is some food for thought on not only fin choice but to also give a good idea of what is doing what and why. Hope it helps, if not let me know and I will see if I can find something better.

http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.c ... ns;#323206