So, I was drinking beer the other night, watching football and staring at my quad fish on the wall, looking at the fins. Maybe it was the IPA, but I just got this thought stuck in my head that I need to get some sort of FCS Keel fins and try it out that was. I have taken the smaller bite fins off the back and ran it with two fins before, but there is not a lot of face and volume on the fins. Here are some pics. Any Twin fin or fish lovers wanna suggest a certain kind of keel or fish fin to run on this board? And any advice on how these fins typically handle? Here are some pics so you can see the current fins (M4 Quattros), you can see the general outline shape and a third pic to show the rocker. Any thoughts on setting this up as a more retro fish? It's 5'7" in length to give it some perspective.
So far, I have found these on Amazon: $85.00 Base: 7.0in Depth: 4.5in Area: 22.78sq.in Sweep: 39.22° Foil: 70 / 30 and $61.00 HEIGHT: 5.25" / 133 mm BASE: 7.25" / 185 mm
The only surfboard I own is a twin fin fish a few inches shorter then yours. I've ridden many others but personally nothing beats the feel of the glassed wooden ones on my board.
The Bamboo future keels I rode on a buddy's board this summer is what I'd get if minez weren't glassed on...
Yeah, unfortunately, that is not an option =).... At I have to give a disclaimer. Micah built me this board as a kind of hybrid fish. It is only 19 3/4 and doesn't have the full on retro fish characteristics. These quad fins are kind of tight on the turns. They really lock in and drag. That is my biggest complaint about fish and quads in general is their difficult turning radius'. I am thinking with a couple phat keels, it would be tracky on the line, but really loose in the turn (possibly to a fault), but I am thinking that the tail might swing around a tad faster if done correctly and quickly with the keels.
Yeah mine is staight out of 1979 and a true fish! It's nice and fast down the line and super loose and skatey which is definitely a factor of the keel fins compared to everything else I've ridden. If it's not barreling I leave the sponge at home grab the fish fill my cooler with beer and get stoked as best as possible
You will run into some issues trying to run a quad as a twin due to fin box placement. The front fins are way too far forward. Twins are usually pulled back quite a ways. I've tried it on some of my boards before and it ends up feeling way too squirly and it looses a lot of drive. Unless you can get fcs plugs added in between the others for a proper twin setup? It may look weird, but then you have a functional twin too. Probably cost like $50 or something.
Yeah basically, Micah and I would surf a lot, so he knew my style and he tailored this board to some of the mushier reefs breaks in South SD. It really is an epic board at the right spots, but it gets kind of tight on these quick, short beachies back east. He named it "Great White". Not sure why other than a fish reference. I have debated putting a 5th fin box in the back center, and then I wouldn't ever run it as a quad probably. I was also thinking of putting some tiny bites on it and see how that translates to the quad format. Only reason that I leave the M4s on all the time, is because when he and I were out testing it out, those were the fins that he suggested. He made himself one almost identical. Shaper knows best. But we were also always testing out his new boards on the west coast at the reefs usually. Shoulda seen the first few epoxy boards he made me to test out when that first started being a thing... It was hilarious. Trial and error. The rails wouldn't bury at all. Felt like you were surfing an inflatable craft. By about #7 he had it figured out. If you are ever down in OB, go into OB surf and skate. He usually has a dozen or so new ones on the rack there. Very interesting shapes. He certainly thinks outside the box. I really started having some fun when I asked him to stop making me potato chips. He has some really innovative designs for sure. His daily drivers were usually really stubby little discs, but he would be out on the reefs nailing 360 air shove its out on the wave face after getting spit out of a barrel. He is a freak show in the water so I have pretty much trusted him with everything he has ever given me. A light just went off... I THINK I should text him and ask for his advice... haha.
Yes, I certainly noticed this, that with a standard keel template, it would probably go right to the rail if not even a MM or so over, which would not work obviously. That why I posted the pics. I was not sure if they make an FCS keel in which the plugs are set a little forward for this very reason. Like, the plugs are position like 3/4 of the way forward and then the back plug being at around the half way mark.
+1 on the MR TFX setup. Last summer, I picked up a used wierd-ish fish/shortboard combo (called the Webber Mini-Fish). It's set up for true KEEL fins having 3 FCS plugs on each side. I've tried it with all kinds of fins from the K2 keels that you've shown, to the bigger 3-tab keels, and even very rakey 6" Twins, but have found that NOTHING has worked better than the TFX set. Without the baby trailer, it's VERY LOOSE and lacks a bit of drive. But, with the small trailer (or maybe a couple of very small quad sidebites in your case) it seems to have the perfect balance of drive and snappy turns even in gutless mush (which is all that I ever use it for).
Anything works...For me the issue is the toe-in and cant of the rear fin. I assuming the rear is an 1/8" toe-in and if so...you should be good to go...the cant will be interesting...usually with trad. fishes...0 degrees and bit of toe-in works for me. Also, the placement is questionable...but again...it will work...probably won't do what you are hoping for though...however, if you are desperate to try it...I would run a single foiled fin rather than a double. Check out this link for a bit more information on trad fishes...LINK...go to page 61.
I can't ride keels. I LOVE fishes, but slap keel fins in there and I can't turn them for the life of me. I go with the Future T1's. they can turn on a dime. I know your's is FCS so just a reccomendation on the template I guess. But try a few out. I gave away a pair of rasta sea Shepard keels that were pretty much brand new cause I tried them for a couple months thinking I just had to get them dialed in. But nope I just couldn't surf with them in. Went back to the t1's and everything was all right in the world again.
I agree, that particular board's fin box setup would never allow keel fins to perform properly on that board. I recommend a quad setup that most resembles the Pavel Speed Dialers. Why? Because they are really nothing more than a pair of Gephart keels that have been strategically split for a quad application. They provide the speed and drive of the classic keel, but allow for more vertical turning without the "tracking" characteristics of the keel. I don't believe that FCS carries the Speed Dialers, I'm pretty sure that LokBox is the sole proprietor. But I've noticed that some of the other systems have very similar setups.
Even if placement wasn't an issue for keels, that single FCS plug setup might be. Lay into a turn hard enough and you just may rip a plug loose with big 2 tab keels. I vote for the MR TFX set previously suggested. Run the big ones up front, with small trailers. I run GX double foil trailers, but after running without the rear fins recently (by accident) I'm thinking about trying those bitty GL trailers instead. Without any trailers it was super loose (which I loved), but it lacked some drive and hold. The GX trailers help give it drive and hold, and it's still pretty loose, but I think the GL might be even better. If you could get a hold of two of the double foil TFX trailers, that would probably work for rears also. I do like running the the MR set in it's intended tri configuration in the right board, but I wouldn't add center plugs to that board. Just my 2 cents **Footnote: I weigh 210lbs so results may vary**
Haha, no it was mostly: "Those hipster trust fund kids who surf those tiny little north county waves all winter..... shhhh keep peeing in the street so we can continue to keep them away. Once they find all these huge, perfect waves, they may start crossing the river. Let them keep thinking that Swami's gets big" That was certainly fun living in OB. I literally almost never left, and when I would venture up to PB (I was not single), I would always regret that I even went. There is enough T&A in the gaslamp to prevent me from needing to go up there. But those are dope looking fins. I will hit him up and see if they are still available. Did you use them?
