RealSurf Surfers' Forum

Anyone ridden one?
Got one?

I mean something 7'6" or bigger for surf in the 10ft+ range.

Just got a 7'6 and 8'0" and for the last 3 and 1/2 years I've had a 7'3' a 7'9" and 8'4". I have not ridden anything but quads in that time, alot of people think they out run waves, but you can stall them, I like small fins in the rear to loosen it up. The waves I surf don't want to let you in so it's always a late drop, so 2 fins in the face helps They were all shaped by Kirk Bierke in Ulladulla, I believe you know of him Steve. I've surfed the 7'9" at g-land and ullu big enough there was only 1/2 a dozen out at each

Havn't ridden a quad in a board that big Steve but I reckon a quad makes sense in that type of board where the extra hold would be an advantage in big waves.

steve shearer wrote:Anyone ridden one?
Got one?

I mean something 7'6" or bigger for surf in the 10ft+ range.

problem or pro is you need to think about where your going to surf them... for example if your going out at hastings your better off on a single fin as the quad is too fast and your too far out on the face to cut back... etc etc.. get one with a box in the centre too... might cover a few bases..

crustt wrote:Just got a 7'6 and 8'0" and for the last 3 and 1/2 years I've had a 7'3' a 7'9" and 8'4". I have not ridden anything but quads in that time, alot of people think they out run waves, but you can stall them, I like small fins in the rear to loosen it up. The waves I surf don't want to let you in so it's always a late drop, so 2 fins in the face helps They were all shaped by Kirk Bierke in Ulladulla, I believe you know of him Steve. I've surfed the 7'9" at g-land and ullu big enough there was only 1/2 a dozen out at each

Yeah, thems the ones.
Nice looking guns.
Met up with KB last time I was at Ulladulla b......
Do they surf looser than thrusters?
cheers S

50% of the boards I spotted at Margaret River in 2009 were quad guns... I think if I had the gonads and fitness to surf waves where a gun were necessary, I'd go a 2+1 with a big single in the middle, that cluster of 4 fins would make me nervous... more so.

steve shearer wrote:

crustt wrote:Just got a 7'6 and 8'0" and for the last 3 and 1/2 years I've had a 7'3' a 7'9" and 8'4". I have not ridden anything but quads in that time, alot of people think they out run waves, but you can stall them, I like small fins in the rear to loosen it up. The waves I surf don't want to let you in so it's always a late drop, so 2 fins in the face helps They were all shaped by Kirk Bierke in Ulladulla, I believe you know of him Steve. I've surfed the 7'9" at g-land and ullu big enough there was only 1/2 a dozen out at each

Yeah, thems the ones.
Nice looking guns.
Met up with KB last time I was at Ulladulla b......
Do they surf looser than thrusters?
cheers S

Umm well, I haven't ridden a thruster for quite awhile, all of my boards are super loose, as I have the theory that being an old fart now I am stiffening and slowing up so I need looser boards to compensate. You could probably make thrusters just as loose but I think they would spin out , so I suppose quads are looser cause they hang in better on bigger waves, you can,t do a full hack off the top as you might with a thruster, but how many of us can do that at an 8' plus reef break. They don't outrun wave as most people seem to think, this theory is based on riding 6'- quad.
Your better off asking Kirk, he's riding everything all the time. He's the only shaper in Aus. that I have seen making and riding good quad guns, to be quite honest I know very little about boards now as I have gotten into the habit of just asking hm for a board and leave it to him, we spend more time talking about fins than the board itself.

quads are fu.cked

as guns they are just more fu.ckered

My info about quads outrunning the wave were based on the 9'6-10' guns ridden around here and in tassie.. And the feedback of the guys riding them. As I said you have to make the boards in setup for the particular wave. My ones have quad plugs and a 10"box so they can be setup for the wave they are going to be used on..

Dave, my boards don't go up to that size and I don't want them too, for my own safety. I'm just wondering having a board with boxes so you can have both quad and single, isn't it a bit of a compromise as the curve of the board would be different for a single apposed to a quad, it' has to be tweeked either way doesn't it? If a board is shaped as a quad and you use it as a single then it's going to be not quite right, 5 boxes is ok on a shortboard, but your going up a few levels on a 10' board and everything has to be right. I can see the point you make that you need a quad or a single in different situations, but I would prefer one of each. My experience with quads is only to waves around the 10' mark.

I would say that on bigger waves the critical place is a lot bigger, therefore you have the option to put the board in a different space in the wave. Matching that place with your board setup. In this situation the five plug setup is no compromise as the board is used as a single at Hastings bombie and as a quad at pt danger the fin positions suit where your standing in each particular wave. I will try get pics of the most recent board I did in next few days..

I may have used the wrong word, wouldn't rocker have to be different between a quad and a single? That's where I thought there would be a compromise.

crustt wrote:I may have used the wrong word, wouldn't rocker have to be different between a quad and a single? That's where I thought there would be a compromise.

Not in this case as the boards are big enough to utilize fin positioning to suit the fin setup... It's not a short board compromise that needs front fins to be used as quad and thruster positioning.

Hey Dave, What happened to those pictures of the Gun?