'new' quad rear fin alignment

If you do a YouTube search for "Tom curran quad" there's some good footage of him surfing j bay in the rely 90's on a McKee quad. Interesting write up in the info section too.

 

Watching TC is like watching KS... does it relate to YOU?

Build one...

Ride one...

See for yourself...

 

Does it need to to?

 

guess not necessarily... good to watch, though. I'm just sayin' you can't judge how it will work for you by watching a pro of that caliber... and at the same time encouraging some good ol' DIY.

 

You have much more flexibility swapping out different fins that swapping out boards or fin boxes. Think about the fin box placement for your style of riding and then experiment with different fin sizes. For example, put 4" fins on the rear outside slots instead of 5" and you will notice a big different, ditto using 3" instead of 4". Fin box/fin placement becomes more important if you have channels/concaves working in the back end.

 

I agree, but I think that piece is interesting because TC was riding a McKee way back then, but it wasn't really noted. I think when McKee was pushing his design, there were some who felt the tri-fin was the end all be all and unfortunately it was challenging for him to get noticed/respected. Now you can see his influence in a lot of places, especially some of the big wave equipment.

I personally like a quad with rear placement closer to the rail than a true McKee setup. I think the feel is more akin to a twin with more stability and control, and i always loved twins, but I'm heavy and would spin out on them. I ride wide tailed boards and a quad setup works well, benefits of a twin without the drawbacks. In my better wave
board I do have a center plug and will switch it to a tri in certain bigger wave circumstances because it's familiar and comfortable, but overall I ride a quad 90 percent of the time now.