Quobba Fins?

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Smash1 said..
I'm addicted to my C-Drives Colas... are you saying that I should try the Quobbas....

C-Drives are great, especially for SUPs, as they provide a lot of grip at low speed, and thus are quite useful also when paddling and to stabilize the board on takeoffs. And the initial boost out of the first bottom is unrivaled. But they do not stiffen up at speed like keels can do, so they are loved by some tow riders. C-Drive are especially great if you need some help mastering the row effect in your boards.

Quobba are different: essentially they make the fin more efficient: they remove some drag, especially at high speeds, and make the fin keep its laminar flow longer, providing surprising grip for their size, and their flex help smooth your ride, especially in chop. Their added speed and tolerant handling (due to their flex) helps a me a lot in top turns and managing fast sections. Basically they will transform how you ride boards after the initial bottom turn. And the faster you go, the more you will love them. Seabreeze kiters seem to like them, for instance: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/The-future-of-surfboard-fins-is-here--Quobba-Fins?page=2#lastpost

So, ideally, I think a quobba fin with a C-Drive template would be the ideal, quiver-killer fin :-) C-Drive are great to generate speed, Quobba to handle and maintain it.

So, I guess it will amount on personal preferences. But I must say the gain from the C-Drives over standard good fins (Al Merrick, Jason Stevenson) was not worth the trouble for me to revert to the FCS 1 screws from the screwless FCS II system, I never used C-Drives anymore once my boards had FCSII boxes. But Quobba definitively are, I have been riding only quobba on all my boards for 8 months now.


PS: Quobba have sharp edges, back and front, out of the box. Lightly sand them as they will cut your leash quite easily otherwise.

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colas said..

Smash1 said..
I'm addicted to my C-Drives Colas... are you saying that I should try the Quobbas....

C-Drives are great, especially for SUPs, as they provide a lot of grip at low speed, and thus are quite useful also when paddling and to stabilize the board on takeoffs. And the initial boost out of the first bottom is unrivaled. But they do not stiffen up at speed like keels can do, so they are loved by some tow riders. C-Drive are especially great if you need some help mastering the row effect in your boards.

Quobba are different: essentially they make the fin more efficient: they remove some drag, especially at high speeds, and make the fin keep its laminar flow longer, providing surprising grip for their size, and their flex help smooth your ride, especially in chop. Their added speed and tolerant handling (due to their flex) helps a me a lot in top turns and managing fast sections. Basically they will transform how you ride boards after the initial bottom turn. And the faster you go, the more you will love them. Seabreeze kiters seem to like them, for instance: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/The-future-of-surfboard-fins-is-here--Quobba-Fins?page=2#lastpost

So, ideally, I think a quobba fin with a C-Drive template would be the ideal, quiver-killer fin :-) C-Drive are great to generate speed, Quobba to handle and maintain it.

So, I guess it will amount on personal preferences. But I must say the gain from the C-Drives over standard good fins (Al Merrick, Jason Stevenson) was not worth the trouble for me to revert to the FCS 1 screws from the screwless FCS II system, I never used C-Drives anymore once my boards had FCSII boxes. But Quobba definitively are, I have been riding only quobba on all my boards for 8 months now.


PS: Quobba have sharp edges, back and front, out of the box. Lightly sand them as they will cut your leash quite easily otherwise.

I just got back from an early surf and have read what you said and it all appears to be true, I only use my Quobba fins when the waves are good and mainly for short board performance surfing, and I also sometimes use C drives depending on the waves and conditions etc., but I also use (and love) my large Nexus H3 fins and use them on a 7'2"x30"=90L fat railed - but with a really nice tucked under edge (similar to a pointy nose, rounded square tail high performance shortboard) sup as a quad, I use the original large H3s on the rear and also another large set at the front but they are Nexus copies (from bali) and they are a similar hard plastic material as the Quobba so are a bit stiffer then the originals, I find this setup to be almost drag free, fast and perfect for this small/medium wave board/surfing sup, and when it is a bit more sucky I replace the front H3s with H2s. So what do you think of the performance of the H3s (& H2s) compared to the Quobbas ?:-)
I really value your feedback Colas ;-)

Some info on what's coming on the Quobba front:
- a bigger size in the coming weeks
- the sliding center fins (4 positions, on-the-water adjustable) in the coming months
- the current sale price may become the regular price
They are toying with the idea of have also adjustable fronts, but they are not sure yet that it could be worth it.

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Smash1 said..

Smash1 said..
Ok - I've ordered a set..... will report back. Look forward to the Quobba/C-Drive Quad combo.....

Mine arrived today- Super quick delivery....but...gotta say that the packaging is just WAY WAY OTT!!! I thought I had purchased a $50,000 Rolex watch!!!
Totally unnecessary. I'd rather skip the fancy packaging and pay less..
anyway, will put the fins to the test this week.

the packaging looks great but is not a great cost due to where they get it done (very north of here). If they changed it to something simpler, it wouldn't really affect the cost much if any. Just enjoy it as it comes.

I switch mine between my longsup and longboard (just use the sides, dolphin centre). For me, coming out of a barrelling right in Indo, it felt like I was on train tracks on the longboard until I decided to turn. Love the feeling and extra speed which kept me ahead of a very fast breaking wave.

Enjoy.

is Quobba Fins do what they said it would or is this one of those marketing hype?

