Did you know you wanted to be a shaper your whole life? At what point did you realize shaping as a primary career path?
I definitely always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in art, but didn’t know I wanted to be a shaper/sculptor until one day about 14 -15 years ago. I woke up with an idea to shape an Hawaiian style alaia out of some birch plywood scraps my Dad had in the garage.
While making it, I was overcome with a feeling that felt so natural and familiar, kinda like an ‘aha’ feeling. I felt like I had just found the beginning to the journey of my life’s work.
As cheesy as it sounds, I could see a vision of my future boards I would make, a vision to which I have used ever since as my motivation each day to make a better board than my last.
Many of your shapes have traditional hull elements blended with gentle curves around the rails. Can you discuss how your designs came to be?
My introduction to traditional hull designs came through my now husband Manuel Caro in 2010.
He had a 5’10” Bullet 2+1, a stubbie by Marc Andreini that he let me borrow as well as a couple more traditional displacement hulls and Stubbies that he had shaped under his Mandala label. I had never experienced riding boards like these before. They opened my mind to a new addicting feeling of lift, trim and speed.
Before that and still to this day, I am inspired by boards from the shortboard revolution. As a kid, I would visit a shop in Leucadia called the Longboard Grotto that had a back room lined wall to wall with used boards circa 1960-1979. Pintails, wing pins, double wings, fish, down rails…I was in awe of them all. I would also study boards and design in books and old magazines.
The boards and designs I build combine all of these feelings with my own take and perspective of wave riding.
How was the Furrow Labyrinth Single fin template developed?
I needed a flex fin that had the right balance of a narrow base, length, and rake to pair with my Labyrinth model.
The Labyrinth model is a wide point back “double-ender” that was inspired by Wayne Lynch’s boards in the 1969 surf movie “Evolution.”
For this fin, I took combinations of curves that I liked and drew out a 8.75” version that became the Labyrinth single fin.
What performance aspects of the Labyrinth Single fin are you most stoked about? Being a high aspect single fin, what boards should someone be looking to pair it with?
It is the perfect pairing with that Labyrinth, the model I designed it for but it works well in other hulls and hull hybrid designs.
How has living and surfing in San Diego inspired your perspective on twin fin surfboards?
I have had a life long love of twin fins and fish for as long as I can remember that started when I was as a little kid.
Think I was first transfixed by the style then the feeling of loose control, like flying on a magic carpet!
Any “ah-ha” moments from the legends worth mentioning?
I forgot who told me this, but it resonates with me in life and my work:
“How you do something is how you do everything. Do it well.”
Similar to many of your designs, the High Aspect Twin is a beautiful balance of traditional keel and modern twin outlines. Where did the inspiration for the template come from and what boards have you been riding them with?
I designed it for the short playful waves we typically have in here in north county. I wanted a fin that would allow fun turns and effortless cutbacks.
I drew the design years ago from the existing curves of my original twin fin design, a fin that had come from a more traditional keel type design, as well as a french curve.
I use the High Aspect Twin in most of my twin fin models: California Fish, Floyd Pepper, Long Fish, FP Longo, etc.
Around 2016, through a good friend, I had the opportunity to watch Skip Frye shape me a 5’8” DH Twin Fish. At the time he was really excited about trying different fin designs and he asked what fins I wanted for the board he shaped me. He mentioned a fin he used to love that had a high aspect outline that he wished he still had. It kind of reminded me of my HA fins, so nervously and without thinking much, I ran out to my truck to grab a set of mine to give him.
A couple weeks later, he called me up saying he loved the fins on his long fish and asked if he could order a few sets for his boards. Over the years he kept ordering them from me every few months, as did a few other SD master shapers in Skip’s circle.
It’s an honor to know that Skip likes them on his boards as much as I love them on mine!
Do you find yourself riding a particular fin setup when the waves are pumping? Similarly, is there a time when you’ll gravitate towards one setup over another when the waves are small or conditions aren’t ideal?
I prefer to mainly ride twins or single fins no matter the conditions.
Lately, the 6’6’’ Samsara twin or the Floyd Pepper twin have been my go to boards. They work well in pumping surf and everything in between.
I have a small quiver of Floyd Peppers; 5’10”/6’3’’/6’6’’.
The Samsara is a newer model that I am working on with a new twin fin design with a smaller base than the High Aspect to accommodate the narrower pintail. I hope to make them a design with True Ames in the near future.
I have also been loving riding the newly revised Labyrinth twin model (with High Aspect Twins), which I have been surfing in small to medium size waves.
For smaller waves, I usually like to ride my 7’6’’ Floyd Pepper Longo (with High Aspect Twins), 7’10’’ Wilderness Explorer (8” A flex), or lately I have been having fun testing out my newest 8’9” longboard experiment with a 9” Greenough 4A. When we go on camping trips up the coast, I love to bring my 9’6” Cosmic Bandito for surfing points with a 8” Greenough 4A.
/// Interview taken from TRUE AMES FIN TALK 2023
