I recently put some FCS MR TX side fins on my board after snapping one of the standard M7's.
First I tried it as a twin with no center fin and it was really fun in small waist high waves. Super loose, almost like a snowboard the way you could spin it around and tail slide everywhere. I loved the way it bottom turned too. The down side was it paddled in circles and I knew it would be no good once the waves got bigger.
So I added a 4.5" Futures center fin set in the middle of the fin box and took it out in some good shoulder to head high waves.
It went well and paddled similar to the standard set up ( M7's and 6 .5" Center fin ).
It felt a little too stiff off the top and much harder to slide the tail. My question is that I'm wondering whether moving the center fin all the way forward will make much of a difference to the drive of the board. With the standard set up I used to run it all the way forward and it was good up to overhead + a bit waves (3-4ft).
I plan to play around with the settings but Its hard to come in, make adjustments and go out again several times in a session so I thought some expert advice might speed up the process.
Thanks
i played around with that kind of set up for a bit, even posted scotties not tripping. while it was fun for a bit and felt good,i sorta lost my way with my surfing. went back to the 2 plus one setup using large side fins(ie fcs m7 size) and not too wide a base mid size centre fin or a big based small centre fin. i will use a true thruster setup too if it suits the board, bu the 2 plus one setup has been around for a long time, it works and is pretty hard to beat
cheers
Scotty's still tripping as always LL. Pity there's no waves to trip on right now.
Could throw a heap of options at you here, but first would try the original hero centre fin forward (where you had it before) with the MR's. It is a pretty forgiving, upright fin, so might work.
If you want to keep the 4.5 with the MR's, try it forward for small waves and right back in bigger stuff. I find the bigger the sides and smaller the centre, the more unstable and yawish the board becomes to paddle tho, and that the 4.5 works best with sides not much bigger, or more closer to thruster setup.
Have a Hero demo in store that I run with G-AM sides and original centre, but liked it better with M3 sides.
Heavier guys seem to like a more drivey centre fin with smaller sides. Shapers 7" Retro Dolphin and SX sides are a popular combo.
Scotty
Hey Scotty I've been playing with the quad setup in my Fusion and i remember talking to you at the SUPSA day a few months ago but can't remember the setup you were using in them. What was it again? I've been using the controllers lately which have been working well.
cheers peter
Hi Peter, controllers are good call on the Fusion, they're good on the wider tail boards.
Was probably the Futures 512T1 with 2 TT1's. Set comes as twins (T1) plus one stabiliser (TT1) so need an extra. Got demo set you can grab if you're passing by sometime to see how they go.
Hey thanks guys for your replies.
I initially started off trying the standard 6.5" SB center fin and smaller sides. First up tiny GX's and then LB-1's. The GX fins felt terrible - no drive and very vague feeling. The LB-1 set up was not bad, a bit looser, so I kept that in for a few weeks but when I tried the standard m7's back in one day it was much better. So after reading many posts on Seabreeze about the MR twins I had to give them a go.
I will try the MR's with a few other center options and positions and see how it goes. The board seems to just love big hard bottom turns with the MR's and that suits my style.
I think my next board I would like a quad option.
Thanks again. Any other suggestions?
For my 2 bobs worth, the best setup I've had on my hero is the supplied centre fin and inner foiled fcs M7s on the sides, a close second (better in smaller waves) is a set of the shaper s9s (I think thats the model), all 3 the same size.
I'm about to try some C-drives on the side, will let you know the outcome.
nick
On my Converse, the best setup I have tried is Shapers SMF-L in the sides and the standard Starboard fin in the centre, pushed all the way forward. Works well for me in just about everything up to double oh. I've got the Shapers S9's all round at the moment but not convinced they are better than the SMF-L's. Unfortunately SMF-L's only come as a thruster set so you'll have to buy all three if you wanted to try them.
You are the future of SUP boarder paul. Have you ordered your 6'6 Impossible yet? 
Most people here don't agree with me but I have always been of the belief that using big fins in a board creates speed. With speed anything is possible. I am not really into slipping, sliding and turns like that. I try to use my rails and I also find that big fins allow my board to stay on rail longer through turns rather than just letting go mid way.
I just dont see how shortboard fins like the AM and M7 as a thruster etc can work on a SUP in a way I want it to work. Most shortboards have a tail around 13-14 inches wide at 1 foot up, my SUP has a 18 3/4 wide tail. This creates a significant amount of surface area for a small fin to try and hold.
You see a lot of people pivot turning and not being able to put a board on rail off the bottom, I think it's because their fins are too small and they lack the feedback from the board to create confidence to let this happen. Its called nursing a turn.
IMO your fin size should be proportioned to your board. My board is set up with MRTFX sides and a similar back fin foiled from the MRTFX. I do not rip by any means but it lets me surf how I want to surf it and rarely lets me down.
My $0.05 anyway.
Got the "made in gizzie" fins on my hero....seem to work well....very loose but stable enuff in any size surf. Think the photo is of my defunct whopper....but you get the idea
