Please forgive my blissfull ignorance but having had the thruster
set up on surfboards for a long time and recently with the Sup boards I have just purchased a secondhand LSD fish that has a quad setup it doesn't have the middle fin box to work out the difference but what is the difference ?and what should be expected from it I know its pretty fast of the turns but so is the thruster, is it a gimmick ?

laceys lane said...

hi,yes- cheap thrills= quads

how many really good surfers use quads all the time- not a lot

MMMM!
Dunno about that
Boils down to the way you like to surf
Quads give you more of a skatey feel, have had the quad set up on all of my boards, stand up customs for the last three years and short boards for probaly eight. Did thrusters for a while on my shorties but allways preferred twinnies, bonzers or quads. Just preference, no right or wrong, surf what feels good for you and ignore the hype.
Cheers
Sparx

What is the most stable for standing while waiting for a wave, Quads or Thruster?

warwickl said...

What is the most stable for standing while waiting for a wave, Quads or Thruster?

thruster. quads don't seem to centre the board up. i see so many guys messing around with quads and quads fins aren't cheap. surf shops must be laughing. it takes a lot of trail and error to get it right. you also need a decent size to get them to drive a sup, then you need a decent wave. i tried guys quads, while they are loose they don't go anywhere hence the cheap thrills- wiggly turns.

i also see a lot of people doing shopping trolly turns, it kind of looks erratic. a few that have gone back to thruster type setups surf better imo, but it's like a disease or something any go back to quads again.

i believe you have to be very talented to get the most out of quads and stil be able toi hold a good technique.

i know heaps of ex quad riders shortboarders. most of them including myself wee trying to get them to go like a thruster- go figure

flame on
cheers

Quad fin placement is also a huge factor, if the shaper doesn't know what he's doing they will never feel right. As Lacey said above most people use too small fins and the board wiggled around instead of drive.

My last and new SUP are quads, I went back to thrusters on my shortboards. I feel that a quad on SUP gives you better hold on the steep part of the face and through turns. On the shorty I prefer the sharper turn from the Thruster.

I love the conspiracy theory on selling an extra fin too. Classic.

warwickl said...

What paddles the straightest line - quad or thruster?

Thruster for my money - I rode my Coreban fusion as a thruster for 9 months - then changed over to the stock plastic quads - couldnt keep it in a straight line at first and any current or really rapid stroke turns the board around, had to buy a smaller blade paddle to reduce the power and increase the stroke rate and stop the spin - does everything the thruster does but its a little too easy to lose the tail - in the surf we normally ride locally the extra squirt off the bottom and speed off the take off is well worth it.

It just takes a while to get used to riding a quad set up - I've been riding short board thrusters since 1981 (after seeing Simon Andersons at the BElls comp) and would prefer them on my shortboards (not that I ride it too often any more).

Different fins may make a big difference - but If the stockies work - why not just leave it alone and save yourself a few bucks.

Enjoy the quad