On shortboards, I run a quad in hollow fast waves where you want more down the line speed and longer drawn out turns. Thruster for all others to get up under. The little fifth (the joke fin my m8's call it) I reckon gives you a middle ground between the two. . . not sure if this holds true on SUP's... I would assume so.

Quads give more pump down the line feel , but have a shopping trolley style turn , the 2+1 or Thurster will give a tighter pivot style turn that lets you accelerate more out of it. A bit of an over simplified answer but gives an easy comparison. IMHO

This is just my personal experience from today I usually use a Kelly slater k2 quad set up on my naish hokua 8'5 . Today I used the thruster set up , it was awful it felt slow and and unresponsive. I love the mix of speed , slide and turns the quad I can understand the thruster set up for controlled turns on big waves but apart from that def not forme.

Those who have experimented and swapped around between the two do you all agree on what set up between quad and thruster offers the best for stability? .. I'm trying to get the most stability out of my 9.0 Hokua.

DJ

DavidJohn said..

Those who have experimented and swapped around between the two do you all agree on what set up between quad and thruster offers the best for stability? .. I'm trying to get the most stability out of my 9.0 Hokua.

DJ

I,m far from an expert but got a Hokua9.0 as well and played the last few weeks on holiday Cornwall- U.K everyday with the fin set-up and if i,m remeber right you are like me +/- 90kg (and with my 5mm wetsuit+boots, its a couple more) so maybe my experiences help a bit.The standard backfin is imo too big and stiff for proper turning unless its fast and big.
The standard frontfins are okay, but feel a bit too flexible for me (as an windsurfer i have the tendency to put a lot of pressure on my frontfoot when bottomturning).
I tried:

FCS M5 Glassfins: maybe when i lose 10kg, but too small for 90kg+suit and a eager to hit the lip hard attitude.

FCS SA Quad Large fins:
mede the board way more wobbly, cathes later on a wave, but once you get speed you have a lot of grip.
I love this on my Widepoint8.10, bcause tha is a fat wide board, but for me the Hokua don,t need this, its already fast and grippy and with less stabiliy...naah replaced it.FCS PCQ7: slightly more stable, but still very wobly and lots of swimming. this set needs a little less speed before the fins do catch and get grip, but when padling out...I felt in a lot.

The SA front fins with an stiff M7 backfin in a longboard/FCS converter, too wobbly for my skills when paddling out but loved it on a wave: the great mix bewtween enough grip in the bottomturn and looseness in the topturn. if i was a better Supper, or could paddle more often in better conditions and getting used to this would be my set-up.

I tried the SA frontfins that I liked with 14cm winfsurf fin that is just a tiny bit longer as an M7 but smaller at the base so more or less the same in CM2.Worked a tiny bit better, but still too much falling in.
A bit of a problem is that i surf mainly beachbreaks so the point shifts a bit and you can,t unlike on a reefbreak "fall" into the wave with 2 strokes.
When paddling more and harder to catch a wave I push on my frontleg, and with such a small fin you lose grip early, the board rolls a bit...again swimming.

the perfect mix: SA frontfins and a K4 plastic 15cm windsurf backfin that ads enough length and grip when paddling out to keep everything "stable" but is very flexible so feels in the surf like a smaller one.

www.k4fins.com/fin-guide/

I,m not sure if you can buy them in Australia, if you can, for me this centrefin is a really upgrade for my Hokua :).
Other option:
Change it for the Fanatic Pro8.10.I really really like my Hokua but I demo-ed that Fanatic Pro8.10 yesterday after 1.37h hard racing a BOP style race in the batle of the coast :www.battleofthecoast.nl/ so not being on my best!!
The Fanatic has less volume but catches as early, has the same eager to go for it on a wave, is fast too but feels more stable due that extra width. Due the tiny bit of extra width or volume?? in the nose its also easier to catch a wave with. I have sometimes the bad habit to "drown" the nose of my Hokua when paddling hard, the fanatic stays easier/longer above making life simpler and let me getting away with that bad habbit of too much frontfoot pressure.
I think the Hokua is in fast hollow big waves faster and more secure, but overall I think the new Fanatic is for me the easier and probably better board.Unfortunally There is no budget to trade them in otherwise That would be my solution to create more stability ;)

hi everyone, great topic with a lot of answers, has anyone trying the 2 setups back to back on starboard pro carbon?
given the light weight and performance shape( 2013), would the different set ups act more like it would on a short board?
is the quad that fast compare to thruster and that slower to turn(i mean less aggressive?)
i'm riding thruster at the moment, love it,still playing on the position of the central fin tryin to figure it out, but wandered if it was worth ordering quads...
cheers

skebstebamal said..

