[{"id":23498265,"handle":"all","title":"all","updated_at":"2020-01-17T21:00:00-08:00","body_html":"","published_at":"2017-11-30T12:29:25-08:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"variant_weight","relation":"greater_than","condition":"0"}],"published_scope":"web","image":{"created_at":"2016-05-23T16:19:28-07:00","alt":null,"width":480,"height":435,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/collections\/CAclassic-black_1024x1024_large_a480af1c-03e7-45ea-9d19-3a0b28f6c360.jpg?v=1464045568"}},{"id":173268356,"handle":"all-fins","title":"All Fins","updated_at":"2020-01-17T21:00:00-08:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e*Our Single Fins fit US Universal Bahne fin boxes.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","published_at":"2017-11-30T12:29:25-08:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"variant_weight","relation":"greater_than","condition":"0"}],"published_scope":"web","image":{"created_at":"2016-05-23T16:19:44-07:00","alt":null,"width":480,"height":435,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/collections\/CAclassic-black_1024x1024_large_38093588-ba93-4601-b88f-10d93aca54df.jpg?v=1464045584"}},{"id":173272324,"handle":"flex-fins","title":"Flex Fins","updated_at":"2020-01-17T21:00:00-08:00","body_html":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e*Our Single Fins fit US Universal Bahne fin boxes.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","published_at":"2016-05-23T14:41:00-07:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"tag","relation":"equals","condition":"flex"}],"published_scope":"web","image":{"created_at":"2016-02-25T13:10:33-08:00","alt":null,"width":600,"height":543,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/collections\/L-flex-smoke_1024x1024_grande_ea029aa2-9250-4bc2-bcd4-cc2a633b72ed.jpg?v=1456434633"}},{"id":24475253,"handle":"george-greenough","title":"George Greenough","updated_at":"2020-01-17T20:55:01-08:00","body_html":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eThe surf world is forever indebted to the design and performance innovations of George Greenough, a Santa Barbara native and avid kneeboarder, who is the reason why people today use high-aspect ratio fins and perform radical turns on waves that surfers in the 50s and 60s only dreamed of. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eA backyard craftsman and inventor, Greenough became known for his hugely influential board and fin designs dating back to his high school days in the early 60s where he would shape his first boards in wood shop out of balsa. Fast forward a few years and the Velo-spoon (short for velocity) was created. A short, red kneeboard with the deck scooped and a wide flex-tail. This board rocketed Greenough into the next dimension of wave-riding as it showcased a combination of design ideas to allow the types of maneuvers that inspired generations of surfers to this day. \u003c\/span\u003eHis kneeboards weren’t the only thing catching the attention of the surf world. The high-aspect ratio fins Greenough created to compliment his kneeboards, a direct influence of sea creatures, took the world by storm. The likes of Nat Young and Bob McTavish took notice and soon the best of the best surfers were ditching their D-fins for Greenough’s design and in 1966, was a direct influence to Nat’s winning of the world surfing championships and the ushering in of the shortboard revolution. The most popular single fin of all time, the 4-A, is the bread and butter of our catalog. It’s full base and tapering flexible tip make it one of the most versatile and performance oriented single fins ever designed. The 4-C, a precursor to the 4-A, is a truly important template as it’s the closest to the original high-aspect fin Greenough invented as you can get. The Stage 6, with its roots in windsurfing, create a highly maneuverable yet solid feel by placing more surface area deeper into the water. And finally the Power Blade, a new fin created to compliment the Greenough-style edge boards that have become popular as of recent. These fins are made with a uni-directional fiberglass cloth that allows for the fin to be made very thin, with a flex pattern that twists instead of bends. A work-in-progress fin that we are super excited to be collaborating with Greenough on and testing at our factory in Goleta! The fins we produce with Greenough were designed with performance in mind and have been a staple of our collection since the beginning. The fact that Greenough was devising these fins in the 60s goes to show how much we have to thank for his contributions to surfing.\u003c\/div\u003e","published_at":"2014-06-19T11:53:00-07:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":true,"rules":[{"column":"title","relation":"starts_with","condition":"greenough"}],"published_scope":"web","image":{"created_at":"2019-12-09T11:50:05-08:00","alt":null,"width":913,"height":827,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/collections\/greenough-4-a-black.jpg?v=1575921006"}},{"id":85541892,"handle":"greenough-gear","title":"Greenough Gear","updated_at":"2020-01-17T20:35:00-08:00","body_html":"\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/files\/greenough-gear-header-short.jpg?14689718299086344801\"\u003e","published_at":"2015-09-16T14:02:00-07:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","published_scope":"web","image":{"created_at":"2015-09-16T14:25:14-07:00","alt":null,"width":300,"height":500,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/collections\/GEORGE-GREENOUGH-FIN-BITS.jpg?v=1442438714"}},{"id":173270276,"handle":"single-fins-1","title":"Single Fins","updated_at":"2020-01-17T21:00:00-08:00","body_html":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e*Our Single Fins fit US Universal Bahne fin boxes.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","published_at":"2016-05-23T14:41:00-07:00","sort_order":"manual","template_suffix":"","disjunctive":false,"rules":[{"column":"type","relation":"equals","condition":"Single Fin"}],"published_scope":"web","image":{"created_at":"2016-05-23T16:20:14-07:00","alt":null,"width":480,"height":435,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0339\/4613\/collections\/CAclassic-black_1024x1024_large_b9dde9e9-fa10-4e83-854d-6c2e835c42e2.jpg?v=1464045614"}}]
The Power Blade, another original George Greenough design, was created with the intention of pushing the boundaries of the modern-day single fin surfboard. Through meticulous material selection, endless hours of testing, design revisions, and a uniquely constructed flex pattern, the Power Blade now has the potential of rivaling the performance characteristics of the thruster.
Here, Marc Andreini summarizes the Power Blade's function... "Although the thruster took surfing to a higher performance level (following single fins) with more speed and quicker responsiveness, we lost a lot of flow, trim, deep bottom turning and down the line style that went with single fin style surfing. Now we can take that style, and up the performance to match the speed and virility of the postmodern board without sacrificing the flow."
The most important design aspect of the Power Blade lies within its ability to flex and ‘twist-off’ at the ‘head’ of the fin. This attribute provides variable-tow, similar to how a thruster works, which allows the tail of the board to follow the nose and in turn produces drive. In some ways it acts like a fish tail, flexing and twisting back and forth creating propulsion based on direction and angle of attack. The narrow base permits for an extremely minimal amount of water pressure resistance, allowing for a significant amount of response, speed, and maneuverability within a single fin.
The main challenge in successfully producing this design, came through the need to retain a very stiff and extremely strong ‘leg’ in order to support all the load on the 'head.' Through extensive research and testing we finally landed on an extremely unique lay-up combination of high-density epoxy and fiberglass materials that met the qualifications without suffering fatigue. Our Power Blade fins meet 3 different demanding requirements within a singular fin… stiffness where needed, flex, and the ability to twist.
Find more information from Andreini here regarding performance characteristics of the Power Blade.
