A blast from the past…

ClusterV

About 12yrs ago, I bought a new longboard from Steve Boehne, master shaper and owner of Infinity Surfboards in Dana Point, CA. Steve and I were surf buddies in high school and even built a couple boards in my garage back  in 1964. I’ve always trusted his judgment when it comes to surfboard design, so when he suggested his “Cluster-V” set-up for my new 9-6  I didn’t hesitate. The Cluster-V is simply a twin-fin with trailer, coupled with a nice V-paneled tail. Simple, but a combination yielding mind-blowing LB performance. Over the years, I drifted away from the Cluster-V and eventually started shaping my own LBs. I love the 2+1 set-up on modern LBs and I’ve been experimenting with this set-up, using various sizes of center-fin/side-bite fin combinations. I just couldn’t get the combination of looseness and drive that I was looking for. One day, while scanning the True Ames Fins catalog, my eye settled on their 5.25″ Twin Fin set, and bingo, the light came on. I ordered the fins, and luckily I still had the original 3.5″ trailer fin from my first Infinity. The results were amazing! I’d forgotten how well this set-up works. Effortless turns (Boehne calls it “ball-bearing turns”) with all the drive you need to project out of turns.

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