Swimming&Diving with Lunocet Monofin

[Marco_W]

i also have a lot of space inside the peduncle, the torsion along the x direction(along the human length) is a lot, to large space between the axle`s and the bushings/joints, and the jointzs and frame parts (shoe &fluke) are scratched.
To stop this movement, normally have to have the small joint parts mounted together, as best made out of one piece, than i think 80-90% of this torsion will be stoped...i feel this torsion under water by correcting my position while swimming a line....

 

[Chipswim]

Marco!

Greetings to Bavaria from Nebraska!

I'm not really familiar with the model you are swimming..... But I see your pictures and I hear what you are saying. It is only good swimming if the flex pattern is correct! You may:

First try wrapping the spring / peduncle assembly with strong nylon zip ties in three locations along where the holes are inside the spring.... Front middle and rear. This transfers the resistance to the straps instead of the pins and the holes. That could solve the whole thing and you'd be done in ten minutes.... Maybe fixed forever.

If not:

Go back and read my exospring stuff. It is an easy self help solution. Basically I strap on additional strong rubber pieces above and below the original spring..... Then use that to make the flex pattern exactly as I want it to feel..... Very stiff in my case. It does not matter that the original spring is tired! Just leave it in place. The fin should deflect to a power position fairly easily but then progressively resist further deflection to create propulsion. It should be nearly impossible to over flex the fin so all power is useful. It should instantly return to a neutral position on its own at the top and bottom of the stroke. That way no movement is wasted. The two I'm swimming now are very powerful and durable under frequent use / abuse. They are '14 pros.

I'm not swimming a '15 yet. I thought they have been fine as Finsailor said? I know the new '15 springs are much larger and stronger which I believe to be the correct solution. Maybe you are strong enough to over power them anyway? I haven't read anyone else struggling.

If you choose to do this to a '15 you'd be the first I know of. Be creative. Trust your inspiration. Just make it do what you want it to do. I used truck tire side wall for one and the insulating rubber from under the feet of a very large air compressor for another. Both work great. I leave the stock spring in place and add above and below it.....a rubber exo sandwich with the old spring and edges of the flukes where the meat would be. Maybe you could use rubber from the springs that you stopped using if you had three? That would be good if the problem with the old springs was that the holes got bigger.

(If I was using those retired springs for rubber I think I'd lay one on its side then cut it length wise right through the holes. I think I'd then split it again but not all the way through then strap those pieces above and below essentially creating a double spring. Because they are strapped on the flex is against the straps instead of making the holes bigger where the pins go through. This is much more durable. If that wasn't enough I'd use your third spring too and have three springs at once.)

I drill holes in my rubber pieces so they can't move once strapped on and use commonly available nylon zip ties to hold them in place and adjust the flex. Near the feet I go around the whole aluminum and rubber. Back by the flukes there is room to thread between the flukes and aluminum. There is no permanent modification of the original set up...
Just these additional springs of rubber strapped on. Maybe it is not as pretty but it works very well, is nearly indestructible and you are not waiting for parts.

It should feel almost immovable in your hands but be very lively when you swim with it! Your whip kick creates remarkable force. If it is behaving properly it will reward you with direct propulsion from large or small strokes.

Best of luck to you!

 

[neurodoc]

Marco, are you saying that the rubber spring is failing, with the round holes becoming oblong, or is the stainless axle the problem, or the aluminum pieces that show wear? When you bend the fin, in the direction of swimming with fluke up/down, is there slack? If you bend the fin side to side, is there slack in that direction? and, if you twist it, as if you were behind the swimmer and twisted clockwise/counterclockwise, is there torsional slack? Would help to understand specifically the direction to help you figure out where it is coming from and what to do about it. Four hours a day? wow!

 

[Marco_W]

Neurodoc, i think all in one...,the bushings between alu and stainless axle have to much space,is to much, the frame parts are weared and so came all together.
The movement in "Z"Direction (up and down like swimming) have a small slack on the first axle to blue joint. it moving in "X"Direction (along the human length ) while side to side (direction"Y") you feel the slack a lot cause weared joint/ bushings... and the torsion around "X" is the biggest slack cause all slacks work together... the blue joints must work together as one piece to eliliminate the torsion.

hope you can see it here...
Yeah 4 hours, easerly... wife and kids are on the beach, water was a bit fresh (18°C/64°F) with my swimmsuite i was almost the only one inside the water... long ways around the cost colecting a lot of shells.... any time i had the chance i was down under... thanks to my wife!!!

