G'day all,
I wanted to know your opinions and views on 4 fins vs 3 fins in a surfboard?
I've seen heaps of board manufactures out there put 5 fin options in boards so you can change from 4 fins to 3 fins, obviously to change characteristics but I was wondering what do people prefer and why?
I tested my board today with 3 fins (from 4 fins) and it tracked better in choppy waters but it didn't turn as well but because it tracked sort of straighter, it went upwind a bit better.
What about if I put 5 fins in, have you tried it, did it work?
What have you found, is there a general rule of thumb one should follow??
cheers for your input,
Robbie 
This is very difficult to answer and a board shaper would give you a better idea.
It depends on the board shape and size as well as the fins.
Generally speaking:
Quads are faster than thrusters (the fins are usually smaller on quads and the water clears the tail with less turbulence/drag)
Thrusters have more power in the turn, quads tend to slide out with increased pressure (a big bottom hand turn on a wave, the thruster will have more chance of holding it, the quad will tend to slide or skip out)
Thrusters tend to have longer drawn out turns, quads tend to be quick and snappy as well as skatey.
The tail shape differs too, quads tend to be fitted to a wider trunk style tail which makes snap turns and slide turns easier to do because of the extra tail area and smaller fins. A traditional thruster style board will have less tail area, even a pin or round tail that helps hold the tail in during powered turns.
As your board is a mix, the thruster setup won't hold as much power in the turn as a more traditional board but due to the tail area will allow you to snap and slide the tail easier.
The thruster probably tracks better as it will hold its line easier. I think the quad will track upwind as well but you will need to use the fins more and probably need to ride it flatter to achieve this, similar to a race board technique.
With these boards it is a compromise
I would use the quad setup for powered up riding in mush and beach breaks.
When you get into better quality waves and want the board to surf, then I would lean towards the thruster setup and use the kites power less. This is a lot more advanced though.
I don't think five fins will work, there will be too much drag and I think the board will be hard to turn and sluggish but I have never tried it.
As I said the above comments are very much a generalisation. I hope it helps.
makes sure you go for a 5 Fin option.
Sure a thruster might work better in some conditions and a quad in others but if your riding in a range of conditions like 99% of us, then it opens up your possibilities.
Try mixing it up and ride what suits in certian conditions.
Ive even ridden my north WAM (5 fin) as a twinny, in flat water to make it loose and easy to spin around on.
if your keen on the type of fins, ive found the.
FUTURE TECHFLEX YU are good for thrusters.
and the
KINETIC X4QUADS as quads.
enjoy
let us know how you go
both Mick and Parko went the quad option this year at Teahupoo
so it was an all quad final.. says something about quads v's conditions
Hey guys,
great info, cheers for that.
I've riden my Airush 5'10" Cypher only once with 3 fins, usually 4 fins and wanted to get a bit more of a carve in my gybes, a bit more drawn out but find the board sort of stalls a bit so to maintain the carve I had to snap it more and use the kite. Easy enough but I thought, is it the fins that could be doing this to me???
So I tried the thruster setup but the fin I used came from my old Cyclone surfboard and its smaller than the others. Not thinking this would be a problem but then I got thinking, would the size matter. I noticed some boards have smaller center fins, mates Cabrinha comes to mind, but how much smaller should or could they be? Would a larger one help?
I used to know the ins and outs of different fins back in my pole boarding days but surfboards being used as kite board have slightly different rules to apply due to kite pull etc etc.
Thanks for your time,
cheers,
Robbie
)
Basically what the others said quad is way quicker but thruster is better for straight line stability,5 fins all at once is crap twin fin is quick as but loose on the tail ,rode two identical boards back to back over two days one quad one thruster now all I ride is quad,although it all depends on the board have ridden narrow tail thrusters that have been way faster than wider tail quads.
Im 100kgs and mainly ride a North WAM.
I find the tri setup feels much nicer and closer to surfing when really powered up.
However, I generally ride it as a quad with Simon Anderson large quad set. I find that this gets the board up and going sooner and dont lose ground from being a bit underpowered. It does feel a bit more "tracky" - as in wants to take a line. I find you can really push against the quads to make ground upwind better that the tri where it seems to be more rail based.
The tri setup seems to feel more off the tail and rail - if that makes sense..... (the tri fins are the large North fins supplied with the board)
... great info again guys, thanks!
Had a great ride yesterday on thruster setup and it appears I like the less twitchy feel the 3 fins give me but I'm still learing the board so I don't really know which I prefer yet, not enough experience. I find I go better upwind with 3 fins which seems counter intuitive so it must be a 'me' thing!!
I supose what I should do is swap over back to back on the same day and then see.
cheers again,
Robbie
