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Oh WOW, 7cm on the sides and 10cm in the center is really small. Most stock boards from Fanatic and Starboard come with 9-10cm on the sides and 14-15cm in the center. Even the kids boards are 9cm side and 14cm center. Yeah, you need bigger fins. Personally, I’ve found that stock fins from Fanatic and Starboard are very good quality and correct size, but I don’t know much about other brands. Sounds like you’re getting things dialed in.
Another fun option with a quad or thruster is that the side fins do not have to be set in the same position on each side. On my thruster I sometimes move the port side-fin all the way rearward and the starboard side-fin all the way forward. This allows me to drive upwind as I head away from shore (port tack) and be extra turny as I ride waves toward shore (starboard tack). When driving upwind the side-fin on the leeward side of the board is not even in the water because I’m riding the board on its side, so the starboard side fin does nothing anyways. And then when wave riding toward shore I get extra looseness on the wave. You might enjoy this aspect of multi-fin boards. It makes things more adjustable for your liking.
Sounds like you’re having fun! Enjoy!
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Yeah, Lake Erie is a very special place. We’re very lucky to live here. I usually get less than half the total sessions it delivers, but in a typical average year it delivers 175 sessions on 5.0m sail and 95 liter board with air temps over 40 degrees.
I personally think deep foot straps are safer because my foot slides out easier than tight foot straps, in my opinion. Just a thought to consider. Everybody is different. You’re right, avoiding injury is the main factor!
Fin size on modern wave boards doesn’t change as much compared to freeride and race. I can’t remember what size I used when I tested the quad, but on my thruster boards I use 18cm center fin and 12cm side fins for sail sizes 2.7m to 5.0m. I don’t change at all. I’m 160 lbs. A person at 190 lbs might use a 20cm center fin, but not much bigger. The rail of the board is used to go upwind like a kiteboard, so that allows you to keep the fin small for snappy turns. Spinout is avoided by adopting a more upright stance with very little pressure on the fin with the back foot. More pressure on the front foot. Many modern onshore wave boards have wider tails which can cause more spinout because of the greater moment of inertia from your heel being out on the edge of the board (farther away from the fin than with narrow tails), so just make sure your back foot is directly over the centerline of the board and not out at the edge.
Yeah, I agree with your experience getting on plane with wave boards that have more rocker. Reducing back foot pressure a little helps as you begin to plane. I also kind of flick the board downwind with the front foot. I have not ridden freeride or slalom boards in many years, so I can’t really offer comparison to those.
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Couple years back I tested a Goya quad in Lake Erie waves 30-35mph wind for 3 sessions to decide if it was the right board for what I’m doing. Ultimately it was not the right board for what I’m doing, but I found the setup very similar to my thruster boards. Footstraps and mast base forward for early planing, or rearward for speed and tighter turning. Tall, deep, and narrow footstraps so your ankle is right up to the strap allowing you to take the whole board with your foot on frontside bottom turns without your heel coming off the board. Side fins rearward for drive, forward for more turny feel. Ride the board on its side to go upwind like a kiteboard. Most quads have more rocker than typical thrusters which makes them slower to plane but faster to turn. And they have lower volume and lower surface area tails which allow them to grip the water on very fast turns on steep waves. For slow Lake Erie waves that are not very steep, footstraps and mast base forward works well because it helps keep the board on plane during frontside turns when you are basically going up the wave into the wind and want as much glide as possible.
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Not sure what discipline of foil you are learning. Kite is the most limited because you need a lot of area to launch the kite. But windfoil and wingfoil have pretty good access. I live in Buffalo and learned to windfoil last season with my wife. The Buffalo Harbor was a good spot. But also, Seneca Lake and Lake Ontario were great. Lake Ontario has very little shore break compared to Lake Erie. Olcott has a breakwall that is upwind when wind is ENE. Virtually zero shore break if the wind is under 30mph. And Wilson has zero shore break on west wind if wind under 25mph. There is some swell, but it was not difficult to learn on. By session number 3 my wife and I were windfoiling in Lake Ontario with wind 20-25mph. Durand Beach in Rochester is also very friendly for learning to foil. Very little shore break. We were there twice during our first 15 sessions. Seneca Lake is very foil friendly at the north end. We got a couple sessions there as beginners. Good luck and have fun! Foiling is truly incredible. I’m an addicted windsurfer, but windfoiling is twice as much fun as windsurfing.
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There’s a really cool spot called Fairhaven Beach State Park just west of Oswego. In the park itself (east side of Little Sodus Bay) there is windsurfing in the open Lake right on the beach. This spot is popular with locals. On the west side of Little Sodus Bay there is another great launch area on W. Bay Road across from the boat marina. I have windsurfed at both locations and it’s great on west wind or east wind, however, it may be challenging for a beginner in open Lake Ontario. Although I have never windsurfed in Little Sodus Bay itself, I did see a possible launch area at the extreme northeast corner of the bay in Fairhaven Beach State Park. This might be a better option for beginners, but be careful of boat traffic if you try it. Good luck! Let us know how it works out if you go there, especially in the bay.
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That’s awesome that you are ready to jump in the water! It’s been a pretty good season so far, and it’s just getting started. A lot of guys at the beach will probably be more than happy to help you out. It’s a very friendly sport. One consideration though….you may want to look into a bigger board. 118 liters will be very challenging to learn on. Here’s why. In general, bigger boards are used for lighter winds and smaller boards for stronger winds. 118 liters is small for a beginner and even an intermediate. A board that size means you need more wind to get it going. More wind, however, means more waves and chop. When learning, you will climb on the board and pull the sail up by an uphaul rope. 118 liters is not very stable and is very difficult to stand on and pull a sail up. With a bigger board you will generally be in lighter wind, which means less waves and chop. Plus the bigger board is much more stable. It makes learning much more fun, less frustrating, and you will ultimately learn quicker because you will actually be sailing rather than falling in the water and swimming. Make sense? Consider a board around 160 liters. That’s what my wife and I learned on and it was a good size. We continued to use that board for about 5 years. It became our light wind board once we got proficient. During that 5 years we also got a 135 liter board. It was very challenging even after we were competent on the 160 liter board. Then we got 115 liter board in our third or fourth year. Hope to meet you sometime. Enjoy all the stoke that comes with this sport. See you on the water.
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I made a video a little over a year ago about keeping hands warm. It may help you. Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUWhnOKubOE&t=18s
As far as booties, Lisa and I both use Neil Pryde Mission (Fireline) 7mm booties. The new fabric is incredible stretchy which makes them an absolute pleasure to put on. I have a 6mm O’Neill Psychotech wetsuit which also has the newest fabric and is incredibly comfortable. But get it about 2 sizes bigger than the size charts says. And I have a Kokatat Swift drysuit with relief zipper that I can layer up underneath. Just remember that if you ever get a hole or tear in a drysuit while on the water it will fill up with water quickly and you won’t be able to swim much. So always wear a PFD with a drysuit, stay close to shore and use a bigger board that you can climb on top of in an emergency.
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Geoff, I just looked back at my logs for the past 5 years. I think you are right! I don’t have any sessions recorded at Seneca with a day like today over the past 5 years. The closest was in 2018 when it blew 25-30mph for a session in July, and then it blew 15-25mph the following 2 days, but nothing with 30-35mph like today. Glad you scored big man! We didn’t make the drive today as we’ve been getting a lot of good sessions here on Lake Erie and Ontario. Maybe next time. July has been good with 13 out of 16 days being windy.
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