quad fin

[Lucky]

Quads are unnecessary. Ride 'em if ya want, whatever, but they ain't the next step.

What is the next step?

Quint stingers, you can take that one to the bank

You got a picture? I need to email it over to the factory in Thailand.

Slowman, another tough question. If Quads are unecessary, what is necessary in surfing (besides waves)?

[Nick Carroll]

Quads are unnecessary. Ride 'em if ya want, whatever, but they ain't the next step.

What is the next step?

Jeez I dunno. Just a personal assessment, I've surfed a range of different quad styles, got to one I thought was really good, found after a while that it had more restrictions than a thruster without exceeding the thruster in other areas, haven't seen anyone go to the next level in their surfing 'cause of a quad, still got a couple to play with if I ever feel the need, but my sense is that they'll probably stay in the shed with my singlys.

Don't let me ruin your day, if your board's going good then good on ya!

[Nick Carroll]

[ But I'd love it if they do take off just so I could do the internet weasel thing and say "Nick remember when you said..."

Feel free! They've been around for a while now, reckon if they were gonna take off they'd have done so.

[Slowman]

...
Slowman, another tough question. If Quads are unecessary, what is necessary in surfing (besides waves)?

The right attitude and by that I mean an inner sense of belonging with the environment and a vote for Kevin Rudd at this next election, as the evil John Howard has plans to ban surfing and send in the troops and take our children away.

Seriously, I think curiosity (assuming you have a board too).

[2nd Reef]

Hey Natho & Longbum,

How do the quads go in fatter or slower waves? Can they generate speed after slow sections or if you run too far out on the face?

I used to keep a few twinzers in my quiver about 10 years back, still got 1 or 2 laying around but I very rarely use them cause they only go good in sucky or down the line waves when you didn't have to pump to get speed.

These new quads get around that problem?

[Natho]

Reefy,

In short Yes a good quad works its magic when you go out on an open face and drive back to the pocket/ Whitey. The extra drive and speed comes into play.

There are many other dynamics that also come into play such as rocker etc.

My Quads work a treat in slightly fatter, slower waves and drive well off the open face back in. Then again the are small wave shapes with lower rocker

So in short yes to your questions, depending on how the Quad is set up and the general design of the board. As an example a Gun with a Quad set up is not going to do what you have suggested.

remeber a Quad only means the board has 4 fins and different Quads will work differently depending on conditions.

[mustkillmulloway]

show me a quad fin fish ( as in the swimming kind)

evoultion off sea creatures been around alot longer than pretty much everything

and the fastest all seem have one dominant....SINGLE FIN

thats where it's @...............quads.....might b the fad.....but singles are solid

[wanto]

show me a fish that swims on the surface .......

[munch]

One that swims upside down on the surface is a bit harder

And doesn't that tail look a lot like a skeg

[munch]

And if I'm counting correctly there's four fins on the bottom of this cat food fish

[longbum]

NC, no its not a neccessity, but I'm also not living in a mudbrick humpy eating my dog and drinking rainwater ???
It has definately improved MY surfing so why the hell not ride them......I've had guys say they don't like them but have had more saying they do, again a personal pref thing.
Reefy, I haven't been able to fault my shorter boards in any area yet, altho my 604 feels a bit tighter sometimes but is kinda good as I'm usually going a lot faster.
My assessment is that they are perfect for 1-4ft waves if riding a touch wider. Out on the face I find is better as you have more speed to wind back in with more hold.

[jfdi]

I am really curious about this. I dont have any distinct thoughts yet but these are a few things circling in my brain :

- rail, shapes and bottom designs have changed a lot since original 4 fins were tried, so this changes the dynamics a lot. With much more refined designs available, I could see why 4 fins might make that extra difference now.
- A wider and/or thicker tail provides extra speed and drive in smaller waves and that extra float and speed past the critical sections, so how much of this is due to 4 fins or just the tail design ?
- Most 4 fin design have the rear ones closer to the outside rail, but Natho finds that having them more towards the centre is better. Fin placement and type of fins can make a very noticeable difference, so seems still more to do in this area to find out what type of placement design exactly does.

