LLs King of Fins Thread

Simon Anderson on 3 fins versus 4


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Simon Anderson's name is forever linked to the Thruster, as you would expect, he invented the damn thing. Yet Simon is often seen sporting a quad under his arm and his range of boards also includes a few quad combo models. So does he feel conflicted as new ideas encroach upon his time-tested Thruster?In a recent conversation blindboy asked Simon this question and more.

Swellnet: I've been looking at your boards and you are doing a mixture of thrusters, combos and quads. What sort of percentage of each are you doing?
Simon Anderson: Good question. I wouldn't know exactly, I'm not actually doing a quad on its own but I am doing a few combo models, it's probably about the 40% mark, I would guess. How many people are actually surfing them as quads? I don't know what the statistics on that are, or how the quad movement is going. I guess amongst the young people in particular they're interested in quads for good wave barrels.

So how would you advise someone about when to surf the quad and when to surf the thruster?
Well, initially the boards that aren't made specifically to be surfed as a quad can still work as a quad. With the models that have got the option it doesn't hurt to have the extra plugs in, it doesn't change the way the board is going to operate as a thruster. It doesn't hurt and no-one should be afraid of trying out a combination board and just getting the feel of the quad option. It's a good exercise to do whether it's a board for good waves, where you are going to get barrels and use it as a quad in that situation, or whether it's for smaller waves and you are going to use it to give you a freer, looser, faster feel.

What about your own experience with them, have you used them as quads extensively?
Yeah I went through the process and all my models that have the quad option I've tried them as quads because I need to, obviously. That was a nice exercise. The only thing that I haven't done extensively is to surf my good wave quad option boards as quads in barrels. I haven't really done that and that's primarily 'cos I don't surf barrels that often, getting on a bit, but having said that I do have a few team riders here and there and I've got their feedback on it so I have a little bit of experience as far as that goes. Again, because my boards are not just a quad board I don't have much problem recommending a good wave board with a quad option because I know those boards work well as a thruster. Otherwise I have surfed quads primarily for small wave conditions, personally that's what I'm more interested in and just giving myself a different feel as a quad board in small waves. Generally, I prefer a thruster, that may be because I'm biased or something, I don't know!I think there are two schools of thought about the quads, I touched on it a little bit before, the way you position your fins in the board and for good waves and barrels the quad fins are closer together, seemingly across the spectrum of board makers. That's because the fins that are closer together will go more like a thruster anyway and in a good wave board the tail is not going to be as wide.

How would you characterise the differences in performance?
From speaking to people rather than personal experience, as far as the barrels go, and from watching guys at the highest level in competition, I've been in France, Hossegor for the CT event and watched Parko and Mick and Kelly of course, surf really solid hollow beach break waves. From what I've been told and what I can see, the quad, obviously has more fins in the water, so it's going to hold in better on the face of a barrel and I think you can get tighter and higher.Also the other thing I noticed that again, when you take off, you've got more fins in the water and watching the guys surf with a quad you can change direction a bit quicker and easier so they can leave it to the last minute to pull up under the lip, then because they can sit higher on the face they can get more speed in the barrel when they need it.So I think they're the characteristics that help with barrel surfing, but having said that you see other guys on the tour like John John, Gabriel Medina and others who don't surf quads at all, they are just sticking with thrusters.As far as small waves go, what I have been doing, and other people as well I guess, I've got two variations in fin placement for small wave quads, one is to just go with the general theory of the good wave quad but your fin placements are in a fish style board, so it's a smaller board, already looser, just continue that good wave quad, barrel quad, fin position.The other thing is to have it in a more old fashioned quad configuration closer to the rail so you actually have the back fins further apart and that actually means less control but more speed. You don't necessarily need a great deal of control in a small wave board, the idea is to try and loosen it up as much as possible to get the most speed. So the difference we are talking about there may only be an eighth or a quarter of an inch further out, a bit closer to the rail, but never the less there is a significant difference in performance. So you have got one, fins closer together, more control, less speed; the other a little wider apart, closer to the rail, faster, looser.

So do you feel threatened by quads from the historical perspective?
My hysterical perspective? I am very threatened! It's a funny thing, I've been watching it closely. I have a bit of a vested interest I suppose, more than anyone else, but I have had a lot of credit for the thruster over a long period of time. It's been going on for thirty odd years so I have had plenty of glory and definitely the quad was threatening to displace the thruster as the new standard in high performance small wave surfing. Even in bigger waves today, in 10'6" paddle in boards for monster waves, some guys prefer a quad.So there is a threat there and I guess the jury is still out. You go back a couple of years ago and Kelly was getting right into quads and it looked like the next level of surfing was going to be done on quad boards but we'll see maybe that's not the case, I don't know. But I'm happy no matter how it goes just as long as the surfing keeps improving and we all get to benefit from advances in design. We'll see, but the jury is definitely still out, which is interesting. //blindboy