Originally Posted by
PearlieMae
Shimmy is right, those legs need to be together and the mannequin needs to be tight...leave about a fist-width between the ankles so you have room to put your feet in your fin. Remember, rubber stretches! The tendency is that there will always be a bit of bagginess in the back of the thighs. But i haven't figured out how to remedy that and be able to sit in a tail on land and not show mer-crack without that extra.
Packing tape works better than duck tape/duct tape because A: it's lighter; B: it's cheaper; and C: it doesn't leave glue residue on your straight pins.
You don't really need powermesh in your fins, but it can help attach them to your tail body. Powermesh as a base to your tail adds strength and helps the tail keep its shape. Otherwise, a Dragonskin tail without it could be too stretchy (Dragonskin is really soft) and you could have trouble with ballooning and slipping off. Powermesh is a lightweight, stretchy stabilizer/foundation.
Don't sand down the ridges of your fin...it will speed the deterioration of your fin. The constant flexing of swimming will eventually cause the plastic to fail and crack, usually right across, in front of your toes. The ridges will make the fin last a little longer, but it's been my experience that it will eventually break. I've worn out several. Bend the lid to a food container back and forth until it breaks and that's what eventually happens to your fin...it's the nature of that plastic. I think it's polypropylene.
Good luck!
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