Hiding the ridges on a competitor monofin?

[Lily]

I just got my competitor in the mail and it's so awesome I could cry.

http://i.imgur.com/KzXsjmb.jpg?1
(yes, my tiny feet don't even come close to the drainage holes! gotta get some neoprene socks...)

The only concern I have with making this into a tail is those ridges on either side of the foot pocket. They're much taller and thicker than I was expecting and I'm not sure if I can hide them. I've got a couple of ideas:


Conceal with clever veining in the fluke and/or make the scales come down farther to mask it
Make a super thick fluke that tapers toward the blade, then cut out places for the ridges to nestle into
Cut off the ridges somehow


I'm sort of leaning towards the last one, but I also don't want to compromise the structural integrity of the monofin by cutting off something that's important. I don't know if they're there to help the foot pocket stay attached or if they're just for improved aquadynamics (is that a word?). If they're just to streamline water flow, I think it would be cool to cut them off because the rest of the fluke is going to take care of that. If they're actually important to the structure of the fin, well, then we've got a problem.

So... has anyone here made a tail with the Competitor who can offer me advice? Pretty please, with pearls on top??

[NerineArcticMermaid]

When I cut the ridges of of my wave... it became too floppy. I'd go with scales comeing down further. My tail is like that and it works well.

[Winged Mermaid]

They're called stiffeners, and they're there to support the fin and also to stiffen it so when you bend it, the stiffeners "push" back giving it more propulsion. Be careful cutting those- you could compromise the fin. Tailmakers have had to experiment with doing that and keeping the integrity- that's why early tails made by Raven (like Raina's tail), Kariel, even Finfolk I believe, all have the ridges still on the fin. They had to work out how to do it properly through testing.

[Echidna]

I have a competitor in my "shark tail", and the ridges are not really visible even though it's tight fabric over the fin.
The ridges on Rapid or Wave are much more noticeable, but those look like fin veins, so no problem imo.

[Lily]

I just contacted Finis and they said they don't recommend trimming the height of the ridges down more than halfway. That might be enough to conceal them better in a tail - they look about 2 inches tall right now, so 1 inch could easily be hidden by a nice fin vein, especially if I keep the taper that they have already. It's really scary to be doing trial-and-error on a $320 piece of equipment, but I guess I have to learn somehow!

http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bitches_gots_to_learn_orange.gif

[Yulia]

If they have a sharp shape (like a, uhm, V) then maybe sanding them down a little could help too make it look more natural?