Hi all,
I'm finding varied answers on this one - multi fin boards for high wind bump and jump conditions. (25+ knots) Are they any good? Quad, thruster, Twin or Single? Which will have better control in high winds (a very hard one to answer I guess) on average from brand to brand? Do the multiple fin setups really work, ie. a thruster to a single fin, a twin to a single, and different quad setups, etc. Overall, maybe the single fin is a safer option? Cheers.
Unless you are riding waves i'd stick with a single no questions asked. There are a few twin finned freestyle boards (rrd I think) but they are the exception to the rule. There are also a few brands doing convertible thruster/singles, they could be an option as you can run them single fin on the flat water, then add in the thrusters in waves or if you find they add a bit of control in nuclear conditions. I'd steer clear of a twin or quad though as they are mostly wave boards (not blasting friendly rockered) and fairly specialised.
I have a 3 fin board, but always using single fin setup for B&J.... cover the boxes for thrusters...in "waves" I use 3 fin setup...
Ok, thanks for the reply guys. It seems single is the way to go. I have read a few articles/reviews where some of the multi fin boards also made good high wind bump and jumpers, for example, the Quatro twin current model. Small waves for me is also not out of the question but mostly bump and jump stuff. I'm not necessarily after a blasting/fast board. I'd rather control and comfort in high winds, chop and swell.
Good to get some feedback on the topic. Thanks again!
Just to throw a spanner in the works, I use my JP 93 thruster as a bump and jump board and think its ideal. Where I sail you get some big wind swell and having the thruster allows for some tight turns to take advantage of swell and all the ramps, when landing the extra purchase of the 3 fins gives me a solid landing with no spinout. It's also good for scooting through the shallows and over weed beds. I do find it a little slower to plain but it's only marginal and if I wasn't so lazy and gave the sail a pump I don't think there would be much difference at all.
My 2 cents, The thrusters make a good bump and jump board...especially if it's more jumping. They have heaps of control and don't lack in speed and if you want to hit the waves you also have a good board.
Cheers.
in a 3 fin setup perhaps smaller thrusters and larger center fin for B&J conditions would be a good thing?
i gave up my fanatic quad this year and have gone to a JP 74lt single thruster for every day use and have my OES 78lt twin with a new pair of 16cm K4 fins for the good dtl days and couldn't be happier :)
Sounds like the single thruster is a very versatile board. A friend of mine also has one and he seems very happy with it.
hey EJMACK,
I bought a 2011 JP Single thruster. Nice in the surf where I sail as it is cross onshore so the speed and early planning (for a waveboard) works well, and have also used on flat water. I leave the three fins in on flat water - not super fast, but for a wave board it really moves well and is so much nicer on the ankles and knees when it is choppy and it turns real nice too.
Yet to try on flat water with a single and covers, but this is my next step when the wind is cranking and the surf is above my ability. I suspect in single mode it will be a little faster
FYI: I am 92kg, and my 2011 Single/Thruster is 93L so it is my "small" board for waves and higher wind. For lighter winds I will use my 109L Skate which I pick up next week!
Is it worth taking any old single and whacking in a couple of thruster fin boxes, with a smidge of toe in?
Then downsizing the middle fin and adding the side biters for the big wave days?
Agree with CJW, i have multifin boards and nothing beats a single fin board blasting acrooss the bay in 25+knots in B&J
Hey Adam, good to hear you are also liking your thruster! From what I hear it's certainly worth trying it in single fin mode.
Quatro do a twin fin which performed really well in a recent magazine review/test - still a very good bump n jump board, or so the test shows. No single option on that however. Their single fin waveboard also sounds really good. I am leaning towards a single fin waveboard having tried a few now but would like to demo a multi fin board, at least one before making a decission.
As I expected, there's a lot of difference of opinion on what would suit. I should probably add, I'm looking for something that I will be using from 25-30+ knots, choppy to very choppy conditions with the occasional bit of surf (most likely small cross-on to cross-shore). 82kg sailor. Requirements for me are control & comfort in high winds/powered to overpowered conditions as I often rig bigger than I probably should but dislike being underpowered. I had a modern 86 litre fsw board but found this very harsh on my ankles and knees to the point where I could only sail for an hour in the above conditions and then had to stop. My understanding is that a waveboard, being more likely to have more rocker and possibly narrower in profile would actually be better (control and comfort) in those conditions. Slower to plane and slower in general maybe, but for me at my level it's more about survival than speed 
The fsw I had was very quick but pointless as it wasn't enjoyable for me at least.
The multifin boards I have observed in bump and jump conditions on the water seem more "planted" and more in control, which kind of appeals to me. Anyway, the plan is not to rush into this one, demo a few boards, both single and multi, and go from there. Going by the responses there's no clear answer to which is a better choice. Appreciate all the feedback!
I was going to demo a SUP 8'6 PSH this weekend but the surf shop wanted$50 and it's on loan from interstate - hope they aren't going to do that with wsurf gear - not the windsurf store I normally purchase from
The fsw I had was very quick but pointless as it wasn't enjoyable for me at least.
Cheers for all the feedback guys. Decided to hold off on anything for the near future. Still trying to justify the need for a smaller board that I may use maybe 5 times a year.
Just to confuse you a bit. I'm just back from Maui where I sailed quads and single, from mast high to 2 days of bump&Jump sailing.
Bottom line, some quads are fast and some quads are slow. Some single are fast, some single are slow. Bottom line, you can't have the same control with a single that you have with a quad and you can't carve harder than a quad.
Even if a single is faster(by testing same company, a tabou DaCurve and Pocket back to back)...after riding the quads, even on flat water I was liking more the liveliness of the quads. If linear ride and your goal is to go from A to B and Jumping the highest, I think Single fin is the way to go for you. If Going to A to B and making slashing any surfable riple even full onshore...you might consider a quads, even in pure flat water..but the quads must be a fast quads. Take 5 to 8 L bigger than you would do on a single fin.
cheers.
