Round-tail quads Reefbreak round-up.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I'd be happy to lend you my Swinger for a couple of waves during a surf sometime Natho, I reckon you would be pretty surprised at how the combination of a tight round-tail with McKee placement rides...

So many things to consider with quads, I think the quad vs. thruster argument is a bit redundant if you don't consider fin placement, planshape, tail width, fin template, etc. You can try to rationalise it all day long.

Too much to think about. Just ride what you like and don't be afraid to try something new

[Natho]

Thanks for the offer Captain, but I gave up partner swapping some time ago.

If i want to go in a straight line, with a little wiggle here and there I will just head down to the local Boot Scootin Club.

[Natho]

Guard for the record I have ever ridden one of Stretches boards. I couldn't tell you much re Stretches set ups coz Ive only ever seen a handful of his boards. The one I rode was for about 15 minutes many years ago.

[bohdidontsurf]

I currently have 3 personally made by Stretch and have had 7 in total...not tuflites, the real deal.. actually he shapes all of his boards...no exceptions. Thats why he works 7 days a week and gets up from 4 every morning. I cant rate them highly enough. I got a really nice email from his wife just before Xmas, they are a lovely couple. I have no doubt he has probably moved his fin positioning around a bit but mine (without having anything to compare them against) look pretty central to me. I agree Rusty has his pretty close to the stringer and Stretch's are a bit wider appart than Rusty's. I thought that last time I looked at his quads. Anyway if you are ever lucky enough to get your hands on one (Stretch) you will know what I am talking about.

[bohdidontsurf]

Thanks for the offer Captain, but I gave up partner swapping some time ago.

If i want to go in a straight line, with a little wiggle here and there I will just head down to the local Boot Scootin Club.

Got to say Natho, thats a pretty arrogant comment. I guess your the shi.t then huh?

[Quangers]

^^Yeah and Cole - tow boards...

[pridmore]

yep, Cole for sure, read he is over in the states doing some work with assymetrical boards, think with Eckstrom and co..( not totally sure of that ) but would like to see what comes of that...

[Natho]

bohdid, take a joke you fool.
you should know by now not to take me too serious. I like to bring a bit of balance to these forums, with a bit of sht stir thrown in. Its not my fault you don't have a sense of humour.

Fact is I have ridden quads on and off for the last 7 years and still have a couple in the quiver which i ride on and off to this day.
I think quads are here to stay, but they will not replace the thruster. In fact Im seeing alot of guys who were riding quads as an every day board going back to thrusters, but keeping a quad as a small wave groveller. So I think there has certainly been a bit of a 'trend' element with them, but I certainly think they have a purpose too and are here to stay.

Its just the way some of you guys post its as if quads are the answer to everything and heavin forbid if someone rides a thruster or standard shorty rather than one of these tripped out trendy things.

[simplesimon]

I've also got to agree with some of natho's comments re the limitations of quads.
A discussion on quads is not complete without at least highlighting some of the limitations.
The balance is appreciated.

[alakaboo]

and you'd be a completely impartial bystander, eh simon?

i agree with what you've said, and i welcome the discussion. it's just an interesting first few posts from someone who clearly knows what they're talking about.
didn't get too imaginative with the user name?

[bohdidontsurf]

bohdid, take a joke you fool.
you should know by now not to take me too serious. I like to bring a bit of balance to these forums, with a bit of sht stir thrown in. Its not my fault you don't have a sense of humour.

Fact is I have ridden quads on and off for the last 7 years and still have a couple in the quiver which i ride on and off to this day.
I think quads are here to stay, but they will not replace the thruster. In fact Im seeing alot of guys who were riding quads as an every day board going back to thrusters, but keeping a quad as a small wave groveller. So I think there has certainly been a bit of a 'trend' element with them, but I certainly think they have a purpose too and are here to stay.

Its just the way some of you guys post its as if quads are the answer to everything and heavin forbid if someone rides a thruster or standard shorty rather than one of these tripped out trendy things.

