Surfing Waves

i used to visit this forum, but i forgot my username its been so long haha. anyways im about to buy a new surfboard, and i was wondering would a quad fish be more stable than a twin fish? right now i have a twin fish but i find in bigger surf, about head high and plus, it starts sliding out alot and gettin unstable, would the addition of two more fins help out the stability a significant amount? i know quads are alot faster and drive more, but was unsure about the stability aspect of it. answers very very appreciated

thanks guys and gals!

does it have to be another fish? if you are looking to surf bigger waves why not go for a standard shortboard with a thruster set up. or if you really like the idea of a quad then you can get a quad shortboard.

sweatthesalt wrote:i used to visit this forum, but i forgot my username its been so long haha. anyways im about to buy a new surfboard, and i was wondering would a quad fish be more stable than a twin fish? right now i have a twin fish but i find in bigger surf, about head high and plus, it starts sliding out alot and gettin unstable, would the addition of two more fins help out the stability a significant amount? i know quads are alot faster and drive more, but was unsure about the stability aspect of it. answers very very appreciated

thanks guys and gals!

Quads gain more drive from their fin set-ups than twinnies and as such are generally better in more powerful surf. But twinnies are the faster of the two and will make sections way better.
To answer your question a quad will help in the bigger stuff but maybe not as much as you'd hope. James is right you already have one fish so why get another when a shortboard would be a better option?

KS

as an owner of a quad and thrusters, if it's offshore head high punchy surf i leave the quad and take the thruster everytime.
obviously i could still use the quad by putting in bigger fins but i just trust a thruster set up a whole lot more, especially on the bottom turn on steep waves

thanks for all replies guys. but yah i already have a thruster, but ever since i started riding my fish it just feels so narrow and akward. I bought my fish and started using it exclusively for 2 months, and i loved its speed, and short length. then when i tried to hop back on my shortboard it just felt weird and i couldnt surf as good and it just felt too long lengthwise and narrow. the reason i wanted a fish, or something like that, was because it would have more width and less length, unlike a thruster which is opposite. hmmm sooo confused!

Maybe you could look into one of those fish/shortbord hybrids, i havnt ridden one before so don't know what they're like, basicly a wider thruster shortboard with a swallow tail...

I currently have a quad fish with the following dims:
6'2"x20 1/4"x2 3/4"
It is a fish hybrid, like what Kabazz was refering to. I have been surfing it reiligously in everything from 1-2' mush all the way up to head high pluss waves with no issues. The stability is there, quad setup has tons of drive and hold but breaks loose when you want/need it to.
Just my 2 cents.

Charvey how does the quad feel? does it feel alot different form a twin fin or thruster?

sweatthesalt wrote:Charvey how does the quad feel? does it feel alot different form a twin fin or thruster?

Ive got a quad shortboard. Its a great deal higher performance than everything else Ive got, so its hard to make comparisons, but I wouldnt describe it as 'stable'. Its tricky to get moving, it really needs a breaking section to catch a wave, but once its caught the wave it absolutely flies.

When I get it right (a rare occasion) it turns unbelievably - its got the looseness of a fish (sort of) but you can snap it around like a thruster (sort of).

In a nutshell, I find it quite a tricky board but a lot of fun when it works.

Thats true about needing a breaking section for take off. You get some insanely steep take offs on bigish days and an even more insane amount of speed if you dont shoot out

maybe look into some of the new 5 fin set ups? i'm looking around for a new shortboard right now, and the guy at one shop was telling me about them. basically you can set it up for a quad for mushier, waist-head+ stuff, when you need the drive. but then drop the inner fins and throw in the centre for the thruster for the hollower big days. i dunno, something to think about. my boss just got a quad bat tail and loves it in med/big-ish hollow stuff

twerked wrote:maybe look into some of the new 5 fin set ups? i'm looking around for a new shortboard right now, and the guy at one shop was telling me about them. basically you can set it up for a quad for mushier, waist-head+ stuff, when you need the drive. but then drop the inner fins and throw in the centre for the thruster for the hollower big days. i dunno, something to think about. my boss just got a quad bat tail and loves it in med/big-ish hollow stuff

This is always going to be a comprimise. The important design aspect of a board that makes it go well in either mushey stuff or the clean hollow days is firstly the rocker and also the outline coupled to the correct rocker. Then comes fin placement. The side fins on a thruster generally do not co-oincide with the postions of the quad fins. So by attmpting to do so comprimises the performance of the board in both conditions.
Yes you can do it but neither set-up will perform as well as a pure thruster or a pure quad.

KS

kitesurfer wrote:This is always going to be a comprimise. The important design aspect of a board that makes it go well in either mushey stuff or the clean hollow days is firstly the rocker and also the outline coupled to the correct rocker. Then comes fin placement. The side fins on a thruster generally do not co-oincide with the postions of the quad fins. So by attmpting to do so comprimises the performance of the board in both conditions.
Yes you can do it but neither set-up will perform as well as a pure thruster or a pure quad.

KS

oh yeah, it's definitely not as good as a pure thruster or pure quad. i personally didn't like it that much. for one, you gotta buy more fins, and two, if i'm gonna have a quad, i want a quad, if i'm gonna have a thruster, i want a thruster, not both in the same board. and you're right about rocker and such, it was just kind of interesting what they're doing now. the flexibility is good and all, but i'd rather have a dedicated board. for the op though, if you already have a twinny, why not just get a thruster for the bigger days, and keep the twin for the mushburgers and smaller stuff. that's the way i'd go

I am emberrassed to say but I have yet to surf a twinney. Although I will say that it does feel quite a bit different then a thruster. Little more squirly on really hard rail to rail surfing.

CHarvey wrote:I am emberrassed to say but I have yet to surf a twinney. Although I will say that it does feel quite a bit different then a thruster. Little more squirly on really hard rail to rail surfing.

Ermm so you've yet to surf one but you already know it feels quite different to a thruster?

KS

surferdude_scarborough wrote:does it have to be another fish? if you are looking to surf bigger waves why not go for a standard shortboard with a thruster set up. or if you really like the idea of a quad then you can get a quad shortboard.

agree, you should be looking @ shortboards, fish is terrible with overhead waves...

I can't argue that point kite.
The view I posted on twins is from doing research on twins vs quads vs thrusters on swaylocks. From placement, cant, toe in, foil, theory, end everythign else I can get my eyes on. While this doesn't make me a specialist on the matter I still feel I can at least lend the knowledge I have gained over the past few months. The only corralation I can draw is from the differences between my quad and thrusters and the fact that twins are suppose to feel even looser then quads. But then again, I understand that book smarts doesn't always translate over. I'll be the first to admit that.
Your BS radar is well calibrated.

ive been riding one of kitesurfers quad fish for a bit....amazing up to chest/head high.i found when its bigger or more importantlly choppeir,it was a handfull....i think id like a fatboy type board for the bigger days.....kitesurfer will be getting p.m soon

ive got a twin from kitesurfer. its been awesome in any waves ive taken it out in. been up to a couple of feet overhead. works quite well in messy conditions.