Ok, so after testing that Al Merrick Quad, I took the plunge and I am now the proud owner of a quad/fish from my shaper... I set the fins up the standard way, larger fins in the front, smaller fins in the back... I am trying to get as much torque and turning ability in the pocket... Does this standard setup usually work the best. I know you can reverse the fins, or just leave the 2 in like a twinnie... But are there any benefits to switching the fins into different position? Or as a thruster lover, will I get the best response out of the fins the way I currently have them... I have a setu pof FCS foils.... The m4. its 2 size 5 fins, and 2 size 2s.... Just wondering what everyone prefers...
I have 3quad/tri boards with futures. I never run the boards as tri tho, quad just works so well. My preference is for a lot of drive and easy to generate speed so I've tested a few some pretty large front fins, and the rears I run mid size. Did not try pivots yet tho, I can take sme pics of the setups if you're interested No pointto run it as a twin or bigger fins in the back
I agree w/ windswell, no reason to try to switch em around. I have quad option for tri too and its all I ride. I have about 6 different boards in my quiver, but I always fall in love w/ the newest one until I break it beyound repair or until a new one falls in my lap. The only time I switch my fins around is when I have the the pleasure of surfing well overhead, I'll switch to tri for that. I would never pay for another board that doesnt have that option. Ride your quad the way it is, the more you surf w/ the set-up u got, the easier manuevering it will be.
Been hooked on quads for about 5 years now. If you have FCS fusion plugs you have at least a little bit of flexibility moving the fins front/back for experimentation. Some general guidelines on fin sizes and locations: *Wider tails need bigger fins (surface area) or else the tail can overpower the fins. IE FCS Size M or preferably L. *Narrower tails don't need as much fin area. *If you move the front and back fins closer to each other, the board has more pivot. *If you move the front and back fins farther away from each other, the board has more drive/hold. *Fins with more rake have more drive and hold. *Fins with less rake have more pivoty feel. *Rear fins closer to the stringer makes the board feel more like a thruster (drive) *Rear fins closer to the rails makes the board feel more like a twin (pivot) Real world translation: *On my 5'10" fish/plank type board (17" tail) for grovelling I have a big Hynson Quad set. The rear fins are set 1.5" off the rail to make the board super skatey. *On my 6'0" diamond tail daily driver (15" tail) I use the PC5s. Rear fins are set 2" off the rail for a blend of skate and drive. *On my 6'3" round pin for bigger waves (14.5" tail) I use the PC5s or the bigger Rusty Quads when I want a little more drive on the bigger days. Rear fins are 2" off the rail, but effectively closer to the stringer because the tail is narrower. Play around with different fins/positions to see what you like best.
With that being said, this tale is about standard? As far as being large or small. The fins are M4 Quattros (I couldnt find them on FCS' site) the large fins are a size 5, back fins size 2.... I could see maybe adding even larger front fins due to the tail size, but I will try this for a while.
I bought a set of furtures I belive they are f4's from njsurfer42 and the fall swapshop . when I replace the standard white fins that came with my board I was like night and day. I board rode and turned awsome before to these fins made it 10 times better and super resonsive . I also noticed that it hold better on steep drops too
nah I am on call week so I am saving it up for tomorrow. LOL I actually dont know which Future Quad fins I got . He was selling them and they were better than the stock ones that came with the board and for what I paid for them I couldnt loose I know the fronts are Vector 2 F4's and I think the rears are 3.75's
It looks like you have regular FCS plugs so you have no forward/back option. That tail looks pretty wide compared to a "standard" shortboard. Regardless, start with what you've got. If you feel like it doesn't have enough drive, try bigger fins with more rake. If you feel like the board isn't loose enough, try smaller and/or fins with less rake. The FCS website spells out all of the sizes/dimensions. The M4s are on the FCS site here: http://surffcs.com/en/products/fins/Quads/McKEE.aspx They are a good middle-of-the road starting point.
Thanks for the link. That is exactly what I was looking for. It looks like the fins were designed with some turning in mind, so I will give these a go for a while. I assumed that they were kind of middle of the road since that what micah gave me with the board when he shaped it... And by changin the fins setup, all four fcs boxes are the same, so I just meant putting the size 2s up front and the 5s in the rear. I guess that would help performance at all, I was just curious if anyone uses that technique, and if so, why... Thanks though... I need to brush up on my website navigations, I swear those m4's werent on there 12 hours ago =)
tail design Changing fin type/size/placement will definitely have an effect, but that sort of tail design (and the idea behind a quad) is designed to give a looser, skatier feel as opposed to giving you drive and torque out of the pocket-- so it might just be a matter of tail design as opposed to fin characteristics, definitely worth a shot tho, just give it some experimentation riding the same type of fins on different style quads.
had a blast on it the last two days. It handled really well on the bigger waves i got. HH+ and it really gets the speed up. Ive gotten the hang of the fins setup for the most part. Still having trouble figuring out how to take high, quick pumping lines, but with the fish shape/tail width and the 2 fins disengaging and releasing on the side, it doesnt allow me to hold a high line, it just naturally wants to descend. The board is also 5'7, smaller than anything i normally ride. Its about 3 inches below my standard shortboard, so the pressure and balance points etc are a lot different. But all in all, i'm stoked on it. I will grab some bigger used fins off craigslist just to play around with one day. Im starting to like the quads for certain spots. Maybe some day I can try out a quad on a high performance shortboard. I saw a guy walking down the beach yesterday with one. Made me wonder. The two small inside fins were really close together, so it looked like it almost drive and pivot a bit the way a thruster would. Interesting design concept tho.
I recently got the K2.1 5 fin set (thruster or quad). Haven't had a chance to try the quad setup yet (the thruster set is fantastic IMO), but I've heard really good things about it (being more pivoty then some of the other sets). Here is a link with many pages discussing FCS quad preferences. Real surfers experimenting with different fin setups and giving you their personal experiences. (started back in Jan. '09, last post Aug. '10) Lots of good info in there, if you want to take the time to go through it. Plus there are a couple of threads discussing quads. Also, McKee's website has some good info as well.
Fromw waht I have read The inside foil on quad fins also have alot to do with how the board drives, holds, and realeases. I hear there is a big difference in a fin with flat foil on the inside thatn one with foil. I would definitly try a set of K2.1's you can test drive those almost at any shop. WHichever fin set you try next you definitly should try a set with a flat foil next to see if there is a differnce.
http://www.surffcs.com/en/products/fins/Quads/TCAQUA-LINE.aspx just picked up tri quad set of Aqua-lines. They look fantastic can't wait to see how they surf
Surfboard wharehouse Zack your in SoCal right? how often do you get to surf, 4 days a week or something like that?