DavidJohn said...
Those who have experimented and swapped around between the two do you all agree on what set up between quad and thruster offers the best for stability? .. I'm trying to get the most stability out of my 9.0 Hokua.

DJ

im running shapers stealth S7 quads in my 9'0 hokua. They work great, plenty of speed, much better than the stock thruster setup... ive got an S7 box fin coming which will b interesting to see how it goes... good i hope.

Thanks.. I'll have to check them out.

DJ

I think quad opinions vary widely because there is no industry STANDARD on where the fins should be placed among shapers. Unlike thrusters.

I think when quad fin boxes are all located near the rail you get the shopping cart trolley feel.

When quads are located to McKee standards (the only shaper publishing a standard and promoting it) you get a more well rounded feel. FYI, you can spot a shaper using McKee standards when you see the rear fins half way between the rail and stringer. Well in off the rail.

I agree the SA large front fin is a winner. No matter what board I try that fin in, I gain more speed exiting my bottom turns.

I tested quad verus thruster paddle speed. I had two identical boards. One setup quad, the other thruster. My buddy and I swapped back and forth. We both thought the quad paddled faster.

I've also found it very obvious (when using really short SUPs) that quads paddle straighter. So if you're falling a lot, paddling a little straighter might just help you catch a few more waves before you fall.

The SA large (a.k.a. SA-2) front with a PG-3 rear is a pretty nice all around combo. On a wide tail, bump the rear fin to the PG-5. This works for me using McKee placement of the boxes.

I only use thruster if I can't make quad work. I prefer SPEED

DavidJohn said..

Those who have experimented and swapped around between the two do you all agree on what set up between quad and thruster offers the best for stability? .. I'm trying to get the most stability out of my 9.0 Hokua.

DJ

I don't think there's much difference in stability between a quad and a thruster (all fins the same size) but a 2+1 setup with a bigger centre fin is definitely more stable than a quad.

DavidJohn said..

Th0m0 said..

DavidJohn said..

Those who have experimented and swapped around between the two do you all agree on what set up between quad and thruster offers the best for stability? .. I'm trying to get the most stability out of my 9.0 Hokua.

DJ

I don't think there's much difference in stability between a quad and a thruster (all fins the same size) but a 2+1 setup with a bigger centre fin is definitely more stable than a quad.

Thanks.. I've only used mine as a quad and find it pretty wobbly in rough water.. But I'm thinking that's just me..

DJ

Deeper fins (as in a single or 2+1) definitely feels more stable on a SUP than say a thruster when paddling.

DoubleO said..
Another thing I found was how the inside foil of the back fins made a difference. Depending how close to the center line they are means you need less or more inside foil.
Generally closer to the center (McKee style) = little/no inside foil, consider it a single fin spit in 2?
Further they are apart and greater the gap becomes then they need start acting like a single fin a bit more, you might go for an 80/20 foil or more?

For me, 80/20, 70/30, 50/50, in the rear quads "smooth up" a bit the ride in the rail to ride transition, introducing a little bit of a thruster feeling, it helps a lot for McKee setups where too much grip/drive in the rear fins can be quickly a lot to manage.

DoubleO said..
Fins can make a huge difference, you just need to wade through a tonne of info and try as many as possible.... I'm still learning!!!!

So true, also we have all different tastes and moods, some fins setup are interesting not because they are "optimal", but because they offer a different feeling, as if you bought another board for just some $!

AA said..

Good topic!

I recently switched my 9'2 Coco NSP from a thruster to a Quad with Nubster.

I had two solid days in 6' - 8'+ and loved the five fin set up. It felt solid and fast. I consistently made sections (backhand and forehand) I did not think I would make and when I threw in a turn it was drawn out and controlled - perfect on the bigger wave faces.

Yesterday I hit a long walling left (backhand - 4-6') that was a bit slower and fat and didn't like this set up at all.

The wave had some fast sections and then would open right up. I needed speed to make sections and a looser feel for when the face opened.
The quad with nubster felt slower and stiffer on the slower wave.

If you like your quads in big waves and want a more controlled and solid feel the Nubster is great. But that is the only time it has felt better for me.

at the moment im surfing a 9'3 sub vector
i havent surfed it as a thruster because i cant find a fin that fits the box
but i do like it as a quad in pretty much everything ive surfed it in
i did find that in conditions like the long walling lefts described above that the tail would slide when i
hit a big bottom turn, this could've been because i use kelly slater quads which some might say are a little
small and the tail is pretty wide, anyway i added a nubster which i made out of an old plastic kneeboard fin
(because it fitted into the box) and i have come to the same conclusion above, but as with thrusters i have previously
surfed it gives hold in bigger surf but still keeps the down the line speed i like in the quad setup, gonna start trying
the nubster setup with different fins in different conditions and see how i like it, can only try

Jarryd