What is the size and volume I should be looking for...

[oldmansurfer]

I don't know about quad vs thruster vs whatever. This is what I am pretty sure of and that is if you only surf a thruster or a quad or a single fin for years and years and then try to change it will be difficult to alter the way you have been surfing to fit the fin setup. It took me a long time to get over a single fin mentality. I find it difficult to change fine setups once I switched to surfing quads. I just can't see what the advantage of a thruster or single fin is because there doesn't appear to be any. It's not that I can't surf a thruster but it just doesn't seem as good as a quad. I don't plan on changing from a quad ever. If I were going to learn surfing all over I would start with a quad and avoid having to learn to use thrusters first. But of course this is just me and I am sure others will have specific fin setups for you.

As for the original poster, I forgot to mention that if you surf a shortboard on big enough and slow enough waves then you don't need to bring any speed or power as the wave will provide adequate amounts. This is why I like surfing bigger surf. It's so easy to get up speed to make whatever turns you want and you don't need to work it to keep from bogging. But really your problem may just be learning to do the right maneuvers in the right places. Yeah we all want to be able to surf better instantly but unfortunately that doesn't happen. It's such a complex thing and small things like your foot placement or how you move your arms can make a big difference. Then there is the wave and knowing when to do what is the key. I watch the pros and they time maneuvers very carefully like they may make a bottom turn and hold it for a while or do a pump or two waiting for the right moment then jam a turn. I am not there yet. I just look and think that looks like a good place to go next, be it the lip or some other spot on the wave. I just do whatever seem right there no real timing......well I guess it's sort of timing but no delayed maneuvers but it is because they know what the wave is going to do that encourages them to wait. I am just like I see a spot that looks good for a cutback or an off the lip or whatever and I am going for it thinking "hell yeah" or something equally thoughtless. This is perhaps the hardest thing to learn in surfing .....what is the wave going to do now and what will it do next? And along with this to have the presence of mind to allow it to happen.

[RinkyDink]

For a guy like me who's just trimming trying to get to OP's level of surfing (horizontal maneuvers), is there a recommended order of fin setup to try? thruster > quad/single? single > thruster > quad? What about things like 2+1?

Pick one fin setup and ride it for three months. After you get used to that setup, try a different setup for 3 months. Rinse and repeat. After 9 months, you might have a vague idea of the difference between the setups. After 18 months, you might find you prefer one setup for particular kinds of waves over another. I still haven't really grasped the differences. I'm beginning to realize that I slide out a lot more with my single fin on my longboard. One of these days (when I have some money ) I'm going to change it to a thruster to see if the slides go away. By the way, I'm not sure I want the sliding to go away; I just need to adapt my surfing to anticipate those slides and back off my overly aggressive bottom turns (I think I'm trying to force my longboard to get on rail when it doesn't want to). Anyway, good luck.

[NomadSurf]

As for the original poster, I forgot to mention that if you surf a shortboard on big enough and slow enough waves then you don't need to bring any speed or power as the wave will provide adequate amounts. This is why I like surfing bigger surf. It's so easy to get up speed to make whatever turns you want and you don't need to work it to keep from bogging. But really your problem may just be learning to do the right maneuvers in the right places. Yeah we all want to be able to surf better instantly but unfortunately that doesn't happen. It's such a complex thing and small things like your foot placement or how you move your arms can make a big difference. Then there is the wave and knowing when to do what is the key. I watch the pros and they time maneuvers very carefully like they may make a bottom turn and hold it for a while or do a pump or two waiting for the right moment then jam a turn. I am not there yet. I just look and think that looks like a good place to go next, be it the lip or some other spot on the wave. I just do whatever seem right there no real timing......well I guess it's sort of timing but no delayed maneuvers but it is because they know what the wave is going to do that encourages them to wait. I am just like I see a spot that looks good for a cutback or an off the lip or whatever and I am going for it thinking "hell yeah" or something equally thoughtless. This is perhaps the hardest thing to learn in surfing .....what is the wave going to do now and what will it do next? And along with this to have the presence of mind to allow it to happen.

I hear exactly what you are saying and I have really thought a lot about what everyone has said on these posts, I have to focus all my energy on my daily sessions, concentrating on my form and technique solely. Reading the waves and controlling myself better will be what improves me the most. I have always felt great knowing which waves to catch and where to catch them, but once on the face I have sooo much improvement to do. I look forward to the challenges though!