I am about to order a new board for an OS trip later this year that will be mainly hollow reef breaks. I will be looking for something that will get in early, get down the line with plenty of hold and then get out without any damage.
I will obviously discus with the shaper when the time comes but I see a lot of the bigger wave boards have a quad fin set up which I believe provides more speed, less manoeuvrability and I'm not sure about hold.
I actually don't have a single fin longboard (all are thrusters) but I would have thought a single with side bites and a rounded pin tail would give the most hold of any fin set up.
Can someone explain what differences I can expect between a quad setup and a single (with sides).
Ta
Quad fins on big wave boards (20ft plus waves 9ft plus boards) are all about speed control and removing cavitation that occurs at high speed...generally the fin clusetr is further forward on those monsters as well
Single fins will allow better speed control and allow you to surf higher up the face...the fabled "high line"...but are probably slower and less manvoverable
Quad fins will allow better control in the tube and are the fastest fin configuration
It all depends on what type of waves you surf and how you want to surf them you mention hollow reef breaks so I'm assuming somehwere tropical as opposed to somewhere like J Bay or Winki...if thats correct I would be looking at the quads as you won't really be gunning through flat spots at places like Fiji and Indo its more about pulling in and then generating speed
Speak to a guy like Mitchell Rea from out island who is a gun shaper and spends a lot of time in the waves your describing...theres no wrong choice 
I find singles (pure singles) can drop out of the face if you pull too high, but the side bites add just enough hold to draw that same line. I also reckon singles match the speed of the wave - it's not that they go slower it is just that they hold in the pocket better. Other fin configurations can generate enough speed to outpace the wave (that's meant in a bad way).
In hollow reeling reefs I really like 2+1 as they make all the sections but stay in the pocket well. That's for waves 4-8 foot. After that I just want a monster board that can out run everything.
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Thanks for the feedback so far. This is the main wave of the trip - maybe not quite that big but consistent same shape.
I had a quad Classic Mal for a few years, the quad set up made staying high in steep sections super easy, I got heaps of speed with minimal movement (just point and shoot) and at tops speed it really loosened up.
Good in a barrel as well, really clung in there.
I love Single Fins but personally found them no good for fast waves or waves when you need to take off get some grab and get the hell out of there, thrusters & 2+1 are pretty good but found they need a bit of movement to make the speed.
Found the quad was really easy to handle at speed, you can really just sit on the fins and go really fast and smooth, liked that style of surfing the quad gave me on solid days (solid for my local anyway)
It was the best beach break board I have owned as well, just made waves that I could not believe possible seem easy.
My only regret was that I never invested in good fins, now know they make a lot of difference.
Select to expand quoteCTS67 said..
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Thanks for the feedback so far. This is the main wave of the trip - maybe not quite that big but consistent same shape.
Looks a lot like Sim off Nth Sumatra ??
This is my semi gun mal type thing. Have the best of both worlds with the fin setup but you may want to go more gunny if its more serious waves you are wanting to go for. The Drip has a nice selection of boards for the type of waves you are takling about.
