 AlohaMermaid |
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Posts: 109
12/15/10 08:42:14 |
Hi Mermaids and Mermen!
I'm so happy to have found this forum! I swim with a small group of other mermaids in Hawaii. We swim about once a week, mostly in the ocean but also in swimming pools.
I have two tails from Eric and just ordered a third. My experiences with him have been positive. I bought my first one from him on ebay. It is a neoprene tail, with beautiful colors of red-violet purple and copper. I love that it has a zipper going all the way up the back, making it super-easy to put on and even easier to take off. Amazingly, it fit me almost perfectly, although it was made for someone else originally. My friend who's a seamstress took in the waist, and now it fits great.
My only issue with the tail is the monofin, because I swim in the ocean and need the push of a stiff fin, and his original fin is a less expensive Finis. Easily resolved, though, because my friend who sews is puttiing a Finis Competitor into the tail. I spoke with Eric about this and he says he's very happy to build his new tails with Competitors for those who ask and who pay for his cost in doing so, so that's what he's doing with the new tail that he's making for me, yay!
My second Mertailor tail is a latex one, which I haven't swam with yet, mostly because it has the same thinner blade type of monofin with it, and I don't want to take that type of fin into the ocean. It's a gorgeous and stunning turquoise tail, so I'll use it for topside photo shoots and probably some swimming pool mermaiding. This tail was custom made for me, and the wierd thing was that it fit me exactly like the one I'd bought from him on ebay . . .fitting perfectly everywhere except a little too big in the waist . . . and this was easily fixed by my friend who sews. It took her 10 minutes to take in the waist and now it fits like a glove. He delivered this tail to me exactly on time, 5 to 6 weeks.
So I just ordered a third tail from Eric because I really wanted a silicone one and he's now offering them! With the Finis Competitor fin in it (an extra charge, which I expected, and he's only charging me for his cost of the fin), tax, shipping, etc, it came to $2000, which seems very reasonable. I adjusted my measurements with him so that the waist will fit better. His tail lengths have been great, with the top coming up almost to the rib cage, which is very flattering and comfortable.
I actually had contacted Mike Van Daal about getting a silicone tail because I didn't know Eric made them. I wrote to Mike and immediately got his very thorough form letter back, explaining my options. So I was ready to order a silicone tail from him and wrote to him 3 times at his email address and through ebay, asking him where to send the money, but he never responded. I do hope to get a tail from Mike some day, because his work is beautiful, and hopefully he'll write me back. Maybe he's busy. But in the meantime, good old Eric did let me know he's now making silicone tails and he responded immediately. So I'm thrilled to get a silicone tail from him.
I'm waiting for photos of my Mertailor neoprene tail which a friend of mine took in the ocean last week. Once I get those photos, I'll put them on my profile (I don't have photobucket) and mention it here.
The tail that's on my profile right now is a neoprene one made by my Mermaid swim buddy, Dana Richardson. She's an amazing mermaid! Her tails are gorgeous, and very sparkly with lots of sequins. They are also form and function, because they are soooooo amazing to swim with in the ocean currents! It's truly an extension of my own body when I'm in it. Her monofins are performance oriented, and you can kick twice and be down at 10 to 20 feet and back to the surface in two kicks. This, to me, is what's important when mermaiding in the open ocean. Dana's website is danamermaid.com, by the way, if you'd like to see her photos and talk with her about her tails.
Happy Mermaiding!
Last Edited By: AlohaMermaid 12/15/10 09:13:53. Edited 1 time. |
| AlohaMermaid |
#1 |
Posts: 109
12/15/10 09:12:49 |
Thanks, Freethinker, and glad to hear you had a good experience with him, too.
I wanted to add that these are all recently acquired tails. I ordered the ebay tail and the latex tail in October, 2010.
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| Marla |
#2 |
Posts: 248
12/15/10 09:22:44 |
AlohaMermaid I've seen pics of you with Dana. They are amazing! I am hoping to make one like Dana's too as they seem very easy to swim in and hug the body. I love my mertailor tail also except that it wasn't made for me (I bought it used) so it's a tiny bit too short, but I think I have some ideas to add-on to it from all the great topics on here.
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| AlohaMermaid |
#3 |
Posts: 109
12/15/10 09:33:08 |
Aloha, Marla, your tail in your profile pic is stunning! Is that from the Mertailor? Love the size of your fluke!
Yes, Dana's tails are amazing and they definitely hug the body. The one I have from her wasn't custom made for me, but it fits great.
I would be interested in reading about your ideas to make your tail longer in the waist, too.
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| MermaidRaven |
#4 |
Posts: 536
12/15/10 11:03:30 |
Even tho your happy with the tail, I wish you hadn't paid so much for it....I knew when he listed it, someone would probably like the color scheme and buy it however the tail was made from old tail parts and was thrown together in only a few nights. I don't believe it was fair of Eric to charge 500.00$ for something with puffy paint.
I was the original owner of that tail and I do believe the tail was made the way it was out of spite, and was not up to my standards for tails and thats why I got my money back.
