The Titania Monofin

[malinghi]

Someone asked a question about this so I thought it would be good to give it its own thread. For those who don't know, Capt Nemo came up with a great way to make a monofin and explained how he did it on an old version of this forum. Here's a pdf file with instructions on how to make it: http://mernetwork.com/imgs/Titania_Monofin.pdf

Anyway, I got the idea to make thread to discuss this cause someone asked how much this costs. I'm not sure how much it is, but the polycarbonate sheet is probably the most expensive part. I think a 2.5 x 3 foot sheet of duraplex polycarbonate costs about $24. (link (http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=78774-1638-1X08128A)) Then you'd need to buy some stuff to make the foot pockets and to hold it together. I'd estimate it would come out to around maybe $40 to $50 dollars? Anyone here have an estimate?

[Mermaid Dottie]

Are there any shapes that are not good for this method? Any particular shapes that are weak or just don't work at all?

[lynsea]

I would like to add (sorry if I am repeating myself) that if you are considering doing any sort of serious swimming in this that you will want to buy a thick sheet. It really doesn't seem like it will bend much when you are out of water but you will be amazed when you're swimming. I made mine with what seemed like a thick enough sheet and it snapped. I think this method works really well but I just want people to be warned so they don't put in all the money and effort for a broken tail.

[Coradion]

I'm making one now, and it's more like $150 in materials, granted my shape for it is a bit different. You need the carbon fiber or fiberglass and multiple sheets of it depending on how thick it is. I'm using carbon fiber and foam blanks for the outer rays and then fiberglass for the rest. You also need a resin to coat it and while it's not that much resin needed it's still 45-90 a gallon depending on the type and I haven't found them in any smaller quantity.