anyone have a set these controllers they want to part ways with? getting a board shaped right now and will be experimenting with different futures quad setups. it's a mini simmons type board, and from research, seems like these fins may be winners. also interested in the tyler warren quads.
mine aren't for sale, but I should warn you the seaworthy are designed for boards with both front and rear boxes placed very close together and right on the rails. In essence, both front and rear seaworthy fins combine to make one giant keel fin...so the board rides more like a twin than a thruster. Supposedly, having less base area(s), in what would otherwise be a massive fin, lessens cavitation and drag (just a loose interpretation of what I gleaned - don't quote me). The McKee-style quad placement has the boxes spread out and the rear fins pinched close together, probably making it much closer to a thruster feel (I haven't ridden one). From what I gather, people with McKee-style box placements had poor results with putting seaworthys or controllers in there. Take a close look at the fin box placements on the Lost bottom feeder or couch potato and you'll see what Biolos had in mind when he designed the seaworthy fins.
interesting...i will have to check on the fin box placement on my board in relation to the those lost boards. this is good stuff, thanks!
I just got these fins for my quad fish... Haven't had any decent swell to try them out on but this weekend is looking good.. Ill keep you updated. The fins them selves looks awesome and seem to be built nice. Not sure about the whole fin box placement thingy here is a pic I have when I put them on my board.. Ill take a better look when I get home..
McKee quad placement (notice how far apart the rear fin are from the fronts, and how close the rears are to each other): VS Biolos/Seaworthy placement:
I have ridden one and your right..I have a 5'10" Chemistry with this (McKee) quad fin placement. It feels like a thruster and ever since I got it over a year ago I have been searching for the right quad fin set up to loosen the board for the small waves I bought it for. I like the board, but not the fin box setup. I got it for waist high summer waves and it actually works for me in larger hollower surf with those rear fins. I did try the Future Controllers in it off a shop that had a set on the fin tree, and it was way too stiff a fin set for this board.
I've studied the Mckee system a bit and the tail size plays a huge role in fin placement. These boards are pretty different from each other so I don't know if it's the best comparison. From what I've learned, the back fins on the white Mckee board are placed closer to center to make it easier to go rail to rail. The biolos board is not going to be surfed the same nor will it be surfed in the same conditions but the back fins placed closer to the rail produce less drag and allow for more of a glide type ride. Apples and oranges, IMO.
Keep the larger fins up front and experiment with smaller fins in the rear, especially rear fins that are set further back in the box. I don't ride Futures, so I don't have any specific suggestions.
Exactly what i've found brings the board to life. Since getting the board last year I've gone from the Controllers (way too stiff) to 3.75" rears (ok) to the little 3.25" rears (good). Since returning the Controllers, the front fins are just the basic F4s.
bingo...tail width & "intent" play a HUGE part in where the fins are placed on the board. a more rail-centric placement is going to provide more speed & somewhat less control, giving the board more of a twin fin-type feel, but w/ a bit more maneuverability, hence the "controllers" appellation on the fins...it's a split keel similar to what rich pavel designed for his "speed dialler" quad fish back in the early 2000's...it provides the speed & drive of a keel fin, but by breaking it up, the board will change direction much easier (in comparison to the same board w/ keel fins). the mckee, or stringer-centric, placement is used on hpsbs to keep the tail loose. generally a slightly smaller pair of rear fins is used on a mckee, depending on the conditions the board is intended for & the overall width of the tail. people compare it more to a thruster b/c it is very much a high performance design & goes rail to rail very easy. a lot of companies & board designers are kind of splitting the difference between rail-centric & mckee placements on their 5 fin convertible set ups. this works for some boards, not so much for others. knowing what you have going on under your feet is going to be a great help in choosing the right fins. as we've seen, mckee placement + split keels = bad times
this thread is good stuff! sure beats reading 'will saturday be good' or whatever. so after researching, reading this thread, talking to my shaper, i think the seaworthy's will be a good fit for my simmons type board. fin boxes are close together, as well as close to the rail, and i'm not a real big dude. thanks all!
