Do we really need those ridges?

[Ashe]

Anyone who has tried to make a fabric tail with a Finis Wave or Rapid monofin must have run into trouble with those 4-6 little ridges right in the middle of the fin. So my question is: do we really actually need them? I was thinking of sanding them down to make it more smooth and to have them not show through the fabric as much. Has anyone ever tried this? Is this what Raven does to hide the two ridges in the Competitor monofin? Thanks!

[Ayla of Duluth]

Yes, I'm fairly certain Raven does sand down the two ridges on the competitor monofin. I'm not sure if she reinforces it with anything, or if the silicone is enough to keep it from getting damaged, but she does remove them somehow.

I'm pretty sure its safe for you to sand down the ridges on the monofin, however I also think they serve a purpose in giving the monofin its rigidity. (is that a word? my spell check didn't seem to notice it.) I think if you sand down the ridges, the fin will become just a flap of rubber (plastic? something) that bends a lot easier than it used to. Putting silicone over it might help stiffen it up again just a bit, but fabric won't do much.

[FreshWaterMermaid]

Ayla is correct.
If you take too much (or any, perhaps) off the monofin it will be more flimsy. Its all the same type of plastic but those ridges are its spine.
Also I have a competitor and I don't know how Raven hides the ridges but I would think the amount of silicone she uses on the fluke hide it well. They aren't that high too, so it wouldn't take much.

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[Mermaid Tula]

I was wondering the same thing! I was thinking about just chopping off the edges to make it more smooth, but I decided that I should hunt through the threads on here first before I did anything

[Winged Mermaid]

The ridges are actually stiffeners- they cause the monofin to be more ridged and gives it support. As Freshwater said, it's spine is a good way to think of it. Thus when the material bends when you swim, the spring it gives it to go back to it's ridged state from being bent is what really gives you that push through the water. I'ved talked to people who have sanded them off and they said the monofin became pretty much useless as far as propulsion goes. It was just too floppy without them. Also people who have made diy monofins without them often have the fin snap from stress.

So I guess you don't NEED them, it's just a matter if you're willing to give up a vast amount of propulsion.

Fiberglass fins can be a different story depending on how they're built. Most fiberglass fins actually don't have ridges, the stiffeners are built in via the way the fiberglass is structured and layered. You can usually see these in the yellow fiberglass fins. Even in the competitor. With the competitor the extra ridges at the top are more rubber, a part of the foot pocket for stabilizing, it than actual stiffeners for the blade. So those you may be able to do without. Especially since I don't remember seeing them on hardly any any other fiberglass monofins. Though I could be wrong.

[MerAnthony]

Ok so we need the ridges on a Rapid because they are the spine an they give it spring. But is there a way to make the monofin a little stiffer ? I have some flipper scraps here an I tried glueing a piece of thin lexan to it (flipper + monofin = same stuff)I used E6000 glue an it didn't hold. Any ideas what might hold?

[Ashe]

Ok, but what if I kept the two ridges on the side and just sanded down the middle ones? They run all the way from the top to the bottom of the fin, so I would assume that would give it support... Or sand down the middle ones on the front but keep the ones on the back? I think that might work well and won't take away too much propulsion. I haven't cut or modified a monofin besides taping plastic extensions yet so I am feeling really noobish at the moment haha! Thanks for the help!

[Ashe]

Oh! Or I could also stretch a few strips of duct tape across the tops of the ridges on the fin! In that case, the tape will hold the fabric above the ridges and they won't show through and we wouldn't have to take anything off! And I am not worried about it suctioning much because I am working with neoprene, not a thin fabric like spandex ;) Yeah, so I think that is what I will do :D

[Kanti]

In the case of the rubber monofins like the rapid,wave and foil I think what everyone said is pretty spot on.
A LOT of pressure is put on the center of the monofin when you swim, if those ridges weren't there, the monofin MAY have a greater chance of splitting horizontally down the middle of the fin. I mean, just a theory but it might be why.

In the case of the fiberglass monofins, however, they don't usually have support aside from those two little spikey thingies that are right under where the footpockets go. Those are meant to give the footpockets a bit more attachment to the actual blade, I think you'd be okay shaving them down, but it depends what they're made of. If it's a hard rubber you can probably get away with it.
Fiberglass monofins are usually hard enough to not break under pressure, hence why they're usually completely smooth along the blade.

[Mermaid Tula]

Anthony, I'm having the same issue with the E6000 not adhering zipties to my monofin. I re-read the instructions. Did you roughen up the surface?

[MerAnthony]

On the flipper I did but the lexan I didn't. It just pulled away from the flipper an the glue stayed on the lexan.:headwall:

[Mermaid Tula]

weird. Maybe the lexan needs to be roughed up too. For placement, I used hot glue to put my zipties on, but the glue is just lifting every time I move my monofin.

[Delphine]

Hey, all. I'm doing a silcicone with a Wave monofin. I also thought of sanding down the ridges, but as they are there for stability purposes, are okay as is. I have sanded down most of the surface (the type of poly that monofins are made of won't stick to my dragon skin silicone on its own. I tested this & sadly the cured silicone peeled right off.), and a little on the ridges. They got wavy, but I'm still planning on leaving them. Since my fluke will be the heaviest part of my tail, I feel like it needed the added "spinal" support! XD

[MermaidBrittany]

Hey guys :) I took off the ridges awhile ago, but it was a rather rash decision :P However I cannot compare the flexibility now compared to before because i don't remember! xD
However, I does work fine still. I took off all of the ridges, except the ones on the very outside (the edges of the fin idk if you would consider them ridges).
I thought It looked bad with my fabric tail, which is why I decided to cut them off. I did not use a sander however, I uses razor blades.
It has not split since I have done it, and I did it over a year ago. :)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

I've just ordered a triton-monofin, that is about the same size a my wave, to replace it in my fabric tails, as I don't like those ridges either :(

[Capt Nemo]

The ridges do stiffen the fin for more propulsion, but they also channel the water and make it flow to the rear of the fin instead of flowing to the sides. This again aids the propulsion. With a fabric covering, they only stiffen the blade, so cutting them down somewhat is fine. (Keep a little to keep the blade stiff)