Board design ?'s

lewmt · Since 04 Aug 2010 182 Posts MT Stoked

Twin tip design - what in the shape, design, or structure of a board helps it go upwind? - always hard to decipher MFR hype vs genuine design characteristics you should look for?

Surf design - Fish vs pintail shapes ? what are the advantages & flaws of the different tail shapes?

3 fin vs 4 fin - If you'd be mostly kiting lakes(sometimes decent rollers on big wind days) with maybe a trip/yr to a true wave location is there any advantage to a 4 fin board? Whats the biggest reason a 4 fin surfboard would be better than 3? Seems like mostly just in making huge cutbacks off wave peaks or something but I'm not sure what else may be better?

Just looking into the surf style board thing & wondering which designs have the greatest advantages - especially in the initial learning curve phase?

nickdward · Since 11 Aug 2008 130 Posts Seattle Stoked

On a wave quad surfboards generate speed on their own a bit better, whereas on a thruster you might pump more for speed...the lack of a center fin makes quads a bit easier to go upwind with a kite.

I prefer thrusters because of the solid feel through carves and hacks. Quads can feel looser and skatey, which is cool too...I've just always prefered the feel of a center fin.

On a kite, a quad (or twin) might make a more appropriate light wind board when going upwind is priority #1...or ride a skim or raceboard too. But in powered conditions or good waves I'll always pick a thruster.

As far as tail designs, a lot of it comes down to how pulled in a tail is (i.e. width). A wider tail will be more stable, but not turn as well, whereas a narrow tail will turn on a dime. For lightwind, a wide swallow tail is nice (fishy), but I prefer pin tails in good waves/wind for the more precise control.