Ode to round-tailed quads.
Fuck, I'm coming round to quads after some favourable experience recently. I rode a bog standard late-80's quad set up when Winton was championing them, and after that I had a few Twinzers when Potter was putting them through their paces. None really blew me away and when quads came 'round again I took little notice.
I got myself a 5'10" fish-style quad about 18 months back (similar fin placements as yours Steve) and it was a revelation. I couldn't find top gear in the fucker on some days, so quick was it. And it held speed through long-arc turns and could be whipped through the short ones. I was riding it with H2's (those heavily canted silver things by FCS) and, great as it was, I thought I'd come up against the limitations of the board: skittery over 4 foot, bit iffy in the pit. But recently I whacked standard G5's in as side fins, and lo and behold, another revelation!
I can side slip the prick into the pit and it'll have a go in bigger surf also. Things that I didn't think quaddies could do.
I've seen the light, but now I just gotta find me some cash for another board. Might dip my hand in the collection basket...
I have to agree,
My 5'7" x 19 and 1/4" Pasison8 Magic Carpet shaped by Brenden Milc, with round tail and a single flyer is awesome ( I have called the board Mork, the Cosmic Egg, as a board of such quality deserves a name!) and has given me so much joy and laughter over the last 18 months that I am having troubles even looking at a standard shooter anymore!
Biggest surf I have taken Mork out in is 6 foot long walled Rivermouth surf- which was probably a little game (and I am not sure it would handle the same size breaking top to bottom) BUT it went unreal! I've stuck with Mauricio Gills Quad template - which is remarkably similar to Stretch's Quad template - and have found that this works in waves from half a foot to double over head - But this little opinion piece is tempting me to step up fin size and see if I can push Mork in even gutsier surf!
Sadly, I'm in the same predicament as Stu, I really want a 5'10" "step up" quad, that is a bit curvier and a fraction narrower to become my tube shooter - but have to hold out till the board fairy visits.... I suppose I could always sell my left nut....
I know what ya talking about Stu, quads can be very different beasts with a slight change of the fins....but get the right fins in the right board for the right waves and it can be as you put it, a revelation...
yep, also into my mckee quads. Has anyone ridden the rusty slayer as a quad? Meant to be a shorter wider 'step up' board but with a pulled in round tail...im thinking of pulling the trigger on one for barrelling waves.
check out "the Quadfather" at www.moresurfboards.com
round tail quads work great and are versatile too, they can be modofied to suit any type of waves or surfers. I am just about to shape myself a 5'11" or 6'0" with a bit of width as my average to good wave board...will post pics as it comes to life.....
cant believe there hasnt been any smart ass remarks bout the parrot yet ? wtf ???
still flogging you tripe on here no flies on you eh littleman? one on the otherhand has flies all over oneself and one also has wares to flog but one does it the "right way". can understand when people get new things they want to tell everyone, but you seem to be the only one flogging things here littleman why? one has never heard of more surfboards are you in nsw or qld? have you shaped any world beating boards? one thinks not. one can and does shape boards. so why dosent anyone ask one about buying ones boards? iam bigwayne after all!!
Little man ? calling me little and yourself big ( and on the net )?? ? obvious you have some issues there, and I use my real neame and put myself and boards out there for all to see, you use a fake name and dont put your stuff on here, ....your choice, and also my choice....I am not hiding anything, if ya dont like it, fine but it doesnt bother me one bit......
The parrot is a male eclectus.....excellent company. He's a good talker, very mellow.
Lovely nature.
I prefer his company to most humans.
