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Thread: HOW I MADE A RUBBER MONOFIN at home :)

  1. #1
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Narina's Avatar
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    Lightbulb HOW I MADE A RUBBER MONOFIN at home :)

    Well, i thought i would post how i made my monofin! Its been through some trial and error, but its pretty good
    So, i had some rubber in a sheet, about 5 mm thick, that was for outdoors. It had been sitting out there for who knows how many years, but it wasnt brittle in the least so i knew it would be good!!!

    Youll need:
    A sheet of rubber
    A jigsaw to cut it
    Water shoes
    Hemp cord (or another really really strong thread)
    A drill and drill bit

    Thats it!!!

    1: I cut out the shape i wanted for my fluke onto paper (making sure there was enough room for my feet!), then traced the shaped onto the rubber.

    2: I cut it out with a jigsaw. Make sure to round the corners at the heels as much as possible, and as close the the edge of where your heels will be as you can!!

    3: Mark out about 15 holes going around the edges of the water shoes. Drill them with a drill bit slightly thicker than your hemp cord.

    4: Copy those holes exactly onto the cut out rubber and drill them too.

    5: Take your hemp cord and weave it through, like your sewing the shoes to the rubber. I used a big needle, which is best, but you could even use a bobbypin if you had to!

    6: Tie it off REALLY REALLY well. You could put a dab of strong glue on the knot to be sure.

    7: At this point, i added bathroom silicone between the shoes and the rubber. NOT WORTH IT!! the silicone didnt stick to the shoes, it just came off!!

    8: Try it out! At first the monofin was too big, and was more of a deadweight that i had to pull around than something that would actually propel me :/ But then, with the jigsaw, i cut it down to 2/3 of the size and its PERFECT!!! Because its so flexible, it makes a gorgeous *flip* motion in the water
    http://mernetwork.com/index/album.ph...achmentid=6906 this is a picture of how it looked at first (its a bit smaller now)

    this is the finished fin!!!

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    you can see the thickness of the rubber

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    and how it looks NOW:
    http://mernetwork.com/index/album.php?albumid=424

    Troubleshooting tips: I will add some more photos later, but i really have wanted to post this for a while!!!! Me and Charlotte tried this with a bath mat and some plastic shoes that were like ballet flats, but she found that her feet slipped out of them straight away, and i think that the bath mat was a bit TOO flexible....

    Weaving the hemp is a PAIN!!! it takes perseverance!

    Watershoes are good because (my ones at least) had a stretchy neoprene type of fabric covering the top so its easy to get on but will stay in place.

    DO NOT MAKE IT TOO BIG!!!!!!!!

    Dont make it too small either. At least if its big you can cut it down, but you can make a small one bigger!!

    Get watershoes in a size smaller than yours- they need to be TIGHT because they will loosen in the water from moving your ankles around!!

    Have fun! im 15 and i could make it, so ANYONE can!!!!!
    Goodluck!!! <3
    User previously known as "Natasha".




  2. #2
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Narina's Avatar
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    the two pictures of the monofin are BEFORE i cut it down. As you can see, its enormous, and there are awkward corners at the heels that almost ripped my tail!!! :O
    Comment with any questions!!
    User previously known as "Natasha".




  3. #3
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    Cool I'll love to try it

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    thats way cool
    "Silence is beautiful, not awkward. The human tendency to be afraid of something beautiful is awkward."

  5. #5
    where did you get the rubber from? really good idea to put into my latex tail, the fluke is enourmous and needs a custom made fin in order to work properly.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Narina's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ilonka View Post
    where did you get the rubber from? really good idea to put into my latex tail, the fluke is enourmous and needs a custom made fin in order to work properly.
    well the rubber was already at my house when we moved there! Several huge 2m by 1m sheets!! Im sure there are shops (i know there is Clark Rubber in Australia) where you can buy it
    The reason i used it was because i wanted to make use of things i already had! So if you look around your house/shed there might be something similar!
    User previously known as "Natasha".




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    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod
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    Question, does it give good or any propulsion?
    "Silence is beautiful, not awkward. The human tendency to be afraid of something beautiful is awkward."

  8. #8
    Love this idea!I'll have to try this sometime!
    "No siren did ever so charm the ear of the listener as the listening ear has charmed the soul of the siren” -Henry Taylor

  9. #9
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    Neat! Let us know how it works!

  10. #10
    Cool! Is it real fast?

  11. #11
    I would love to know how good the propulsion is and how it looks in a tail
    "No siren did ever so charm the ear of the listener as the listening ear has charmed the soul of the siren” -Henry Taylor

  12. #12
    Is this the fin you currently use? Because l want to make one and i want to know how it looks in the water
    Dan/Danny || 17 || they/them

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  13. #13
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Narina's Avatar
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    I've since upgraded to a finis rapid, but i miss how flog this homemade one was! Unfortunately when i went to canada i was forced to throw it out at the airport </3 </3 </3
    I deleted most of my older youtube videos, so this is the only one that shows the mono fin in action. It was a little heavy, but i miss it :'(
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ0x8bDjigY
    User previously known as "Natasha".




  14. #14
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Kelda's Avatar
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    WHAT. Why on earth did they make you throw it out? D:

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    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Jaffa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mermaid Melaina View Post
    WHAT. Why on earth did they make you throw it out? D:
    Mold is a biohazard. Even if there is a tiny tiny slim chance it will grow on it, they will make your throw it out.
    Formerly known as ireneho

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Mermaid Narina View Post
    I've since upgraded to a finis rapid, but i miss how flog this homemade one was! Unfortunately when i went to canada i was forced to throw it out at the airport </3 </3 </3
    I deleted most of my older youtube videos, so this is the only one that shows the mono fin in action. It was a little heavy, but i miss it :'(
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ0x8bDjigY
    Thanks, i wanted to see what it looked like in the water
    Dan/Danny || 17 || they/them

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  17. #17
    Senior Member Chesapeake Pod Fun123joker's Avatar
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    im not going to use this for a monofin but for side fins. my side fins wont have many detail and will be fabric so i might put rubber in them so when kids wanna feel they would feel somthing hard and maybe flesh like when they touch the fins


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  18. #18
    how much do does water shoes cost?
    Dan/Danny || 17 || they/them

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  19. #19
    Dear Mermaid Narina,

    Your story is kinda similar to mine haha....I also got my hands on some old partly painted rubber foam mat at our store room, cut it into my desired shape and stitched on strong, a bit hard stretchable cotton fabric alongwith the heelstraps....It's quite flimsy and light (I used a rough seemingly strong thread for the sewing the footpockets, separating them and elastic bands for the heel straps)....kinda funny how I'm replying to a post like this after 8 long years huh??!!


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  20. #20
    hi, i like it, it seems like an easy option to make one. I have few questions: do you have photos of the monofin in the tail? Have you used it in the water? Is it heavy when wet? thanks
    Quote Originally Posted by Robartt View Post
    Dear Mermaid Narina,

    Your story is kinda similar to mine haha....I also got my hands on some old partly painted rubber foam mat at our store room, cut it into my desired shape and stitched on strong, a bit hard stretchable cotton fabric alongwith the heelstraps....It's quite flimsy and light (I used a rough seemingly strong thread for the sewing the footpockets, separating them and elastic bands for the heel straps)....kinda funny how I'm replying to a post like this after 8 long years huh??!!


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