Surfing Waves

OK so this 8'2 Firewire submoon I'm waiting on to arrive is a 5 fin box so I can go quad or thruster....

I REALLY wanna try it as a quad just because it's going to feel so different. But does anyone recommend a fin size for it. I'm thinking large but on Future Fins website it states the large quad fins are for 198 lbs+ and I'm only 165 lbs. But the board is pretty much a longboard. Any thoughts on what I should buy? They're so expensive I wanna get it right the first time.

It'll be used in waste high surf mainly down here in TX.

mmm. Interesting question. With 4 fins I dont think you need to go too big, keep in mind the combined fin area is pretty sizeable. Personally I go for the smallest fins I am comfortable with, in the very rare occassions the surf is too big for them then I can swap up a size or use another board. But have never thought of quadding a longboard

Second hand fins?

Jaffa probably can help out, he is the fin master

Perhaps Jaffa can weigh on this but I was just watching a bunch of big wave surfers talk and they reinforced my thoughts that the bigger the wave you want to ride the smaller the fins you need. As the wave gets bigger your rails become more important. I think if you want to generate more drive on smaller waves then you need more fin. There must be some sensible way to figure it out but I rely on the shaper to tell me what I should be using. By the way that was a nice looking board. I bet it will surf more like a fun gun than a longboard. I love my 8 foot quad fun gun.... so different from all the single fins boards I used to surf but it can do some amazing things.

Yeah, bigger fins = more drive but harder to turn. On a big board I think you need to make turning as easy as possible; but then its a big board so you need some fin area to keep the weight in check (so to speak).

Maybe two large fins and two nubbins .... are we helping yet

Ah! Fins big waves and quads and everything else.
The big wave end of surfing, there is a whole interplay between rails bottom contours and rocker the depth of the fins is effected by the tail rocker.
Then you need to consider the big wave. I surfed both pipeline and sunset in 1969. I wasn't game to tackle Waimea,. The board an 8'6" rolled vee bottom pintail Single Greenough fin. I'm goofy footer so pipe was different to Sunset for me in stance. The waves were totally different, I held my line ...... Straight at pipe in a descending arc from my bottom turn, barely barreled compared to these days, primarily on my inside rail.
Sunset allowed more curves and a higher line but backhand for me still absolutely basic compared to what is done now.

My favored set up is a 9" centr fin and the Bonzer side bites, I ride this well over double overhead in Indonesia, I can get barreled ( but the it's hard not to in Indonesia) I can generate hard angular turns.
I have ridden the same waves with the board as a single fin and a small 6" thruster set up, of all, the thruster set was the most squirrelly .

I have to declare I never liked twin fins and I have applied that prejudice to quads , I have never tried them , five fins no awareness at all. Only theory applies in these cases.
Smaller fins for bigger waves consider too the drag factor as you try to match wave speed for take off another factor air dropping or super steep drops the engagement of a large fin at the wrong moment = disaster!

Remember too that most serious big wave riders have a pretty good history of skill before they hit the big stuff.
Disclaimer Jaffa has a long history of being a serious average surfer!

My suggestion is to go to your local surf shop and try out the Future Fin Tree. You are allowed to demo any of the fins free of charge. Fins are a tricky bunch - the performance of any model will vary from surfer to surfer regardless of the board and wave. The old adage "try before you buy" is your answer.

Thanks guys! Lol Jaffa excellent post my man! I will say that I understand your prejudice on twin fins and quads do have that kinda feel but with a bit more stability and drive. The twin (from what I can remember in the early 90's as a kid) felt loose and had no drive at all. But my SUPERbrand Vapors 6'0 is a quad at the moment and is EXCELLENT! So I've naturally been curious to try it on this new board.

I didn't know you could try Future Fins free of charge? I'm going to have to ask the guys at my surf shop about that....we went thru all their sizes the other day and they never mentioned that little tidbit!

On a sidenote: THE BOARD GETS HERE TOMORROW! I can't surf it until Independence Day though. I'll post my thoughts soon after.

Well UPS said no one was home when I was. Ugh gotta wait till monday

Surf is flat anyways. Oh well

Board came in. She's a beauty!!!!








Now just gotta find some time to escape to the beach. She's really well built though. You can really tell it's a high quality board. The tail really has a pretty apparent domed double concave that goes all the way to the center of the board. The nose doesn't have much concave though.

Also the tail is razor thin. Going to be interesting how it handles!

Looks really nice but just going to say the fins look huge.

oldmansurfer wrote:Looks really nice but just going to say the fins look huge.

also they dont match the board, you need to get some bamboo fins! the Rob Machado ones look pretty cool

Very nice!

The board looks absolutely beautiful and the fins look ok I guess but wooden fins would look great. I think compared to my board the front fins are about the same size but the rear fins on my board are smaller so that is why I said the fins look big to me. I bet that board will hold better in a hard cutback than my board. I have yet to fool around with the fins on my board. Still learning about how it all works.

Ya the fins are just the stock $25 fins that the online company offered. The rears are smaller than the fronts. Gonna try it tomorrow and see how it does and most likely get me a little smaller set in a better color

Hi.

I am new to the group. Found your post on Google. I was considering selling my 8.11 submoon and then when laid in bed not able to sleep remembered its probably my most surfed board and why am I wanting to sell. Having to have a clear out of boards to raise funds for a house purchase. So many fees. So thought I would reduce my quiver for now. Rather than sell the submoon I will try a different fin set up. I have always surfed it ut as a 2 +1 Taylor jenson futures but would like to try it with quads. How has you experience been with fins and what do you guys and girls suggest

Oh Grasshopper, ( welcome and thanks for the chance to use a phrase from the Kung-Fu series) repurposing a favourite most used board with different fin set ups , nice!
Go well with the home buying , and the associated paperwork!
Welcome