Fool? Fcuk you coc.k breath...I dont care how good you think you surf youre an arrogant..cnut. You talk like I study every post you have ever made..well pal it may be news to you but I dont know who you are nor do I give fcuk. I dont give a shi.t what you ride nor what you think. So what if I like quads..like I could give a shi.t what you or anyone else thinks and you should think the same way... I surf for my own enjoyment not to impress you Natho..again thats probably a surprise to you. Fact is somone offered you a go on their board in good faith and with good spirit and your response was to make fun of that gesture by ridiculing people who ride that type of board..go back and read your post co.ck jockey. I dont know how old you are but have you checked with your mum and dad before you use the computer? You should.

[Natho]

setlle down sunshine. My post was a simple joke following on from Fongs post which i thought was pretty funny (Fongs post that is). I appreciated Captains offer. Mate don't take life too seriously.
Im sorry if I made you cry.

[simplesimon]

As i said before. They are a fairly touchy bunch on here.
no place to make a joke natho. How dare you.

[diggerdickson]

Im hooked on quads, the thing is it suits how I surf. I have a small grovel board that is a thruster but hardle ride that now. I am thinking off getting a 2+1 down the track for a few points my way and different lines.

Personally I cant see the point of comparing qauds and thrusters, its a bit of a wank if you do. Quads suit how I surf in a certian wave size, so why would I surf a thruster and lessen my enjoyment. I had them for 20 plus years and for me its time for something different.

[gibber]

some guys do,
some guys don't,
some guys need alot of timber (roy)
and some guys don't
I know i got the feeling
I just don't know why
I like thrusters and thats my right.


anyway...

Get a quad from someone who shapes em guard. THose guys do em cause they like em and ride them. Don't expect a guy like Mitchel to make you one when he is all about flex tails and indo guns with thruster fin set ups. They work and work bloody well so he obviously doesn't feel a need to reinvent the wheel.

[robzig]

[Cpt.Caveman]

setlle down sunshine. My post was a simple joke following on from Fongs post which i thought was pretty funny (Fongs post that is). I appreciated Captains offer. Mate don't take life too seriously.
Im sorry if I made you cry.

I know you don't appreciate the offer, but I didn't take any offense. This has been a long-standing feud between our board tastes and I never expect you to say anything positive about my opinions or offers...haha

Too cool for school eh

I think one of the fundamental differences with quads is to do with the planshape dimensions and fin size. Say you take a board thats a thruster and want to convert it to a quad. Seeing as you're adding 33% more fin area it pays to provide more lift by increasing the width, buoyancy and more concave to counter the extra hold. Then, you can't use the same fin templates as normal for the rear fins because you now have 100% more fin area in the tail. If you drop the size of the rear fins and use upright pivotal front fins, this starts to take away from the increase in fin area in the tail (rear fins).

Once all thats done, it'll still ride differently because you still have more fin, usually a wider tail and more foam for lift. All things that take away little bits of response and pivot from a fine-tuned highly foiled high performance thruster.

But.... If you like the surefooted feeling where you can really push a board hard and even feel it accelerating through a turn with barely any risk of skipping out, or that you know it will bite on ridiculous takeoffs, quads are great. Also if you like riding wider thicker boards for more flow and drive, quad fins are a great compliment to that package.

If you ride a board like the Swinger with a heck a lot of inherent lift in the tail from blocky rails and a deep concave, you can even have a really tight pulled in tail. Normally that would create too much hold as a quad because of the 33% increase in fin area on top of the tight tail, but with the extra lift it gives a nice amount of tail release and freedom, bringing it closer to the performance of the thruster again. This way you have the benefits of the quad but a planshape and response that takes away the drawbacks.

Anyways, I'm enjoying diversity in my quiver more than anything now. My tiny wave board is a mini-simmons twinnie, my board for most decent waves is the Swinger, and my board for bigger and more solid waves is a typical HPS McKee quad. My next board might even be a widowmaker for really solid waves and Indo trips. I'm completely sick of having the same type of HPS with differing dimensions for different waves.

Each to their own, ride whatever the hell you want. I'm having an absolute ball riding what I'm riding now, so thats all I have to say to justify it

[steve shearer]

Just to bring it back to the title of the thread: this is about riding quads in step-ups and guns.

As ridden by Mark Healy, Tom Carroll, Jeff Clark, Nathan Fletcher etc etc etc.

Maybe as Natho has suggested via Maurice they are not quite ideal for tow boards but for paddle-in applications I believe the ads far outweigh the disadvantages.

Adjust the fin area to taste.

This thread is not about riding quads in fishy type boards.

Carry on.