[Holy Smoke]

I dont have any distinct thoughts yet but these are a few things circling in my brain

hmm, lobotomies will do that

[wanto]

And if I'm counting correctly there's four fins on the bottom of this cat food fish

you can't discount the tail as a fin. that would make it a 5 fin.

[Lucky]

Don't let me ruin your day, if your board's going good then good on ya!

Nick,
Each to their own hey.
When you were riding quads you would have learnt something about your surfing. So that's not a bad thing. I've been riding an MR super twin a lot for the last year and I can feel it's limitations but it taught me a lot about different lines to take on a wave and how to tuck neatly into little barrels. I've got a quad on order and can't wait to get on it and go in another direction.
I'm glad you stirred the debate up though.

[Lucky]

...
Slowman, another tough question. If Quads are unecessary, what is necessary in surfing (besides waves)?

The right attitude and by that I mean an inner sense of belonging with the environment and a vote for Kevin Rudd at this next election, as the evil John Howard has plans to ban surfing and send in the troops and take our children away.

Seriously, I think curiosity (assuming you have a board too).

Couldn't agree more Slowman, the right attitude, curiosity and the fact that you never stop learning about surfing.
I've got one on order.

[Nick Carroll]

- Most 4 fin design have the rear ones closer to the outside rail, but Natho finds that having them more towards the centre is better. Fin placement and type of fins can make a very noticeable difference, so seems still more to do in this area to find out what type of placement design exactly does.

Here's one reason why Natho likes his back set closer to the stringer:

One of the weird things you immediately encounter with a typical rail-set quad is a lack of feeling for the centre line of the board.

That intuitive sense of the centre line is one of the cues a good surfer uses to place the beginnings and ends of turns. On a thruster, the centre can be very clearly felt through the centre fin, as a result you know just where everything is as a turn finishes or starts.

On the old school twinnies a la MR, the centre could clearly be felt (perhaps bit too much!) via the gigantic vee they used to stick through the fins and tail.

But on the mod quad, with its rail-set fins and flat or single concave release through the tail, there's no surface change in the centre of the tail area by which you can feel the board coming back to its midpoint before and after turns.

You can feel a hell of a lot out on the rails, thanks to all that fin area ... whoopee! ... but bring the board back underfoot and you'll find a weird emptiness. One reason why the rail-set quad is hard to surf in vertical arcs.

You can get around this pretty easily, first by employing a double concave release through the fins, which gives you a nice little feel for that centre line where the stringer rises, quite subtle but definitely there. Second by shifting the back fin set off the rail and toward the centre, so that the fin-feel becomes a bit more diffuse and not so raily.

Lucky I dunno about stirring the debate, presenting a different though educated point of view maybe! For me a well-cut single concave thruster still holds the edge over anything else.

[Natho]

^^^^
Yep NCs pretty much spot on. Hence why HS Quads have the back two fins closer in, and he now adds a very slight double between em. On the other hand if you have a look at say a Bourton Quad with the fins set closer to the rail, Muzza generally uses a fair bit of Vee in there.

Like longbum I find my Quad great in smaller everyday surf. Once it gets bigger or punchier I step back on my thruster. The downside of this is that it can take some adjusting after riding a Quad. I still make sure I jump back on a thruster at least weekly to mix things up a bit.

To each their own. I guess a Quad suits my approach to surfing rather well . I was just talking to a mate who got a DHD Quad, and he hates it. Possibly I have just been lucky in getting some good Quads. Though Ive had some dogs too.

To me a Quad is a bit like a good sex toy. It will add some spice to your quiver, but by no means is it always going to be a replacement to the real thing (I can see that mechanical hand pic being posted in here).

I personally love riding different boards, and a Quad will open your eyes up to a different way of surfing. To me I would rather surf a good Quad than an old twinny or single. Though all have their place.