But if you feel it was worth the money and you are proud to wear it than that all that matters I guess. I hope your silicone tail turns out well, as to my knowledge he has only ever made one before.
Good luck and happy to have you here.
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| AinaR |
#5 |
Posts: 838
12/15/10 11:55:45 |
I'm glad you had such a good mertailor experience and I never ever thought about the monofin difference because I have yet to use my tail in the ocean actually swimming. I'm not looking to do anything amazing but I was planning on swimming with it in LA just after Christmas- do you think it would be safe? I'd love to talk to you further about that.
You'll have to forgive us, a lot of us have been quite spurned by the mertailor recently and it's very hard to post positively about him (you can read any of my threads in this section of the site for photos etc of what I paid 1000 for). If you're happy with your tail then I am happy for you. The last time we saw it it was covered in mold and bird poop. It's kinda a legend on this forum because of all the drama that went down around it. I do agree that you shouldn't have been charged so much for it but heck, I was charged 1000$ for a tail 10 inches too short that in all liklihood was made of something similar to carpet backing. *shrug* All that really matters at the end of the day is that it fits you, you can swim in it, and you like it. I don't think the tail is what makes the mermaid- it's the person wearing it. So you do your best with it and I hope we'll see some photos!
I have seen previous images of you on facebook with Dana and you really look great! It's exciting to have you here and I hope we can learn a lot from you.
Last Edited By: raina 12/15/10 12:01:17. Edited 1 time. |
| AlohaMermaid |
#6 |
Posts: 109
12/15/10 12:08:07 |
Okay, I can see that we're a very open and bluntly honest group . . . just like merpeople, LOL!
Yes, that's the tail that I bought. I'm SO sorry that you went through painful drama with it! I see that my tail has a legacy. Yes, it was a bit of money, but I have altered how it looks with a lot of sparkle, sequins, silky trim, and more paint and I think it looks gorgeous, especially underwater. I actually like the puffy paint scales, as do my friends who've seen it. Maybe in Hawaii, we like things that in other places are considered tacky? Just look at our "Aloha wear" as an example, LOL! Anyway, when the sunlight was hitting it through the ocean, it looked amazing. I'm waiting for my friend's photos from last weekend and I'll then post them for you to see.
I still would LOVE to buy a tail from Mike Van Daal . . .maybe if you know him, you can ask him to please reply to me? I just sent him a message on facebook. The delay may be because I've asked him about putting a Finis Competitor in the tail he'd make for me. I need a very stiff blade in the monofin for the ocean currents. If his custom monofins have stiff blades, that's fine, too
Raina, I think swimming in the ocean with a mermaid tail is the BEST! I'm a scuba divemaster and I think freediving with a mermaid tail is way more fun. I used to dive and swim in L.A. waters, and the currents are pretty strong there, so I'd suggest replacing the monofin in your tail before you go. When I freedove last week with the Mertailor standard monofin, it was during a pre-storm ocean swell with strong current in Kona. I didn't get any traction from his monofin, and it was a bit scary trying to swim against current with no-to-little push response from the monofin. His monofins are fine for the pool, in my opinion. But even on a calm day, I'd want a really stiff monofin for the ocean.
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| MermaidRaven |
#7 |
Posts: 536
12/15/10 12:43:52 |
Sometimes Im too blunt for my own good.
If you have made improvements to the tail I would LOVE to see them (ill keep an eye out for pictures). If I didn't get my money back I was going to redo it myself so Im glad you have added to it. I don't think puffy paint is tacky, I just think for 500.00$ you should get a little more as you can buy puffy paint at wallmart for like .49cents and because eric now sells his realistic tails for only $499.00.
Mike makes amazing tails, Mertailor has recently been upsetting a lot of customers who are now looking to mike for tails so Im sure hes pretty busy, but he really is fantastic.
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| AinaR |
#8 |
Posts: 838
12/15/10 13:01:28 |
Yah Mike can take a bit to respond, only because he typically responds with all the info you need.
I'm used to water barely above freezing. But I never thought that it might be dangerous for me! I'd really like to get a couple under water photos so I guess I'll feel it out. If it's calm and I'm with a lot of people who can help me stay safe I'm still going to try it.  If I don't think I can handle it I'm not the kinda person to jump in lol Perhaps Eric should consider a disclaimer though about the monofins so people know they work best in pools and I imagine lakes.
I'm really excited to see what you've done with the tail Let us know how it feels in the water!
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| MermaidCalliope |
#9 |
Posts: 249
12/15/10 13:08:10
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I don't know how the currents work on the west coast, but here on the Georgia coast, we have these wicked sideways currents. Pick your feet up off the sea floor for a minute and let yourself float, and you'll be 500 feet to the left of your blanket spot in the blink of an eye. I'm a VERY strong swimmer and I can't go against it if it's a windy day or a storm's coming in. One of the reason I'm glad that I'm getting a Rapid instead of a Wave or Tempo :/ But I think as long as you have someone with you (DON'T EVER SWIM IN THE OCEAN ALONE), as in, in the water with you, you should be fine for shoots. Don't get cocky, though, and if it's hinting at a rainstorm you best stay on the land.
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