hey i just recently bought a 6'1 Rusty c-5 swallow tail... i got it on the cheap out of sheer curiousity. its a 5 fin set up....supposidly it'll work with tri quad or 5...it has 2 small cannards on each side...I've been trying to read up on it on the net however can only find a few articles...All i really know it was made in the late 90's and was a precursor to the quad... Does anyone have, have had or ever ridden this board or know anything at all about it...some input would be the ****...im guessing the stablerizer fins allow more manuverabilty and a bit of speed...just not sure how it performs in smaller surf...looking forward to ridding it this weekend hopefully..
BONZER!!! those channels on the bottom direct the flow of water more through the fins so acceleration is increased, should be super fast down the line. it will def be harder to turn with the 5 set up, you should screw around with the quad and twin fin rig while its small, then when the surf gets a little size stick in 5 then that mofo will fly.
I've never ridden the C-5 Bonzer but read an interesting article back in the late 90's about the shape. The board was designed to give you more drive while increasing both speed and feel, or so it was thought. However, recent research on board design and mechanics show that the the 5th (center fin) actually increases drag and resistence, therefore decreasing speed. Hence, the development of the quads. Without that center fin, the water flows smoothly down the center of the board, increasing speed due to lack of center-fin drag and it gives the board a bit looser feel. They are still sweet boards and on the East Coast waves, I doubt you would notice much of a difference. You could always ride it like a quad or a twin. Just remember, with a twin it is much easier for the board to slide out on an aggresive bottom turn. You won't have as much a problem on a quad because of more fin surface area. -Kyle-