 

[Marco_W]

interesting is also that the peduncle is as most working on the pfirst axle (shoe side) the secound is almost not bending...to much constraints for the joint/spring...
@ chip, i know what you did, i did the same on my first broken spring this was complete damaged, but i dont like to wrap something arround... like to upgrading the fin.. i love the luno!!!,
but not the issues and the way how the inventor act and care about warranty`s....

apneaddict and ted knows about but I´m on that point where they even dont get any response to me
i always tried to help, i oferd to Ted to check out the stiffnes of the spring, the index for rubber is "shore" but after i had a to stiff one he made these oblong holes.... more soft, but more edges, and brake...

 

[neurodoc]

Your fin has the aluminum center section (blue part) while mine has the Delrin plastic center section. My fin has some of the movement you demonstrate in all of those directions. The only one that I've found to reduce swimming performance is if there is any slack in the very first part of the range of motion when moving up/down in Z axis. Mine has very little slack at this point, though almost all of my swimming is in the pool. Does yours have slack if you move just a little up and down from neutral?

 

[Marco_W]

@neurodoc, i do have a small slack in "Z" based on the weard 1st axle- hole inside the frame parts...... I´ll think about to drill the holes, and put a kind of bearing bush inside, maybe out of brass, have to check the voltaic cell -do you know if the frame parts of the Luno are made out of ALMgMn 4.5?
or wich kind of AL it is?
I also think that the radial movement of the peduncle is not the same movement which like the spring to do... you know? what i mean?
stretching and compress of the rubber might be better if there are more effective degrees of freedom....
ted and either apneaddict giving a reply...



thanks....

 

[neurodoc]

Marco, I think I understand what you mean. I'm not sure what kind of aluminum the Luno is made of, except that it appears to be quite strong (unless your name is Chip ;-)
I do know that there is an upgraded bushing set in the works, which when available would fix the issue-probably permanently as the materials are the best available. Until then, if I were in your shoes, I would look at stock sizes of Delrin tubing with the same inner diameter as your stainless axles. Use Delrin washers to shim the gaps and you should be good to go. I will put in a word for you next time I speak with Ted. I've been quite busy recently and have no recent insider info from Ted, but am almost finished with a couple big projects so I will have time to re-engage soon. I did swim with my Luno this morning and still continue to love it more every time I use it!

 

[finSailor]

Neurodoc, i think all in one...,the bushings between alu and stainless axle have to much space,is to much, the frame parts are weared and so came all together.

I got excess movement in my Luno solved by adding some washers (see old post) but my excess movement was due to uneven vertebrae parts, not due to loose bushings/holes around axles. They are fine.

BTW, I still have not seen or heard anything about those warranty replacement pieces, promised by @Apneaddict !!!!!!!!

 

[Marco_W]

my replacement pieces and new bushings/ spring are on the way!!
thanks to Jeff, you do a really good Job so far....
mail repkly`s all seems to be fine, hope the new parts will fix my movements...

 

[finSailor]

A Luno Report from Mallorca

Trying to get back to the original intent of the thread.. which was all about actually swimming and diving with this fin..

I just came back from my first recreational "clear open water" diving trip from Mallorca, Spain. "Clear open water" meaning that usually I have to live with a pool and very murky waters of Baltic Sea. We dived in 3 different locations, one in south, two in east of the island. Happy to share exact locations if anyone interested. I had a diving buddy with limited experience, so no record dives, just playing and having fun in 8-14m depths near shore and boats.

We hired a day charter from Vita Bel - company, their 'flagship' Vita-Bel II. The skipper, Nigel knew immediately good spots, and besides that, offered very nice open buffet & bar service for entire day. Highly recommended! And before anyone asks - no, no drinking and diving took place, at least from my part.

Lunocet is surely a fun piece for recreational fun, no doubt about that. Luno is easy to attach in challenging shores, where a big traditional monofin might be difficult. And it works perfectly with snorkelling on the surface too!

I was more than pleased with an opportunity to dive in such places. The negative side was the structural/quality issues of the Lunocet Flukes (explained in another thread). I was constantly worried that it's getting worse and I have to fall back to bifins. It went okay this time, no signs of new fractures, but it was a pity to worry about that all the time, when everything else was just perfect! And it's sad that Lunocet Pro 2015 has such a short lifespan (7 months in a pool weekly exercises), and no working warranty part service.

I had a bunch of snorkelling colleagues with me, and of course the childishly funny part was when some freaked out when they thought they saw a dolphin..sorry, that was just me 10m below

Maybe a word about tidyness of the Mallorca Coast. People are simply stupid enough to throw carbage into the sea. Time to time there were plastic bags, toilet paper and even human turd floating near shore. Please, keep oceans clean. Thank you.

Here are some photos, just because! They are grabbed frames from the video, thus a bit blurry. Videos will follow later.