McTavish Tracker Volan Fin
Bob McTavish's 1973 Tracker: a wide-based 8.3" Volan single fin drawn for fast, powerful down-the-line surfing on mid-lengths.8.3", Volan, longboard box.
The Fin
Bob McTavish's 1973 Tracker: a wide-based 8.3" Volan single fin drawn for fast, powerful down-the-line surfing on mid-lengths.
8.3", Volan, longboard box. McTavish drew the Tracker in 1973 for the bigger, powerful down-the-line barrels at Lennox, and the template is built around a long base — drive first. The outline is raked, and the taper into the tip is concave, which gives the tip twist and twang and washes flow off the trailing edge efficiently enough to cut the vortex the tip would otherwise drag behind it.
How that reads
The long base is what holds the board on line at speed and keeps it driving through a fast section instead of bogging. The rake turns that drive into a powerful, flowing arc rather than a tight snap, and the concave tip taper hands a little of the load back at the end of the turn. Efficient wash-out at the tip means less drag, so hold is not paid for in speed.
Who it suits
Mid-lengths surfed fast in waves with real power behind them, by surfers who want hard carves rather than pivots off the tail. If the priority is low drag and projection over outright drive, the Rincon is the lower-area McTavish template.
Specifications
What people say
A real favourite... surfs so smooth, fast down the line, once you know what type of bottom turn it likes to do.
Requires smooth technique, and delivers speed if you get the bottom turn right.
The volan layup will flex more from the body of the fin, producing increased speed and projection off the bottom and through turns.
The Tracker is a drive fin — long base, swept rake, concave taper — built for arc-based surfing at speed, not quick release and snap. If you're on a genuine egg or a speed shape and want the fin to push you through arcs rather than give you an out, this is it.
An 8.3" volan fiberglass single fin from a template Bob McTavish drew in 1973 for the down-the-line surf at Lennox Head; the current version was developed with his son Ben McTavish. It has a long base, swept rake, and a concave tip taper, and is produced by True Ames in Santa Barbara from 44-layer hand-laid volan fiberglass with a raw, unglossed finish. Intended for single-fin eggs, speed shapes, pintails, and swallows in the 7' to 8'6" range. The same template geometry is offered at 9.45" as the Rincon Volan for larger boards.
Mentioned in the review — McTavish Rincon Volan · McTavish Involvement · McTavish Bluebird — not something we carry.