I wonder if Quobba Fins will bring out bigger fins to suit?
The adjustable fin position coming soon is an interesting product.

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JEG said..
I wonder if Quobba Fins will bring out bigger fins to suit?
The adjustable fin position coming soon is an interesting product.

due out in the next month or two due to request by some of the short board pros and semi-pros using Quobba, and by a few of us of the SUP variety asking for larger fins.

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JEG said..
is Quobba Fins do what they said it would or is this one of those marketing hype?

they have a large testimonials page on the website if you prefer trusting experts over marketing and anonymous weekend warriors on forums (which is wise).

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Smash1 said..

Smash1 said..
Ok - I've ordered a set..... will report back. Look forward to the Quobba/C-Drive Quad combo.....

Mine arrived today- Super quick delivery....but...gotta say that the packaging is just WAY WAY OTT!!! I thought I had purchased a $50,000 Rolex watch!!!
Totally unnecessary. I'd rather skip the fancy packaging and pay less..
anyway, will put the fins to the test this week.

Well....took them out for their first trial this morning in 2' conditions.
I have been using the large C-Drives in Quad format on my Starby Airborn - and as previously reported - the C-Drives were a total game changer.
I put the Quobbas on the same board in thruster set up....
Rode 6 waves with them. Felt like I had put a hand brake on my board. Board was super sluggish when compared to the C-Drives...just could not crank out any speed at all.
I got out and changed the fins back to the C-Drives - and my rocket was back.
These fins are not for me - I gave them to one of my prone surf mates. At least I gave them a go....

@Cbigsup- what did you think of the 3D dimple style fins? Did you notice any difference? I've got an expensive quad set that came on a board. Tried them on shortboard once and on my
old gulliver vbox but didn't like them. Didn't feel noticeably faster and certainly no pivot anything like my normal thruster sets

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benjl said..
@Cbigsup- what did you think of the 3D dimple style fins? Did you notice any difference? I've got an expensive quad set that came on a board. Tried them on shortboard once and on my
old gulliver vbox but didn't like them. Didn't feel noticeably faster and certainly no pivot anything like my normal thruster sets

I have a large futures Rod Kerr Moon Raker (dimple fins) Thruster set and have not really tried them out as yet but I want to know what others think about them also ?:-)

Well they are here. Trying my hybrid all Ozzie setup.

Quabba fronts with a 3D center. Had a USBox to FCS converter. Where it is no idea.

Should be a fun ride in the SMIK 8'8" Short Mac.

Will report next time out!

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cbigsup said..

Johndesu said..

benjl said..
@Cbigsup- what did you think of the 3D dimple style fins? Did you notice any difference? I've got an expensive quad set that came on a board. Tried them on shortboard once and on my
old gulliver vbox but didn't like them. Didn't feel noticeably faster and certainly no pivot anything like my normal thruster sets

I have a large futures Rod Kerr Moon Raker (dimple fins) Thruster set and have not really tried them out as yet but I want to know what others think about them also ?:-)

Have a couple of sets. My New Deal Longboard rips with a 3D 7 crnter and smaller sides. Best combo so far. Feels like more acceleration out of turns and not sticking on cutbacks.

And it Noserides WAY better!

So the dimples create less drag you think? do they feel like they slip thru the water better maybe:-)

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Johndesu said..

I think there has to be a valid reason that golf balls have the exact same dimples on them - to slip thru the air more efficiently and thus go further?:-)

"The reason we do not see dimples on other shapes, like wings, is that these particular forms of boundary layer trips only work well on a blunt body like a sphere or a cylinder."
www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0215.shtml

Also, I suspect that water viscosity being higher, you need much smaller "dimples" in water than in the air, basically you just need to have a sanded finish or the america cup "riblets".

Also, the dimples in golf balls are here mostly because the ball spins, the dimples create a separation that isolates the air from the rotating ball surface, and make the ball trajectory more predictable: smooth golf balls will veer randomly.

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cbigsup said..

cbigsup said..
Well they are here. Trying my hybrid all Ozzie setup.

Quabba fronts with a 3D center. Had a USBox to FCS converter. Where it is no idea.

Should be a fun ride in the SMIK 8'8" Short Mac.

Will report next time out!

Here is the report. Waist to chest, up to shoulder. Clean, pretty glassy, cold enough to freeze the nuts off a brass monkey.

New FCS to center converter deleverid, but could not get the center into it. Was in a hurry so went the Quabba sides and the dimple center.

I am 71, been surfing since 1966, and the number of latest, greatest best ever blah blah claims that I have seen is, shall we say, high.

Completely blown away by the way my 8'8" responded to the new setup.

Looser, in terms of initial turn initiation, smoother, in terms of smoothing out chop dropping in, and bad fast.

Like every one else commented, a light sanding - I used some 400 wet, was a great idea. A little sharp, and some roughness. Who cares?
No humming or the like at all.

That SMIK Short Mac has never gone so fast, and easy in the small soft waves that I was on today!

The FCS to center plate and screw showed up. After some filing and messing about all three quabba fins installed.

Surfed again and they are still a better mousetrap.

Put my money where my mouth is and ordered a set in futures.

Now a 7" center plate and screw, some larger ones for front quads, and big twinnies for SMIK hipster twins would be UNBELIEVABLE!