Mackie Mini Keel Thruster Fiberglass
Mick Mackie’s Mini Keel Thruster is a three-fin set built from keels: wide bases, shallow depth, and the drive that comes with both.
The Fin
Mick Mackie’s Mini Keel Thruster is a three-fin set built from keels: wide bases, shallow depth, and the drive that comes with both.
A thruster that borrows its templates from twin-fin keels. The front pair run a 7.39" base at only 4" of depth; the rear is shorter in base and less raked to loosen the tail. Solid fiberglass, flat inside foil on the fronts, 50/50 on the rear.
How that reads
Base length is where drive comes from and depth is where drag comes from, so a long, shallow fin holds a line and makes speed down the face without the resistance of a tall upright. The trade is pivot: this set wants to be surfed in long arcs off the rail rather than snapped off the tail, which is why Mackie cut the rear’s base and rake back a touch — so the tail still comes around.
Who it suits
Wide-tailed boards — fish, hybrids and stubbies with three plugs — in surf with enough push to make the drive worth having. If you ride a Mackie Big Twin or Sidecut Keel and want the same feel as a thruster, this is the one.
If this is not the one
Want keel drive as a twin rather than a thruster? The Mackie Sidecut Fish Keel. Want a conventional thruster? The True Ames Thruster or the Timmy Patterson Tri.
Specifications
Combines a tri fin setup with classic keel twin fin inspiration — the shallow depth reduces drag for tremendous down the line speed and projection, and the side fins give serious spring off the bottom for wide tail surf craft.
Reach for this on a wide-tailed board with thruster boxes when you want keel speed and spring off the bottom but more hold than a twin gives. If you'd rather slice long, drawn-out two-fin arcs, the Sidecut Fish Keel is the call — this set trades some of that loose glide for projection and control.
The Mackie Mini Keel Thruster is a three-fin set designed by Mick Mackie and made by True Ames, sold here in the Futures-compatible solid fiberglass version. The two side fins use a wide base, minimal depth, and a flat inside foil, while the rear trailer is slightly smaller with less rake and a shorter base. The set is intended for wide-tailed fish and hybrid grovelers fitted with thruster boxes.
Mentioned in the review — Mackie Sidecut Fish Keel · Channel Islands Tri — not something we carry.