Tasman said...Good idea about the wave fin in a smaller size(can sand one of my other ones down), but I think that in the end smaller gear will be a better choice.
Has anyone used the quads(four fins) in strong winds as I hear they are good in those conditions and I will be able to wave sail with it as well?
Don't know about a weight belt
though.
I was at the beach for three days at Easter with my 68 l Acid and a Demo 77 litre Starboard quad. On the first day it was blowing over thirty knots and I started by sailing the Acid which was pretty in control but a little harsh and aerobic to sail in the very messy choppy conditions. I had a 22 fin in the board which I sometimes use in onshore junky conditions and it would have definitely been a smoother ride with a 21 or 20 cm fin. Then I switched to the quad and was expecting it to be much to big for the conditions, but this was not the case, the quad felt more settled and easier for wave riding in the windblown slop.
The following day we sailed in slightly lighter conditions and a smaller swell. In these conditions there was less advantage in being on the quad as there were less rideable waves and the bump and jump capabilities of the single fin were more obvious. On that day I had the Quad well overpowered with a 5.3 in solid 4.5 conditions and its interesting how I could feel a couple of the fins releasing but rarely would all of them release. The big plus though is still the way the quad generates speed down the line in less than perfect conditions and also its willingness go tighter through the bottom turn even when decelerating. It is in these awkward bottom turns on slow waves that a narrow single fin can get a little sticky in the water. It will be interesting to sail a quad on the west coast in bigger and more powerful conditions as these conditions are more what the Acid was designed for..
Obviously I have only sailed a multi fin board a few time and there are plenty of far more experienced and skilled sailors than me who have a better grasp of the differences between multis and single fins. There is also a lot of variation in multi fin designs, so do your research.
Have I ordered myself a new quad? Yes I have. Have I mentioned this to Gill yet? Maybe I haven't. Am I selling my single fins? Definitely not, to me they seem as different as a fork and a spoon.