Don't sweet talk the parrot, he will wake up next to you one morning and say "what have I done!"
mr more, one has no issue with you personally. just with your method that you use to aquire fiscal remuneration. lets set the record straight one has no need to "flog" ones wares adnausium as one said one also shapes and have a little sorry "big" shed here on the north coast of nsw but have built up a very good client base of admittedly few new clients (10%) and nearly all return clients wanting at least 2 boards a year from a majority of them. that keeps one in the coin little man as well as my sponno ( big thank you to mrs bigwayne). one is nearly tempted to swear at you and your ignorance but alas my breeding requires that one does not . never will one show pictures of ones boards or oneself on the intraweb one has no interest in that sought of recognition. as one is bigwayne and you are not it is just a case of physics one is bigwayne you are not so therefore you must be "little" see what one means? ever heard of tounge in cheek mark?
ever so sorry you took offense none intended just a little elbow in the ribs is all
flogging my stuff again but I really like this one....
6'1" x 20 " x 2 5/8"
6'1" x 19 3/4" x 2 3/8"
5'11" x 19 1/2" x 2 7/16"
Mark, I remember reading you had a demo day of your boards in Queensland. Do you have any plans of a demo day in Sydney?
unfortunately not mate, I am up in Qld and the logistics would be too hard...the board testing days are great fun for everyone, and I get to see different surfers try different stuff so I learn quite a bit on these days too, people ask my suggestions for fins and try them if I have them there, no money exchanges hands , its just coz we love surfing and it is all fun....if they really like something, then maybe down the track, they'll make contact..plus I get everones feedback from every board thats ridden, and thats gold for me....
Here's my newy, 6'0" x 19 3/4" x 2 9/16", the initial post inspired me to get one of these...tint and polish came up sweet, done by my glasser, Phil. Gunna try a few diff fin combos but gunna start with KS2.1s' and G1000 rears....it's my most standard shortboard shape by far, been riding alternative shapes so much , that standard shapes are now my alternative, ...if that makes sense...?
new board stoke never fades for me, just love the anticipation and then the feeling out process...
oops 4got dims... 6'1" x 19 3/4" x 2 5/16"
Absolutely love the look of the red railed board Mark. Love it!!!
few recent round tail quads....
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260818353306&ssPag...
a good 2nd handy for sale if anyone interested....
these look sweet.ive just bought a js kingpin and wish i looked these up earlier.
Ive been riding quads for some time now 2yrs,and found them to be alot faster and drivey.Im 93 kg and just under 6ft i was riding a 6"'4 Nick Blair performa 4 Joistik Quad board till i snapped in large eastcoast swell a few mths back.It really wasnt totally appreciated until i jumped on a 6"'3 thruster straight away and what a bog..My fin set up on the Nick Blair was standard futre plastics that came with the board then i got put onto a set of Simon Anderson fins SA4"s and what a difference agility,power,drive holding speed through turns and release,these fins improved my surfing dramatically and was fortunate enough to ride on them in solid 8/10 ft waves at a nth coast setup and the fins loved the bigger stuff and hold in barrel was amazing.Im now on a whip with 5 finbox option and always ride it as a quad with k2s up front and k1s in rear awsome board ,Merriks are $$ but if you snap one you can get exact same board off the rack and have joy again..Ps anyone rode on the Tom Carrol Aqualines that are out??? they look good
got a really sweet 6'0" x 19 3/4" x 2 9/16" for sale, like new , shaped it for myself but need coin for further design trials ... can contact me thru my site if interested. I weigh 78 kg's and its a good float for up to 82 kg's or thereabouts....
the fin set up on that quad on the left in the very first pic in this thread looks like a peice of shiesse. looks like stevie wonder set the jig. yuck
nice quad setup.....hope its an illusion,and/or the fcs stickers on the deck are on skewed.
how come backbitch hasn't chimed in with his expert advice on quads. please come back backbitch, we actually love you and i want to look at that quad avatar again. i love comedy.
yep, those stickers are not on perfect , but the guy who owned them was peeling them straight off to put a tail pad on anyway.....thanx
So Mark, you're sold on the McKee set-up for the HP shorties. Do you think it's also appropriate on the retro-style fishies as well, or would you go for the back-set-1 1/4-inch-from-the-rail kind of set-up?
