Introduction

By the book, the Quad setup is ideal in less than perfect, mushy conditions and small waves. The Thruster / Tri Fin setup should be the first choice for bigger and glassy waves. What about the Twin Fin setup, you may wonder?
Think about it: if you feel that your board, even in the Quad setup, is not sufficiently loose while riding small waves, you may want to try it in a Twin Fin setup. This is exactly what we did with a Naish Hokua 8’5’’ and the results were … interesting, to say the least. Before delving into the details of our findings. let’s be clear on this: the Hokua is not recommended to be ridden with just the Quad front side fins. Here ends theory, let’s the practice begin.


On the water

We tested the Naish Hokua 8'5'' in a wide array of conditions ranging from mushy incosistent and small waves to solid clean overeads.

Stability: the board was immediately perceived as less stable.

Row effect: the row effect proved to be way more pronounced, as largely expected. After all, we wanted a loosier board, right?

Takeoff: while positioning the board for the takeoff was consistently more difficult, most noticeably in windy conditions, sideways late takeoffs turned out to be easier.