Delphin's Tail

[Delphin]

I'm putting together on orca patterned fabric tail. So far, I've got the monofin nearly complete.

Started out with a piece of 1/8" HDPE. Hopefully this way, if anything goes wrong, it will just be bent and not crack. Made it as big as I could while still being able to get two flukes out of the one sheet.

36755

Next trimmed, drilled and bolted on some Tyr Burner EBP fins. Stainless hardware should be able to take ocean water with the large washers distributing the load. Odd as it seems, my arches fully cleared that bolt even without cutting it down to size.

36756

Here's the possibly finished fluke with all hardware attached. My fear is the hardware will show through the fabric, so I might go back and encapsulate it with epoxy to smooth it out even more.

36757

I'm just excited with how sturdy and sleek its come out. If this structure works well, I can use this for any shape monofin I can dream up.

[Luna Dreamtide]

That monofin looks great - well done! Can't wait to sea how you go. I love whale and dolphin inspired tails!

[Mermaid_Sarina]

I am so excited for this! I love orca tails and there just aren't enough around! And good job on the fin! It looks great!

[Amapele]

Oh, nice! I would be concerned about the bolts bothering your feet

[Kait]

Great work on the monofin, how lucky your arches miss the bolts! Fins crossed the structure works for you :D

[Delphin]

Got some more progress. It took way too long to plot, but I developed the patterns:

36892

I'm going with a lighter fabric first to see if I can even make this thing as well get comfortable with my new serger. The prototype is so far turning out marvelously:

36893
36894

The curvy seam was the trickiest thing I've sewn, but it was worth the effort. Once stretched, the bunching disappears. The pattern pops much more than I expected.

I've run into a bit of a roadblock though in trying to close the fluke. I thought some small velcro strips would hold the fabric in place, but there is too much tension. I might try a zipper next, but I'm not fond of that idea either. So far it seems to fit right, but I can't tell how the ankles smooth out without the monofin's tension.

[Coral Corey]

Love this!

[Luna Dreamtide]

Looks awesome! As for the monofin/closing the fluke - ive never left it open and used Velcro or zips. I normally just see it all up and stretch the tail over the fin to put it in.

[moniee]

So cool!

[Delphin]

So it took a while to get my white fabric in. Less than a day later and I need to find some water:

37028
37029

Went with the zipper suggestion. The pull hangs out a bit, but the rest of the fluke looks so much better pulled properly around the monofin.

The test piece was worth it. I changed up the fluke to have a black fringe and tweaked the ankles a bit. Its not technically done as I haven't finished the waist. I won't trim it until I get to see exactly how much it rides down when swimming.

[Mermaid Arabella]

PRETTY!!!! I can't even see the zipper pull! (I'm assuming the zipper is at the bottom of the fluke to get the monofin in & out?)

[Luna Dreamtide]

That looks so cool! Great job! What type of fabric did you use for this?

[Delphin]

The zipper is along the fluke bottom edge. When the photo is out of focus, the black on black bends. Looking down, it seems much bigger. Seems like a zit in that sense.

The fabric is darlexx. Gives some extra thickness and prevents seeing through the white sections.

[Kait]

Looks great! Can't hear back about your swim :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dancing Fish]

WOW! fantastic job with those tricky curving seams! Looks great!