I'm about to carve something out of a blank that's leaning up in my shed at the moment, a 6' shape somewhere between the new and the old, and am planning a quad set-up. But I'm not sure whether to go McKee or other. Got any opinions?
Nice looking boards by the way, and nice looking boat ramp lineup freeride. Takes me back.
The McKee suits a narrower tail in my opinion, and has more of a thruster type feel but with the additional speed,( drive ) and hold benefits of a quad... I use 3 set ups for 3 diff designs actually and even then, they are tweaked when needed...after shitloads of trials with quads over a period of a few years, I know what I like and what shapes they suit ...if ya making something semi-fish like with quite alot of tali area, I'd suggest the rears be set closer to the rail but hard to say when I dont know enough about the board....rocker, bottom contours to be considered too...if ya wanna PM me or even suss out some set ups on my site to get an idea of what I put on similar shapes, that may help...the more fins, the more critical placement becomes imo....good luck....
I am investigating new boards (everday board for 2-4' surf) and am interested to hear from Mark Pridmore and Steve Shearer as to how they think a 6' quad (Quadfather) would go at the Bells reefs, 13th plus occasional beachies.
From experience, pretty damm good.
Rode my 6'3" there last Easter in surf from 2-3ft 13th to 5-6ft Winki and they went superbly.
Could have easily rode my 6'0" in the smaller stuff.
can't beat that info, straight from the horses mouth ...happy to discuss specifics Arnie if ya want,all still customs so can be tweaked to suit the waves you surf alot... contact me thru here or thru my site if you wanna discuss the QF some more....
Hey Arnie, i've got a 6'0 19 3/4 2 9/16 Quadfather that I use around bells/winki/juc/13th and it feels great + carves up a storm (i'm 6'1 80kg). I use it in anything from 2 - 6ft and it never feels like sliding out but is still very maneuverable, it's my goto board for basically everything in vicco until bells starts going 6-8+
ps saw this thread from the front page and had to weigh in :) i'll be ordering another MORE board soon enough, even with the extra $80 freight to vicco, they're great boards
Have been riding quads for a few years - a van straalen carbon fibre with hand shaped keel fins, Gary McNeill pocket rocket FCS fins, even a fun chinese pop out inherited from a mate. All had swallow tails, the DVS in particular pretty pronounced and deep cut out. They all fly but all have their limitations eg DVS will hold in on just about anything but hard to get tail release and a bit heavy, McNeill I kept snapping the toe edge front fin out on bottom turns (fin placement?!?), and the chinese pop out no good bigger than 2 foot or so (front and back fin close to the same line maybe 5cm or less apart).
Recently got a Hayden Shapes shred sled futureflex which can be set up as a quad or thruster. Roundtail with a little flyer pulling in the rail outline towards the front fins. The HS fin placement is the two smaller back fins are further back and closer together ie further away from the front fins. Best board I've had in years, possibly ever, up to about 5-6ft (its a 6'2'' and I'm 6'1'' - usual shortboard length is 6'4'').
I have discussed a theory with a few mates, a couple of whom are shapers. This was in the context also of a recent article in Tracks where Simon Anderson was interviewed, although I think his view on quads was that re quad fin placement the jury was still out.
So the theory being: rear fin placement further forward and closer to the edge of the board (and therefore closer to the front fins) makes the board surf more like a twin fin ie generally better suited to smaller waves and quite "pivoty" in turns; when the rear fins are further back and closer together it starts acting a little more like a thruster in terms of drive and hold but doesnt drag as much.
This has kind of been my experience but maybe a bit too simplistic? I have noticed quads for bigger surf definitely have the rear fins positioned back but then I see small wave boards set up similarly. And then the tail shape changes the effect of fin placement as well.
So the question this brings to mind is how to find the right balance? And for what purpose? (Take this as practically or existentially as you like)...
