QUAD TALK

[Surf Hound]

If FCS has something comparable to the Futures Controllers - give those a shot. If I was surfing a break that's hollow, sort of drop in turn left (Ala Moana Bowls) I would use the controllers. Great for hugging the wall and holding lines. I think it has to do with the rear set being more vertical. Too much "stick age" if you will be turning a lot though so I normally use the AM2's for those days. But when it got a little bigger at Bowls I would use controllers and hunt for barrels. I haven't surfed a spot here in Santa Cruz that I use the Controllers on yet.

[IB_Surfer]

Humm, the front fins look a lot like H2 fins

[Surf Hound]

yes they do. I looked online and they look very similar. If you are looking for something to hug the crap out of the wall I would suggest those. Like I said prior, especially if you are bottom turning or staying high to drop and stall for barrel. Too much hold for anything other than hugging a wall which I really like for those days. They could not have picked a better name for those fins - Controllers. If you try um - let me know what you think as I am interested.....

[IB_Surfer]

I just got a set of H2's for my step up, I will try them on this board. Good idea

[oldmansurfer]

I guess I could post his here since my board is almost a short board but I quit surfing for a while due to circumstances and I really regret that especially now I am about to turn 60 (years old) and started back up again. I used to surf back when a short board was about a foot taller than you were and single fin. Once I decided to start again, I looked for a used board in the papers and found a 9'5 gun with a 3 fin configuration which I used for a while, then I ran into my old shaper and he offered me a 9'6 longboard tri fin. I had hoped to get surfing and have my shaper make me another short board because he was really great but he died before I got a chance. So I met another guy who made boards and had him shape me a 8 foot fun gun quad fin board. I use it like a short board but it doesn't work the same due to the quad fin I think. Before if I wanted to cutback I could just lean and press as hard as I could into the board and it would just carve a long curving turn through the wave and send a rooster tail up that I could surf back through when I was quick enough. When I attempt that with this board It pops out of the wave and either I fall down or I sit my butt on the wave and the board kind of rotates around me till it gets below me and I can stand back up. Is there a trick to carving a cutback with a quad? Other than that this board has been awesome and allows me to do some things much easier than my old single fin from long ago. I did an airdrop on takeoff and stuck it pretty sure I never did that before and when I am taking off and the wave collapses on my I can easily ride the whitewater down get in front and make a bottom turn to get some speed and around the section. It also seems much easier to do a re-entry, it's almost like surfing on the face of the wave and I don't need to be going fast like I used to to do that before. But I can't get the cut back down. I can make a pivot type of turn where the board just whips around in a very small space but not a big sweeping cutback so far. So is there a trick to it?

[pandarturo]

Well you need speed to du maneuvers like a cutback.

[oldmansurfer]

I don't think it is a speed problem. I am generally going fast when I try to do one. I thought maybe a foot placement problem or maybe I am putting to much pressure on my back foot. I notice unlike my single fin board when I step on the tail of this board it gets real squirely.... that difference might be due to the tail rocker which is quite a bit more than my single fin boards had back in the 70's. I guess I will just have to wait for the next bigger swell to find out by trial and error. Anyway whatever you do don't quit surfing. I regret doing that and I am so happy to be back at it.

[IB_Surfer]

Hey oldmansurfer: like you, I am rediscovering my quad. I always, and I mean always, used it with size 5 up front and GX centers in back. Lately I have been trying different set ups and getting different results, having fun doing it.

But yea, my original post was that I love the set up but my board would slip out, sort of like what you posted, but form me moreso on steep waves while trying to crack the cutback: the tail would slide out and I would fall backwards.

So, what fin set up do you have on your board? If glasson's not much you can do, but if they are replaceable (FCS, Futures etc...) then maybe a different set up would help...

[pandarturo]

Hey I just bought a nubster as a fifth trailer fin. And today it was definitely 5 foot solid and it held better in a face.

[oldmansurfer]

I have never surfed with a quad. Back when I used to surf I used a single fin and originally without a leash. Now that I started again I have used a board with a 3 fin set up with a large center fin and 2 smaller side fins. Now I have a quad that has 5 places for fins so I can alter the configuration. I am enjoying what this board does and don't have enough time to surf with different fin set ups so I was wondering if it is something to do with the quad fin or how I am using it. Not sure what kind of fins I have but will try to identify them tomorrow . Either way it is a fun board and I really like it, just need to learn how to use it.

[jaffa1949]

Slightlyyoungeroldmansurfer, lol, if you try three equal size finsin the 2+1 set up that is a basic thruster configuration which will really allow the big carving cutbacks without the tendency to slide like a quad or twinny, the thruster was invented to counter that quality and give some of the drive of the single back to the board! If the fins are too small as 3 or quad set up the increased rocker maybe causing the board to slide.
It is a feature the pro use for big hack tail release.

[oldmansurfer]

I have FCS fins that are about 4.75 inches in front and 4 inches in the back (measured from the board to the furthest away from the board)

[IB_Surfer]

So there you have it, 4" back fins are small, about size G1000 or GX, so whoever had the board before you bought it had it set up for maximum paddle and glide, not hold. Try some size 3 back fins if you want more hold

[oldmansurfer]

Thanks, I may try some other fins and stuff but I am just learning about this board and need to get out in a bigger swell for a while to see what I can do with it. I have heard about people having problems in the bottom turn and I have had no such problems. I was able to make a gradual long cutback on slower waves with a good amount of wall to work with, I just can't lay down and power through like I used to. But definitely I am going to buy some more fins and try some variations

[oldmansurfer]

One other thing is this why I see some of the pro surfers grabbing a rail during a cutback? So would grabbing the rail help? I'll probably try that anyway just to see what that does but wondering if any of you know.

[IB_Surfer]

Yes, grabbing a rail is not a pro move, start using it every time it gets steep and you are going backside

[oldmansurfer]

Thought I would resurrect this thread. I have changed nothing on my quad but seem to be learning to do cutbacks. I don't try to power turn anymore and just let the board do it's thing. I can do a carving cutback and a tail sliding cutback. It's quite different from my single fin days but I like it. Maybe when I get more used to it I will try adding power to the turn or change my fins.

[SurfAllDay43]

i have a Stretch FCS quad set on a Nick Blair Cab Sav model. that is my fav combo at the moment. surfs real nice and feels great. i tried futures in my last board but prefer fcs. The Cab Sav is a small wave groveller with a shallow concave deck packs in the volume and surfs great in beach breaks . it has a higher nose entry and rocker with the apex pushed back towards the tail, this board maximises it's potential in smaller mushier waves. I've never had so much fun on a groveller

[Naeco78]

This is the website my shaper recommended. I guess I do have some playing around to do...

http://www.mckeesurf.com/?page_id=267

This post caught my attention after looking into different quad setups that I wasnt familiar with. That link has a gold mine of info about equal sized fins in the front and rears (my original question) and also lots of other Asymmetrical quad setups.. along with there affect on performance.

Just wanted to bring this thread back up, if it might be helpful to others as well. Thanks for sharing it bro

[IB_Surfer]

Wow, hadn't seen anything like this. I posted on a different topic about using quads for barreling days, I don't agree with using GX fins, but seems like M3 fins might do the trick...