I was out yesterday in pretty decent waist/stomach high waves with my groveler (quad fin). I caught a bunch of fun waves but there were a few times where I was sliding out right when I was turning into the pocket on my bottom turn. Why could this be? Perhaps it's because the rails on the groveler are kind of soft but they really aren't that fat. Currently rocking the stretch future quad set. It's a medium sized fin. I was thinking I might need some extra hold so I switched it out to my larger composites and added in my nubster in hopes to get better hold. Will have to test it out this weekend. Anyone else ever have experience with the slide out thing? Really just started riding quads so maybe it takes some getting used to.
If your surfing 4 fins you need to draw out your bottom turns longer. Their built for speed on flat faces. That's why 3 fins work in just about anything. It can be done, just try a double pump on your set up for your bottom turn. Draw back being loss of speed to get vertically going back up the face. Quads are great for building speed but tough to turn. It's harder for the bord to release the outer fins causing you to perl. Hope this makes some sense.
True, thanks for the advice dudes. I do feel like it is very trim oriented way more than my old fish. I'll try and let the wave determine what I do more and take those long drawn out turns.
Try the Nubster with your regular fins before you go bigger. It really tightens up the board. Small changes are best.
Quads run different no doubt but you get used to it and begin to relish it. From McKee Tuning your quad fin setup to work best for you. Is the tail sliding too easily? Go with a larger rear fin set Is the tail too tight? Go with a slightly smaller rear fin set Is the board lacking drive? Go with slightly larger front fins. Is the board too hard to turn? Go with slightly smaller front fins and rear fins. Does the board feel out of control? Try a rear fin with a symmetrical or 80/20 foil Wanting drive off the bottom and loose of the top? Place a flatter foil or bigger rear fin for the bottom turn side and a smaller double foiled rear fin on the off the top side.. note that this will also be the cutback side so study your choices.
Thats quads for ya. The middle fin on a thruster acts like an anchor to the rail fins and helps keep them staying steady on the path to righteousness. I am in love with quads now as I am a guy that likes a lot of drive and a loose/skatey feel. I blame it on stand up boogying for so many years. Peajay hit the nail on the head. Change your set up if you like. In my opinion you should keep riding your current set up until you feel pretty dialed in then make an assessment. Good luck and have fun testing the waters.
If your Stretch quads are the same as mine, the rears are symmetrically foiled, like a thruster trailer. This means they don't create any real lift... or "thrust"... like a single foiled fin. When you put your board on a rail, the flat side of single foiled fins that are in the water push against the water with a certain force. Compared to the outer, curved (foiled) side of the same fin, there is lower pressure as water flows around the curved surface, creating a pressure differential. Since there is more force/pressure on the inside of the fin, and less force/pressure on the outside of the fin, Newton's Laws say the fin will move in the direction that the greater force points... which is toward the curved, outer surface of the fin and the rail that's buried in the turn. In other words, this pressure differential pulls the fin (along with the rail) down into the water, giving a greater sense of hold and drive through turns. Double foiled fins tend to let water slide by moreso than a single foiled fin, which has a tendency to grab water on the inside, flat side of the fin. Because both sides of the fin are curved, there is less pressure differential on either side of the fin, so there is less pulling effect, and so... less hold and drive: more slide. If you look at McKee's 6th question/answer he suggests the same theory.
Had the same issue when I set mine up Using it as a tri fin with large fins. I like, feels mo stable on the bottom turn. Everything I've read says to go quad, but I like the tri set up much better
Thanks for the replies. I'm taking Clems advice and keeping the stretch quads but adding the nubster. I may want to try larger rears with more foil if that doesn't work out. And can always pull a Scoobey and make it a tri fin. I'll experiment this weekend in our hopefully decent surf... Praying for waves.
use more rail....try not to let your board turn flat. Weight on to your back foot during turns and dig the rail in. Takes a while to get into the habit, so you may want to commit to only ridding quads for a while. Nubster does help, but kinda defeats the purpose of a quad in small waves.
