DoZo Fiberglass Monofin in a tail-skin?

Hi! I've been lurking on the site for sometime, but I dont know that I've ever posted. So here we go!

I've been swimming with monofins for around 10 years, I started with a rapid and now have a Nemo-wave medium stiffness fin. I LOVE it, but of course its HUGE and not going to fit in any commercial tail skin. I've never swam with a tail skin, and I really want to!

I'm leaning towards the DoZo ( https://www.freediverworld.com/produ...e-colour=black ) seeing as I'm accustomed to a decent amount of propulsion.

I'm pretty sure I could use it with a FinFolk tail skin, but I've heard the flukes on those tend to fill with water and cause a lot of drag.

Has anyone paired a Mertailor Whimsy 3 tail-skin with a stiff blade? I LOVE the look and flop of the Whimsy 3 silicone monofin, but I'm afraid I'll hate the lack of propulsion. If I were to attempt this I'm sure I'd have to make a liner for the fluke to go around the fin. Has anyone attempted it?

Thanks!

I think you're on the right track -- the DoZo looks a lot like the Finis Shooter, which I know has been used in various tailmakers' silicone flukes for some time. You could always ask your tailmaker (Mertailor, Finfolk, or otherwise) if they'd be willing to build a tail around the DoZo monofin...?

No knowledge of the Whimsy, but I have a Spellbound. It also has a floppy monfin. I expected it to have poor propulsion, but is is actually quite good. I think the reason is the tips bend up and act like winglets on an aircraft wing, increasing performance. The only monofin I have with better propulsion is the Lunocet.

Be careful about thinking you can change the monofin. It may be glued in.

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Originally Posted by nightshades

I think you're on the right track -- the DoZo looks a lot like the Finis Shooter, which I know has been used in various tailmakers' silicone flukes for some time. You could always ask your tailmaker (Mertailor, Finfolk, or otherwise) if they'd be willing to build a tail around the DoZo monofin...?

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I'd love to, but I know I couldn't afford a custom one right now. I'm leaning towards a tail-skin/fabric thing for now. The DoZo is only an inch difference from the shooter, and dimension wise I'm pretty certain it would fit in the Finfolk tails at least.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Merman Storm

No knowledge of the Whimsy, but I have a Spellbound. It also has a floppy monfin. I expected it to have poor propulsion, but is is actually quite good. I think the reason is the tips bend up and act like winglets on an aircraft wing, increasing performance. The only monofin I have with better propulsion is the Lunocet.

Be careful about thinking you can change the monofin. It may be glued in.

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Thanks for the info! That's helpful. Have you used a fiberglass monofin? I'm hoping someone can compare that to the silicone. The Lunocet looks way cool also!

Luckilly I know with the fabric tails from both Mertailor and Finfolk that the monofin wont be glued in. (thank goodness for youtube reviews!) So I know I could put different fins in them...its just a question of how well it would function after, heh.

I made an angled fiberglass insert for a FinFun skin. It had graduated thickness and everything. it worked reasonably well, but I made it too soft. Then the tip got bent and broke. I tried adding a layer of glass, made a mess, and tossed the entire thing.
Ive also made monofins from polycarbonate and polypropylene of various sizes and thicknesses. So far, I rank propulsion performance, worst to best:

Mahina (makes alot of drag)
FinFun (too floppy, too small)
Various stiffened versions of the FinFun I have made (stiffer helps, but still too small)
Spellbound
Lunocet

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Merman Storm

I made an angled fiberglass insert for a FinFun skin. It had graduated thickness and everything. it worked reasonably well, but I made it too soft. Then the tip got bent and broke. I tried adding a layer of glass, made a mess, and tossed the entire thing.
Ive also made monofins from polycarbonate and polypropylene of various sizes and thicknesses. So far, I rank propulsion performance, worst to best:

Mahina (makes alot of drag)
FinFun (too floppy, too small)
Various stiffened versions of the FinFun I have made (stiffer helps, but still too small)
Spellbound
Lunocet

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Thank you! That gives me a lot of hope for the Fantasea 3 :D