New Board Issue

[thromback]

Hey,

I'm 5'8 140 lbs. I have been surfing consistantly for about 9 years - I would consideri myself intermdiate -advanced. I normally ride a 5'10 shortboard, and a 5'5 19 1/4 fish. I recently purcashed the 5'5 Firewire Activator. The board turns perfectly and slides great, but the problem is in waves that are 2-3 feet, the back of the board sinks. Also, the board doesn't seem to have a lot of drive because after I do a trick, the board seems to sink even on a steep wave.See below url for the board. I currently ride it as a quad, and the fins are quite small. If I switch it to a 3 fin setup, and put in extremely large fins, would that increase the drive? Any advice? I really don't want a bigger board or thicker.


http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/quive ... =activator

[jaffa1949]

Have a look at the fin primer it may help with your problem.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16523
Also consider that often when we are get to the extremes of length that would suit us, you find problems like what you experiencing, IMO the firewire is suffering a little of the limitations you might experience like that, it would be in the overall volume a touch thinner here a little less meat in the distribution. Often the differences in cnstruction even though dimensions are similar can be a factor.
Sure the pros like Taj can throw them around ordinary mortals need a little meat.
I'd try your fin thoughts first before anything else, your experience should be hinting to you which way to go and the tweaking may only need to be small and finally sometimes some boards just don't work with the way you ride!

[IB_Surfer]

I have experienced more drag with bigger fins, not more drive. What I did with my quad was put centers in the back instead of side fins, really sped it up a bunch...

[thromback]

So I tried the MX FCS fin quad setup, and it seemed too stiff - but had more drive. I am going to try a standard 3 fin setup with the MX fins and see if it goes ok.

[IB_Surfer]

Also, for quads, I have found that most shapers use too big a back fin, mine came with G5 fronts and g3 backs, I switched to GX centers in back and found the board to glide easier and fly through sections but still have enough hold in steeper waves

[thromback]

So I had about a stomach high semi-glassy day today. I had one of the best sessions of my life today. I still think I'm going to switch from 3 fins to 4 because of the increased control/speed. I highly recommend the fire wire activator for anybody looking for a groveler in a 3-6 foot wave that kills it.