Hi Grumplestiltskin

Yes the side fins are toed in a little. I ride both my 77L and 85L euphoria with the "widow maker" set up (small side fins, bigger back fin) most people I know on these boards seem to be the same, although the traditional thruster (all three fins the same size) apparently works well too.

With my amature knowledge of board design the reason the three-fin set up works well is that they power out of turns really well (actually can gain speed) Just like a surfboard where you can generate speed just by turning. That is the first thing most people mention after riding one is how fast they come out of gybes (and turns) and in such small arcs. The other advantage is the height you can achieve.

I always thought that the reason the Euphoria works well with three fins is the tail width, others (more traditional tail width) would perhaps have too many fins for the amount of board there is. But I am not sure, I guess the best person to ask is Marty (he shaped the damn thing)

But am keen to hear other points of view or explanations.

What I like about thruster is grip grip and more grip

Upwind, on a wave, gybing, you get grip grip grip,


Disadvantage is they create extra drag so not fastest board, tho no slouches either!

BRING BACK THE TWIN FIN !
I've had singles, twins, and thrusters love the twinnies but as they're out of fashion resale is poor, they're loose like a thruster but without the drag, grip well as the fins are closer to the rails and with the right size and set up point upwind really well. They will come back into fasion! just have to wait until someone in the top 5 decides to use one.

Here is my 2 cents worth.

I THOUGHT i liked thrusters - rode them for 3 seasons in the 90's and admittedly they are loose (which is great for micro surgery on small waves -waist high and under- which is where i think they work best.)

Problem is you get used to what you sail and dont realise that you have gone off course... i was wiping out ALOT in good waves because the lil fins didnt have drive and projection out of the lip when the surf got to head high or larger. My jumping act strangely lost some of its magic and i couldnt figure out why..same reason - no projecting jumps .. the thruster set up had a wobble on release from the ramp which would throw a backie or fwd off a little (or a lot)

jumped back on a single fin after 3 seasons and within 2 weeks my sailing confidence had tripled. Looking back i regret the 3 years sailing development i lost by riding thrusters (although i did have some fun small day sessions)

Look at the ultimate punisher style riders today like Polakow (check his insane table top aerials in SPAM) and Scotty and i think its clear that singles offer way more development and room to move with your sailing. The widow makeris worth a look - hats off to Blair Simpson for carving some sweet lines on that set up.

Thrusters may seem different enough to be fun but i firmly believe they will handicap your sailing if you use them for long enough.

quote:

---

Originally posted by hardman


Disadvantage is they create extra drag so not fastest board, tho no slouches either!

---

I think I need to clarify this point as it may give wrong impression.

Absolute top speed is probably slower. However, on average, because it planes earlier, and stays on the plane longer, on average the board is faster, than most around me, as is often the case on marginal daysz I'm planing while others aren't, or just going faster than others because of it's superior planing abilities, and larger sail carrying capacity!!!!.

i think you'll find most of the team riders echo what i said above - bugger all - none riding the thruster set up - almost all go for the widow - are you actually sailing proper (head high plus with 3d throw and pitch) waves with your thruster set up? If you are sailing soft mushy waves i can understand your attraction to the thruster.

Fundamentally there is virtually nothing you can do with rail shaping to make up for grip and projection offered by the depth of the single when it becomes part of a throwing lip.

PAt, Blair, Bin Laden etc are all goin Widow which is far closer in feel to a single than a thruster.

We can agree to dis agree but just dont want anyone to be mislead about the whole thruster issue

What I reckon is people should try for themselves!! Delta Euphoria's are available for Demo, make up your own mind about whether the board is for you!!!

quote:

---

Originally posted by eyespy

Hardman you have no cred! I'm sorry to let you know this but I have seen you sail in waves up north and at your local break, your idea of a bottom turn is a half gybe way out in front of the wave and maybe a few little wiggley turns nowhere near the walling up face. So how can you possibly bleat on about how good a board is when you can't use it as it was intended to be used. Therefore your post is misleading the only cred you have is that you post a lot on the forums therefore you have high profile and people think you know what you are talking about. Maybe you should let readers know that from a bump and jump style of sailing this board works well for you. Projecting off the lip ?? come on I've seen you sail you have no hope of doing that! Yes you can talk about it planing early and gybing because you can do these things.
Before anyone listens to Hardmans advice I reckon they should go down and watch him wavesail!
Someone like Mattressbuster he rips and has major CRED
Sorry to burst your bubble with that reality check Hardman.


"EMPTY VESSELS MAKE THE MOST NOISE"

---

LETS GET INTO CHARACTER ASSASSINATION THANKS< LOVE THE SPIRIT OF COMARADARIE HERE!!!

The only credibility I have on this forum here is that I occassionally make some people laugh, big full stop. I've always admitted I'm a crap sailor, never said otherwise! I'd like to know the agenda's behind people getting their noses out of joint?????

Hey crew let's be cool, we all love our sport, and have different things to contribute. I love the Delta Euphoria, it's the best board I've ever ridden, I've paid full price for it and the board my wife bought, which I bought coz she loved mine so much. She rode it for the first time today and says it's better than mine. Have a try before you buy have either of you guys tried it?

Chill guyz no-one takes what hardman says seriously anyway, my credibility here is comedianship, not windsurfing ability!!