Volan - what is it? The name actually refers to the chromium finish that the fiberglass is treated with, which allows for added bonding strength with polyester resins (and also provides the inherent greenish hue / silvery cloth appearance). Volan was commonly used for boat building back in the day, and was adapted into the surf world because of its reliability and proven structural strength - most boards used to be glassed with Volan for durability. We love using Volan here at True Ames for fins because of the intrinsic properties that the cloth provides which pair well with our stringent production methods. Compared to our standard fiberglass, Volan is a heavier weight with a more coarse and dense weave. We painstakingly layup each 44 layer panel by hand (about 2 hours for a 30x30” panel) in order to achieve a high glass to resin ratio, and also to ensure that the coarse weave is properly saturated via delayed catalyzation - these details further add to the strength, and eventually the flex pattern’s ‘memory’, which is essentially the fin’s ability to endure a large number of reps and then ‘return to center’, all while sustaining a powerful flex. All of our Volan fins are also specifically templated to be aligned for optimal weave orientation (about 70* perpendicular to the base) which allow the fins to flex more through the body and trunk, as opposed to just in the thinner tip area. All in all, we’ve found that this labor of love results in fins that have the very best performance flex characteristics that we’re able to produce. Our Volan fins will provide additional drive / projection, as well as an energetic and responsive feeling. Via our 10 step production process and carefully calculated foils, we’re able to proudly offer (what we think are some of the best) Volan fins - made here in Santa Barbara, CA. 🤙🏼 Photo: @mollusksurfshop
The True Ames x George Greenough Power Blade has received some further foil and flex tunes in its newest iteration as depicted here in the video. The combined characteristics of this design result in increased speed, response, and maneuverability within a single fin concept.
@marcandreini wonderfully summarized the Power Blade's intended function... "Although the thruster took surfing to a higher performance level with more speed and quicker responsiveness, we lost a lot of flow, trim, deep bottom turning, and down the line speed that went with single fin style surfing. Now we can take that timeless style, and up the performance to more closely match the speed and virility of the postmodern board without sacrificing the flow."
George Greenough's continued interests / pursuits, and ongoing contributions (60+ years worth of designing and innovating!) to surfing never ceases to amaze.
Notes from our Fireside Chat with @ellisericson - it’s hard to describe how exciting it was for us to work with Ellis on the Feathers Quad fins. George Greenough has been our friend and design confidant for decades. Seeing his ideas come to life and evolve on the surfboard end, and then building fins to match...this is what we do it for!
Before we sat down for our fireside, @tmothersdome and @ellisericson got in a good beach break wiggle. Ellis flits and floats with his Lite Kite and Feathers Quad.
Introducing Fireside Chats.
Long-form conversations on board design, surfing’s past, and the people pushing it all forward.
Our first sit-down features @ellisericson tracing his path from Dad’s factory floors to contest surfing and eventually old displacement hulls, transitional shapes, and a deeper understanding of how surfboards actually work.
What started as burnout from competitive surfing turned into a deep passion for design, feel, and the relationship between surfboard, fins, and wave face.
Ellis goes deep!
Full film now live on YouTube.
Link in bio.
Huge thanks to everyone who came out to one our movie nights this past week. @greysonmessier and @floramadrigal blessed us with some magic great tunes. Can’t wait to do it again 🙌”
Last night at @losmolinosbeer was awesome! Always fun getting to chop it up about fins and watch some surfing together offline. Accompanied by some great food and bev’s was just bonus. We really couldn’t have asked for a better hang 🍻
Can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow night in Carpinteria, 6pm @ True Ames HQ
1 wave of @kolton_sullivan from our Swell Event edit premiering this Thursday night at @losmolinosbeer . Come down and watch the squad have a full day at one of California’s best right-handers
