I never thought this would work but it seems that reversing your quad fins (moving your rear fins forward and front fins back) works for some surfers. One of our readers in South Africa Rudi shared his thoughts on his quad fin setup. I’ve actually seen a friend ride ripping on his shortboard with his quad fins reversed  though he didn’t know his fins were backward until I pointed it out to him.

Something I noticed, Rudi’s rear quad fin boxes look like they’re much further up than my Lil Rascal 2 (see photo below).

From Rudi:

“His Chunky Monkey 7 design matched my specs 99%. The only change was the rounded square tail to round tail, which Rod explained would give me a larger surface area that would make it easier to catch waves.

Rod originally designed the Chunky Monkey for former Pro Surfer Pierre Tostee, who wanted something that paddles easier (cause he’s not so young anymore), but that handles like a performance board (cause he can still rip once he’s got the wave). It took 6 trial versions to get the Chunky Monkey to where it is now and even Rod’s traded in his regular shortboard for one, although they surf it as thrusters while I prefer the reverse quad setup.”

Personal Info

Height: 5’6″
Weight: 80 kg
Surf Conditions: Mostly 3 to 6 feet
Style: Natural. Smooth to mild aggression. Love working the wave to build max speed for long floaters on rights and off-the-lip floaters on lefts.

Board Specs

Shape: Continuous Curve Shortboard
Length: 6’2″
Width: 19 3/4″
Thickness: 2 5/8″
Widest Point: Behind Centre
Nose Width: As recommended by shaper
Tail Width: As recommended by shaper
Rails: Domed, tucked under edge to hard edged
Rocker: Staged Curve
Nose Lift: As recommended by shaper
Tail Lift: As recommended by shaper
Bottom Contours: Single to Double Concave (Driver)
Tail Design: Rounded Square
Fin Positioning: Thruster with 5 fin slots for alternate Quad setup