I am keen to hear opinions re this - judging by previous comments there are a wide variety of these out there...
I believe the rears should be placed differently depending on the boards design, eg' a wider tailed fishy shape needs fins to be set further towards the rails and the more high-perf shapes prefer the fins to be in closer to the stringer, I have tried several different placements and worked out what I like on specific board shapes. Also surfers who only ride hruaters seem to adapt to the McKee placement ( or very similar set ups ) more easily, the shapes with wider tails and fins set on the rail require a different approach that some may take some adjusting to, while others wont give them the time to adjust and then get the full benefits from....and a less skilled surfer will also enjoy the fins set wider as it gives a stabler, less responsive ride.( while still having the attributes of extra drive and hold )..there are alot of options with quads, the key is to get the right one, preferably made by a shaper who rides andmakes alot of quads and not just a thruster with some extra fins....
couple recent ones...
trio of quads, 2 x 6'0" and 1 x 6'3" stringerless, EPS-epoxy
few random round tail quad piccies...
pete cornish made sweet pintail twins in late 80's.
modern version of same principle. nice.
*** sorry, late 70's.
ol' mate Jas Flanagan used to ride 'em in our grommie days.
Buckled my all time favourite squash tail in the last run of recent swell. Devo'd. As such, I have been looking closely at my three round tails ranging from 5'9, 5'11, and a 6'3 step up. Chasing something else, feeling wise. Atm, I'm playing around with a quad setup in a 5 '11 Stacy Labrat RT as we speak. What's the consensus 10 years on? People still exploring the feelings that an RT quad gives? Currently running some raked out EA blackstix for fronts, and some flat foil smaller rears. Had a wiggle dbah the other morning, sort of solid set wave and late drop and far out it felt good/very solid. Since then it's been a really weak 2ft but can't wait for some push. I like where this is heading already though.
Ben Harding wrote:What's the consensus 10 years on? .
I have had three round tail quads and loved all of them for cutbacks, nothing much beats the smooth feeling of a layback cutback on a round tail quad.
I still have one left in my quiver but its slightly too slim for my frame.If i end up getting fitter and slimmer i might start riding it again but its a fish with a round tail, not a shortboard.
I also had a quadfather, the first ever made by Mark Pridmore; a roundtail quad with mckee setup 6'6 with a 12 inch nose/fish nose as a step up from 5'8 or 5'10 swallow tail fish..it went unreal and had glide but handled big days at scars and supersuck, also g-land.
Sold it for 2 mill rupiah when i ran out of money waiting for tax return..
Wish i still had it. the guy i sold it to didnt like it so sold it in kuta for more than i sold it to him for...it couldnt knife too easily though, you had to widen your bottom turns in juicy barrels not knife/angle in straight into the tube.
groundswell wrote:Ben Harding wrote:What's the consensus 10 years on? .
I have had three round tail quads and loved all of them for cutbacks, nothing much beats the smooth feeling of a layback cutback on a round tail quad.
I still have one left in my quiver but its slightly too slim for my frame.If i end up getting fitter and slimmer i might start riding it again but its a fish with a round tail, not a shortboard.I also had a quadfather, the first ever made by Mark Pridmore; a roundtail quad with mckee setup 6'6 with a 12 inch nose/fish nose as a step up from 5'8 or 5'10 swallow tail fish..it went unreal and had glide but handled big days at scars and supersuck, also g-land.
Sold it for 2 mill rupiah when i ran out of money waiting for tax return..
Wish i still had it. the guy i sold it to didnt like it so sold it in kuta for more than i sold it to him for...it couldnt knife too easily though, you had to widen your bottom turns in juicy barrels not knife/angle in straight into the tube.
Nice groundy! Im looking foward to the next phase of trial and exploration. Fins are my main concern atm, upright or raked, large rears or small. Will work it out as I go though no doubt. Read abit about Marks quadfathers, might hit him up for a chat next time im up the SC. Day at a time with your fitness too mate, you can get back to where you wanna be!
