DIY Monofin

[Yidaki]

Hi folks,

This is my latest monofin project. I will put some images too so that how I made it step by step..

First of all, I cut piece from PVC sheet for the mold. Dimensions are 73x72 (widthxlenght). After that, I applied mold release to pvc piece..This is a kind of chemical that we are using for boat molds.
Next thing is laying fiberglass cloths.. I used two kind of glass cloth..One is Aircloth and the other is bi-axle.. Differences between of two, bi-axle is two layer glass and has stitches..This makes it very strong.. Air cloth has nice texture, so i just use for inside and outside layer.

 

[Yidaki]

Laying glass cloth is really easy, all we need to do it using special lamination roller to get rid off the trapped air between layers. When I was laying cloths, I started from bigger to small cloth pieces. From front of the blade to footpockets side, thickness is getting thicker.. After dried all layers, just need to sand all surface to make it smooth..And for last layer aircloth is perfect.

 

[Yidaki]

Next step is spraying with the gun clear coat to get nice finishing. We are using chemical for that called DURATEC..Hopefully, tomorrow...


The last thing is to find special glue to stick footpockets to blade..Tomorrow, I am gonna talk to our part service guy in marina..I have some thoughts but would like to find something different.


Cheers,
Burak

 

[efattah]

Cool! But please be careful with your lungs & hands when working with fiberglass (always use gloves & a mask)...

 

[Yidaki]

Cool! But please be careful with your lungs & hands when working with fiberglass (always use gloves & a mask)...

No worries! Photos are taken by me with self timer on the camera after every step finished. Thanks for your concerning though.

 

[Absolute]

Fiberglass and resin. yum....

Try and set up a vaccume bag system. You get much better resin saturation and a stronger product.

Good work,
Jay

 

[Yidaki]

Hi all,

I got request from some folks from DB that how I cropped the footpockets..Here is the pics how I ruined nice Omersub footpockets.. rofl

Cheers,
Burak

 

[PoseidonSv]

Impressive!

Did you find glue for rubber-glasfiber coat?

 

[Yidaki]

Yeah, I came up with two adhesives..First one is KeelGuard kit 3M glue. We use this kit for the boats to protect keel from sand or rocks when boater beaching. U can check that product www.keelguard.com.. However, this glue comes with the kit so I used leftover from our jobs.. moreover, if this is 3M, it might be in the market in any name..
Second choice that I liked better is PLEXUS glue. That is a really kick ass stuff..They r using it in Formula boats..

 

[PoseidonSv]

Wonderful Yidaki!

Maybe you can tell us how well it handles in the water later also?

 

[Yidaki]

Hi all, finally, I had a chance to try my monofin christmas morning in the pool and I love it.
It is exactly that what I was expecting. little bit stiff for pool but for open water at depth right on the money.
My next project using carbon and the other day i asked our supplier for the cost..I was told for yard 70 US$ (ouch). And special laying epoxy resin..
Also for this fin I want to use open heel footpockets for better performance. This Omer footpockets are very comfortable with 1mm socks but kind a loose.
I am tryin to contact with Ivan to get leaderfins hyper footpockets, i hope I can get them, they r so cool..is there anybody has experience with them?

Merry Christmas to u all...
Burak

 

[commonerg]

Impressive, looks real solid.

Do you have any other monos to compare it against? I'd love to know how it matches up. What was the total time/cost of the project?

 

[Yidaki]

Yeah, also I have Breier and Waterway monofins, If you compare them, mine is more solid like u stated. But, u can decide what stiffness u like to get. it is all about laying way (tampered or straight) and number of fiberglass cloths.. There are a lot of type cloths..Other thing is monofins are produced with big, expensive machines by using pressure at the factories..Like this way, u can use less resin to penetrate glass cloths and more layer . if you r laying by hand, u need to use laminating roller.
Vacuum bag set up is another way to get better job..But, u need some stuff like pump and special cloths to make this set up..little tricky....
For time element, it took one weekend to finish, One day making mold and laying glass cloths, next day sanding and giving the last shape...
All my expenses was footpockets (88 USD) coz, I am in marine business and no problem to get resin and fiberglass. But I guess, around 100 USD for it.

cheers,
Burak

 

[maxalex]

hi burak!

how many mm the thinnest and thick piece of your fin?
and angle of footpacket/fin?

thanks: alex

 

[trux]

A very detailed DIY monofin video:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziWxNUz2hEg]YouTube - ‪??? ??????? ????????? How to make a monofin CLASSIC‬‏[/ame]

 

[flippinmermaiD:]

thank you so much!!! ive been looking to make my own too i just have no idea about materials... i want mine to flex but not like a welcome mat flexes you know? should i layer the fiberglass so its gradient? can you recommend any materials?

 

[flippinmermaiD:]

i wish i could know his materials from the video....

 

[PoseidonSv]

The finblade is layered glasfiber plate that is delaminated as can be seen on other videos on youtube. Also you can see there how all the other parts are made modified glued and finished.