It seems Kauli Seadi has been fine tuning his wave ridding in Carbo Verde ahead of the first PWA wave sailing comp of the year.
From the reports and pictures he has been doing some wave shredding on a tiny little quad fin.... just over 2 metres long by all accounts !



Will be interesting to see if he unveils and uses the quad fin in the comp... and to see what he can do with it !

Twinny vs Quad vs Thruster vs Single.... I can hear the internet wailing beginning to build already

cant wait till they bring out a hexafin board... get to spend 6x the amount on fins.

quatro should do the first production.

and to think, so many red thumbs were given.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=41663&SearchTerms=quad,fin

Hmmm. I'll start the internet wailing
How many people on here sail as good as Kauli, and sail conditions like Cabo daily?
Relevant to any of us? Nup.

I was excited when they brought out EVO's and RWW etc similar as they worked better in average to crap waves, but still sailed DTL glassy waves really well.

I do not get turned on by anything new that is sailed by a pro in perfect conditions.... until I see it rip in onshore choppy mush, and perfect DTL stuff, sailed by 'normal good' people

Long time before I'm convinced


Incidentally, plan shape is very Bombora Trifin.... maybe the old timers had it right the first time

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WindWarrior said...
From the reports and pictures he has been doing some wave shredding on a tiny little quad fin.... just over 2 metres long by all accounts !

There is short, and then there is too short. What next, a 1 metre board?
This one will just be a novelty board that only works for guys like Kauli. If it's released commerically, it will suck the usual people in that think they can sail like Kauli (and they will give glowing reports about it on Seabreeze ). At least that will be entertaining.

Some people cant handle change and progress

Progress or rotation? Original single fin, Twinnies were the go 15 years ago. Same idea as now. Thrusters 10 years ago. Than Single fin back again.....etc etc...

Still plenty of people swear by thrusters. Especially in wa.
If you try something and it works for you, enjoy it. If I try
A board with 8 fins and I like it, I'll be usin it. If it wasn't for
designers trying new things we"we'd still be riding one designs.

I think single fins will always have there place. As for twinnies there different this time round and I think they are here to stay now untill they come up with somthing better, quads maybe hmmmm we will have to wait and see.

I agree Dan!

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FilthyAmatuer said...

cant wait till they bring out a hexafin board... get to spend 6x the amount on fins.

for 4 future fins on a surfboard/kiteboard you only pay about $70. Because each fin is smaller that take less load and can be made from cheaper materials and still get great performance.

I dont care how many fins my board has as long as it works for me.

The top guys could ride a door and still rip.

What next, put a rig on a surfboard

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dan berry said...

we'd still be riding one designs.

Good idea, its definatley whats happening right now

????

..four times more seaweed stuck in the fins..

That board would be way draggy with that fin configuration.

I wonder if they have tried canard quad setups on a windsurfer. To me, a canard quad is the logical improvement on a twin fin. Twice the grip with the same amount of drag. Super quick, super grippy.


The key is in the spacing and relative angle of the fins. 1mm can make all the difference. From the pic of Kauli's board, it looks all wrong. The canard effect would not be working, and I can guarantee it is slow.

Surfboards have been getting shorter and shorter, with the new fish revolution going back to the extreme shortness from the 70s. In the late 90s, I would have surfed nothing shorter than a 6'1. My current board is a 5'5 quad (above). I mean what is the point of all that nose in front of the board? Once you are up and planing it just gets in the way.

No reason why windsurfers can't go shorter.

Open your mind.

Riding short boards is nothing new for kauli, he Waz doing it
Back in the late nineties. Probably got put onto it by keith
Who also used to ride tiny boards. I bought one of keith boards
when I was over there years ago, just over 7 ft long and a heap
Of tail kick, one of the funnest boards I've ever had. As long
As you have proper wave face to be on and get speed out of
( which cabo certainly has )you can get away with a tiny board

I don't think they'll be doing production boards this small for obvious
reasons but for a place like cabo they would be perfect

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Incidentally, plan shape is very Bombora Trifin.... maybe the old timers had it right the first time

Yeah and the tail is swallowtail with wings which is bombora newtoy, I new it was a great board

http://www.mckeesurf.com/brucemckee/quattro.htm

This a mate of mine who I used to work with at Bombora back in the 80's. He was responsible for a few of the board designs. One of those great guys who was always experimenting with different shapes and designs. His 4 and 5 fin setup on surfboards is proving pretty popular. His site makes for a good read.

IT'S NOT THE CRITIC WHO COUNTS,
NOT THE ONE WHO POINTS OUT HOW THE STRONG MAN STUMBLES
OR HOW THE DOER OF DEEDS MIGHT HAVE DONE THEM BETTER.
THE CREDIT BELONGS TO THE MAN WHO IS ACTUALLY IN THE ARENA,
WHOS FACE IS MARRIED WITH SWEAT AND DUST AND BLOOD,
WHO STRIVES VALIANTLY, WHO ERRS AND COMES SHORT AGAIN AND AGAIN,
WHO KNOWS GREAT ENTHUSIASMS, THE GREAT DEVOTIONS, AND SPENDS HIMSELF
IN A WORTHY CAUSE, AND WHO, IF HE FAILS, WHILE DARING GREATLY,
SO THAT HIS PLACE SHALL NEVER BE WITH THOSE COLD AND TIMID SOULS WHO KNOW NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT.

Theodore roosevelt

Thanks sick_em _rex for sharing that site

So, Kauli's experimenting with fins. By chance I just watched RIP - Robbie was obviously doing the same back in the mid 90's. When he carried his rig to the water at Hookipa he had a tri fin, but during the segment he was also sailing a single and at times a double. I lost count of the times the shots showed either 1, 2 or 3 fins. But he was ripping on everything. Obviously. Legend.