Just got another board that has the us style longboard center box with fcs outers. Just wondering what fins people have tried and what you have found with the 2 plus 1 setup. Smaller middle fin or bigger ect. Any feedback would be great before I blow money on more fins.( which I am happy to do ??)

What board did you buy?

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Frothinpaddler said..
Just got another board that has the us style longboard center box with fcs outers. Just wondering what fins people have tried and what you have found with the 2 plus 1 setup. Smaller middle fin or bigger ect. Any feedback would be great before I blow money on more fins.( which I am happy to do ??)

What sizd is the board? What sort of surfing do you like?

Just got a 8,3 yob carbon one of the new surf series. 107 litre. Haven't had a chance to test yet, but other board I have had for a while is a 8,10 prowave 119, so dropping some litres and hopefully it's doable at 90kg.

Anyways prowave is all futures. But need to get some fins for this board. Usually some fun beach breaks punchy little peaks but some long running reef breaks as well. Read about bigger fronts and smaller middle for some release ? But yeh just seeing what others use in such a set up ? Cheers

Basically, you have 3 main options:

- a thruster setup: all fins of the same size, and you play with the rear fin position to adjust drive/looseness to your liking. The bread-n-butter of modern surfing.

- traditional 2+1: a bigger center fin (6" to 8") with smaller fronts with a 80/20, 70/30, or even 50/50 profile: aka sidebites or quad rears. Gives you the more positive grip feeling of a single, with the sidebites adding hold and acceleration when turning, but letting the central fin dominate the handling.

- bigger sides, with a smaller center. You can go with a small difference (Al Merrick or Harley Ingleby sets), or a big one (Twin fins+ trailer sets). More drive at the bottom and acceleration, but still quite loose on top turns.

I prefer the last one, but it is because I have a shortboard culture and want something lively. A lot of people like the second one, which feels more reliable.

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colas said..
Basically, you have 3 main options:

- a thruster setup: all fins of the same size, and you play with the rear fin position to adjust drive/looseness to your liking. The bread-n-butter of modern surfing.

- traditional 2+1: a bigger center fin (6" to 8") with smaller fronts with a 80/20, 70/30, or even 50/50 profile: aka sidebites or quad rears. Gives you the more positive grip feeling of a single, with the sidebites adding hold and acceleration when turning, but letting the central fin dominate the handling.

- bigger sides, with a smaller center. You can go with a small difference (Al Merrick or Harley Ingleby sets), or a big one (Twin fins+ trailer sets). More drive at the bottom and acceleration, but still quite loose on top turns.

I prefer the last one, but it is because I have a shortboard culture and want something lively. A lot of people like the second one, which feels more reliable.

I agree with what Colas said with the 3 set ups plus add the quads into the mix if you have the boxes.

ATM I am using MR twin fronts or future T1 with small centre trailer 90mm and am enjoying the speed , no drag of a large centre fin plus super loose. Definitely super lose coming off the top. This board is 7'8 . I like smaller quad rears such as controller rears with Pancho Sullivan fronts in the quad style.

Only tend to use larger centre and smaller sides on my 10 foot nose rider.

Try changing around what fins you have and have fun swapping them around. Certainly cheaper option than buying a new board. Or swap fins with mates till you find a setup you like.

Cheers for the replys guys. I am leading to larger side fins with a smaller center.

I am looking fcs G9s which are hard to find somewhat, but wondering if they will be too much fin or not. And then will need to get an adapter or a smaller center fin. The yob only has 3 fin set up. Mmmm

The FCS adapter to put FCS fins in US Box work quite well, and i a good solution for the thruster or larger side fins with a smaller center setup.

Cheers Colas, that is a good idea then I can use the fins I have ????

Hey Frothn, I ride the 8'6" YOB SP with the Shapers S9 sides and the S7 centre fin. Ive found this setup to be really useful in a wide range of conditions, and by moving the centre fin, you can really change the feel of the board. I've been experimenting with S5 and smaller centre fins and things are getting very interesting ( very loose but dropping a bit of drive). So S9 sides and even S9 centre is a good start, and then mix it up from there. Guys like Tim C and Larry surf the YOB SP in a variety of good surf conditions a lot. Tim surfs with fairly small fins ( all around S7 or S5), whilst Larry surfs with S7 or S9. Mix it up and keep a log book of what works or not. You'll quickly get a handle on what suits you and the waves you're surfing.
Cheers
Lach

I run most of my sup boards as thrusters. Swapped out the shaper s7 center for an s5 on my 8'3" Yob and it livened it right up. I run the same s5 in an older 9'26" C4 Batwing and it's by far the best combo for me. The smaller fin seems to have a lot less drag and with the fin right back in the box still has good drive.

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SRrat said..
I run most of my sup boards as thrusters. Swapped out the shaper s7 center for an s5 on my 8'3" Yob and it livened it right up. I run the same s5 in an older 9'26" C4 Batwing and it's by far the best combo for me. The smaller fin seems to have a lot less drag and with the fin right back in the box still has good drive.

How much do you weigh? I run the same set up currently on a 8 vex pro and love the dragless feel and good rail to rail but miss a bit of drive. Might try centre fin further back.

Cheers for the replys guys. I'm leaning towards s9 sides and then will experiment with smaller back fin and have always like a smaller back fin in my fish shapes. All part of the experiments. I also better get a conversion box then I can use all my fcs fins I have. ???????? Cheers guys

You can buy a finbox adaptor box from most surfshops for about $18 from Shapers on the Gold coast or your local surf shop. Fin is held in by 2 finbox screws and I have never lost a fin yet. Move the fin back and forth in the box and enjoy the trials.
They can only be used for FCS fins only. No future convertor box made atm.
Try even shaping your own short centre trailer from an old plastic fin. Jigsaw and sand paper

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Frothn said..
Cheers Colas, that is a good idea then I can use the fins I have ????

Yes. As wazza66 said they work and are quite reliable.

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Kakkerlak said..

SRrat said..
I run most of my sup boards as thrusters. Swapped out the shaper s7 center for an s5 on my 8'3" Yob and it livened it right up. I run the same s5 in an older 9'26" C4 Batwing and it's by far the best combo for me. The smaller fin seems to have a lot less drag and with the fin right back in the box still has good drive.

How much do you weigh? I run the same set up currently on a 8 vex pro and love the dragless feel and good rail to rail but miss a bit of drive. Might try centre fin further back.

Only 63kg, riding a 7'10" Jacko with same size thruster setup but in Futures. The s5 in the Batwing is a Shapers US box. I find the thrusters easier to lay over than a quad. Noting that all of those boards at around 105l are a little big for me.

What S9 s are you guys using ?

S9's are a Shapers brand thruster setup.
You can buy them in S5 smaller, S7 Medium or S9 Large.
S9's are also the same as the well known Jackson Close fin set with his name/signature on them.
Good fins for the sides teamed up with a S 7 centre rear

Sounds about perfect. Time to order me thinks and play. Cheers

Just found and ordered the Jackson close 2+1 set and with rear quads. 5 fin set for a huge 110 posted bargain of 2018