It's hard to find a better surfer, shaper and test pilot than Skip Frye. Skip had this to say about the Velzy V-fin when noseriding.com caught up with him a couple of years back..
"The planeing was great, it just made the board plane so great. Absolutely great! Not too high and not too low, just right. And the board noserides perfect with this fin! And the turns, were like, whooop (radical hand motion), it just spun on a dime! It's fantastic (hand motion again), just whooop!
Frye said, "I hate to admit that I had this fin for nine years, just sitting in the shop after Velzy gave it to me. I rode it at Rincon when he first gave it to me, and it worked good. But I got side-tracked by life. Then one day recently, I put it on a board again. The board was good, but now the board was whoooaa, good!! I couldn't believe it. I had so much fun with the board, surfing it every day in all kinds of conditions. I surfed it for 30 straight days; and I never do that.
"I have over 30 boards, and I ride a different one almost every day. But Velzy's V-fin made the board so good I had to try it in every possible condition. I'm as high on it as anything I'm doing fin wise. I did a cutback that was one of the best I've ever done. I put it on one of my favorite egg boards, and two of my other boards, and they're the best they've ever ridden. I can't say enough good about this fin. Super noseriding, super turning, it's got it all." --Skip Frye
Historical Note
As surfing history shows, stupidity is to be expected. Skip said it took 10 years, just for the single fin to be accepted on a surfboard. Tom Wegener says he and his brother rode twin-fin boards 10 years in the South Bay before they ever caught on anywhere else. That was because someone won a contest in Hawaii on them. (Think how many contests could have been won before that.) Myself, I turned my nose up, at Velzy's V-fin, even after talking to good surfers I knew that had ridden them and loved them. Si, another arrogant Stupido! When I put one on my board I got the same "bam," right now, turns and noseriding to perfection, that Velzy promised. If you can surf, you'll kick yourself for not getting one sooner. I promise. -- Bob Howard.