How do I bond rubber to fiberglass: Fixing my Capt. Nemo Monofin

[Livinglight]

I've been Fin Swimming for about 6 years. My recent Fin, Waterways Capt. Nemo has been a fun
ride but It recently broke and Im trying to fix it. The Foot boot plastic cracked at near the mid heal.
That let the rubber part of the boot; which seemed to be barely glued into place, to come far enough off
the face of the fiberglass that the pressure split the blade. A crack about 10in showed . I used fiberglass
to fix the crack.. It rode a lil stiff.. but I and it down a good bit and that softened the ride. But after 2 swims
the heal place cracked again and the rubber came away from the fiberglass. I tried Marine epoxy and then later super glue. It makes it through one good workout but crack at the heal place.

It looks like to me the real weak point of the Capt Nemo is that he two feet.. are 2 feet... Meaning.. the space between the feet is where the leverage is .. that allows the force of swimming to eventually dislodge the boot from the blade.

The fiberglass part of my fix is solid. But I can't get the rubber boot to bond to the fiberglass.

What would work the best to permanently bond the rubber to the fiberglass? If I could create a solid bond
I could get another 100 miles out of this fin.

Thanks for any feedback / ideas.

 

[X-Fins]

Hi, can you post a picture??, please

 

[Livinglight]

Hi, can you post a picture??, please

this is the Back side view and the crack in the plastic... and there .. under the foot area of the foot pocket ... the rubber of the
foot pocket is complete unglued...

After really looking at this I think it is poor manufacturing and really not enough glue between the rubber and the blade..
that is what caused the space that eventually lead to enough force to crack the fin

Thanks

 

[REVAN]

They don't last forever. Maybe it's just time for a new monofin....

 

[cdavis]

5200 will bond to both, but your damage will require something to stiffen the joint. My guess is this isn't solvable. Time for a new fin. If you have the coin, check out a Dol-fin. I promise, it won't break.

 

[Livinglight]

5200 will bond to both, but your damage will require something to stiffen the joint. My guess is this isn't solvable. Time for a new fin. If you have the coin, check out a Dol-fin. I promise, it won't break.

Thanks!... Well... Id rather fix it... Do you think I can use fiberglas resin and cloth to overlay the plastic break... ? I could go
from fiberglass /over the plastic / to fiberglass on the other side...? What do ya think?

And yea... i will take a look at Dol-fin

 

[X-Fins]

Hi Livinglight.

I,m agree with Davis and Revan.

Not easy to solve, anyway try, nothing to loose.

Have luck !!

 

[REVAN]

It could be fixed, but the level of effort and resulting quality, would not be worth it. The Nemo is probably about a $300 fin after shipping. IMO, the most cost effective solution is to just buy a new one.

How many years did you get out of your Nemo before it broke?

 

[AlB]

Sikaflex221 is what you need....

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Unless you do all your diving in shallow water and very close to shore or a boat, I would encourage you to think about a new pair of fins. We offer a great pair of fiberglass blades and pockets, in two different hardnesses for a little over $200. Heck we even sell single fins, so if you wanted to buy just one replacement; we would do that. I'd much rather see you wearing a slightly mis-matched pair of fins, than risk having one snap in half at depth.

 

[HLanger1955]

I agree with mako1....a broken fin at greater depth isn't funny. Not worth to take that saving few $$, €€ or £..