No worries Ben, I also owned a rounded pin Gary Mcneil step up but asked for "more drive less turn"
in my email. The board went flat out in a straight line , i had it made specifically for supersuck big days or speedies and desert point bigger days when its a super west swell and fast tubes, would have also suited no kanduis.
Rode it at north point and it went great a little tricky on my backhand and it was a bit big surf for my standup experience( usually rode a lid on big days here) ..anyway tuberiding was treat but sometimes it would buck me off my board for some reason. also cutting back was a nightmare without moving backfoot right on the edge of the tail.
No snaps stalls either, it just wouldnt work so i often outran barrels on that board.
Prefer more toe in on my boards now.
groundswell wrote:No worries Ben, I also owned a rounded pin Gary Mcneil step up but asked for "more drive less turn"
in my email. The board went flat out in a straight line , i had it made specifically for supersuck big days or speedies and desert point bigger days when its a super west swell and fast tubes, would have also suited no kanduis.
Rode it at north point and it went great a little tricky on my backhand and it was a bit big surf for my standup experience( usually rode a lid on big days here) ..anyway tuberiding was treat but sometimes it would buck me off my board for some reason. also cutting back was a nightmare without moving backfoot right on the edge of the tail.
No snaps stalls either, it just wouldnt work so i often outran barrels on that board.
Prefer more toe in on my boards now.
Love the look of Gary's boards, was looking at getting one a couple years back but life got in the way, forgot all em' thanks for the reminder. Nice GS, goofy too :) I find some of my bigger boards a bit more of a challenge on my backhand too mate, back foot always a bit too far forward if i'm not focussing on it.
Garys shapes are top notch especially with bio flax resin, costs a $450 extra but worth it.
theres a reason Rasta rides garys shapes.
the rasta torus twin is a super fast fish that works well in good waves and shitty waves too.
I love mine,.goes well backhand too.
$450 is a big Surcharge.
Worth it though udo when the boards will last a decade or more. No visible damage to mine yet and Rasta says he hasn't snapped any of his bio flax boards yet.
Saw a poor bastard snap is almost new bioflax Gary McNeil a year or two back.
He looked devastated
4ft east coast beach break
The harmfulness of religion has long since been demonstrated and proved....but despite that I have to profess a now undying faith in the properties of the round-tailed quad.....sub sp. McKee set-up.
Mark made me a 6'3" QF which proved to be a sterling all-rounder that came to life in the upper end of it's wave range (2-6ft).
He made me two more: a new 6'3" with a slightly more refined foil for good surf and a 6'0" for smaller surf. It is the 6'0" to which I direct the following comments.
The board is very easy on the eye, especially the template curve and fits nicely under the arm; the rocker curve and rail shape feeling as pleasing as the curves of a young filly(such as I remember them to be, otherwise as cherry as my gorgeous wife).
The board surfs like it's bigger brother, which is to say, sure-footed, drivey and responsive. Mark's put more rail edge in the back half of the board so there's more release in the lip; it drives off the bottom and hooks a very tight turn from all manner of angles in the lip. It's easy riding high performance. Like all quads, it feels faster.
It carves harder.
There's more lift and drive back in the engine room compared to a thruster, less drag from the centre fin and way more control and hold than a twin fin.
Way more.
In 2-4ft pointbreak surf this board has stripped 15 yrs off my surfing life. Actually, I feel better on this board than I did at 25. Mckee quads reward surfing skills with reflexes perhaps declining with age; they give you back speed and time and control.
I've had some hand-foiled fibreglass fins made for this board (M3 and K2.1 fronts and G1000 rears) and that has just added so much extra life to the performance of this board. It's super easy to dial the fin set-up to suit your tastes.
I haven't got photes of the board being surfed but this is the kind of surf it's been out in.
These things are fcuking unreal.