Take a custom Monofin out of a tail?

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Oh well, there haven't been any new videos on his youtube channel. So I thought he still made them that way.

[Havanargila]

Oh I know about Mike Van Daal. For every 20 emails I send him, I get one reply saying that he'll email me soon. He's busy and good obviously.
If you could bear with me for a second, what is a foot pocket exactly? A space for feet within the silicone or an actual thing or part of a monofin or fin put into the silicone tail?

[Mermaid Jaffa]

A space for feet on the monofin. You know those things, that you stick your feet into when you use a monofin.

[Havanargila]

Right. I don't see why to put a foot pocket in instead of just making space in the fluke for my two feet...

Just feel like the middle man isn't necessary if I'm not using a monofin anyway.

[Raayvhen]

The foot pockets are what give the fin propulsion. You'll be moving very slow (if you move at all) in your tail if you don't use a monofin.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Maybe just cut out the monofin part and leave the foot pockets in? Then your feet won't feel like its loose inside your tail.
I don't have a silicone tail so I don't know exactly how it would work out!

[PearlieMae]

Hey girls, I know you honestly mean well but I didn't ask for, don't want and don't need opinions on whether or not to do this. I'm doing it. If you want to help me, let me know if you know how to take out the monofin/supplies I need. : snip: Again, I realize you guys are trying to help but I honestly don't want opinions on whether or not to do this or not. Just suggestions on how to make it happen sooner than later. Thanks!

Xacto blades and SilPoxy from Smooth On.

And maybe a Valium.

[Yulia]

You say you want to get it out because you can't move your feet? Because your not really supposed to use them in the dolphin kick.
Have I read you wrong?

[Mermaid Lunette]

i know this is a bit of an afterthought, but close up pictures of your fluke on dry land not in motion might be helpful. i mean, the pictures you provided, while pretty, don't show your tail very well and seeing your fluke clearly might still help

(i only suggest this because if people can clearly see your fluke they might be able to describe in detail how you can take it out, I.E: what angle to best remove/cut from etc... due to tails uniquness, not seeing it clearly only allows for vague suggestions on how to generally remove a monofin of various tails instead of a specific removal for your tail.) might not be a real factor to anybody now, but i still think it could help.

[MermaidBrandie]

Silicone ONLY sticks to more silicone and depending on the age of the tail sometimes not even that.

I get my silicone from smooth-on. I suggest getting a dragon skin since that's probably what the tail is made of.

Please please put a monofin in.


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[Ashe]

The way the monofin-less Mike Van Dal tails were created had hard and sturdy silicone in the fluke. It acted like a monofin and still gave propulsion.
I know how fixated you are on doing this, but you realize you'll just be wearing a giant silicone sock over your legs, right? And when you swim, the fluke will get all bunched up and not look like a fluke at all.
Have you swam using a monofin before? Some are actually very comfy!

But working on taking the fin out. You'll need knives and a scraper to detach the fin. Depending on what kind of glue he used to seal the fin into the fluke, it may be easy to detach or very hard. Does anyone know of a solvent that will dissolve glue but be silicone safe? I know I've used something called 'goo-gone'.

[MermaidBrandie]

I have some goo-gone. I can see what it does to silicone if you'd like


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[Havanargila]

Goo gone? I'll look for that. What type of knife would you use? Any idea what website I should go to buy a small tub of the silicone? I'll take some better pictures and post soon and I appreciate your willingness to help and offer suggestions even though my question sounds like an odd one. But trust me, if you'd been attempting to swim in my tail the last 6 months, I'm pretty sure you'd be doing the same thing.

I finally got ahold of Mike and he replied that he would make a finless silicone fluke and that is what he says he primarily makes anyway! So that is one piece of good news.

I do still want to fix this one though. More pics tomorrow! Thanks again

[Havanargila]

Please do!

I have some goo-gone. I can see what it does to silicone if you'd like


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[MermaidBrandie]

I would say a sharp box knife.

Look for a smooth-on rep, generally it's going to be a Reynolds Advance Supply, and they sell it for the same price as the smooth-on website but without the cost of shipping. Depending on where it's located compared to you this might be a better option, plus then you can talk to the people there and ask advice. I'd have the tail in the car for them to look at as well if you want, but then I really prefer hands on advice.

Have you swam in a monofin before? It makes the mermaid movement so much easier and more graceful, not to mention safer in open water.

I love Mike's tails, so pretty.


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[Mermaid Wesley]

I have to agree with putting a monofin in the tail. You might be interested in a foil or a rapid/wave monofin. They're very comfortable and not too expensive. There is no glue in the fluke of the mertailors and it is most likely that once you cut the fluke open, you will just be able to pull it out. You might want to take the monofin out then take it for a test swim and see what you think before sealing it back together. Then put in a monofin or don't if you really don't want to. Wash the silicone with dish soap and apply more silicone as glue everywhere where there isn't a monofin, preferably leaving a few unglued spots to allow for drainage. I was a competitive swimmer for some years as well and though I'm sure you could handle swimming without a monofin, it's much nicer to have one. Mermaiding requires a lot for aesthetics and Monofins add to the whole "look" as well as helping in swimming.


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[Havanargila]

"Inside of your tail is a polycarbone blade attached to rubber foot pockets that is sealed and molded into your silicone fluke, which is partially embedded using silicone rubber. The pockets themselves are slightly separated and there is silicone rubber filling any and all voids." - Mertailor

What does Sealed mean? I take that to mean glued....Am I wrong? When I stick my arm down there, the silicone rubber block literally seems like it's glued to the silicone fluke itself...

Has anyone else out there had to dissect a Mertailor tail and could offer me some direction?

Still hoping to get a professional to do this for me, but if I end up doing this I am totally you tubing it. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there with this problem...

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Sealed means its stuck together.

[MermaidBrandie]

Best one to ask would be Fifi, she's the only one I know to take tails apart on the reg. other than that, you might just have to dig in and hope for the best.




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[UltimateSwimFin.com]

Your Feet need to be pointed straight, because if they are pointed in even a slight "V", you will inflict some awful forces on your knees and likely lead to injury.

Footpockets of some sort are generally needed for power transfer, efficiency and structural integrity.

Just having feet inside a silicone tube will likely just have you flopping around and potentially kicking through the silicone.

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