Modifying fins, cutting, trimming etc.

[SangP]

Hi guys,

I remembered having a hard time using my mares quattros cus they are just too much fins for me when I first started but in hindsight could I have done anything to the fins short of doing some actual work on myself gasp!

Cutting, trimming or modifying fins would work? I'm thinking of getting a cheap used quattros n making some mods on it to make it easier on the legs.

After studying the design of the scubapro novas I was wondering if trimming 1 or 2 mm off the side walls to make a pivot point similar to the novas would make it easier to use?

I'm thinking of just making a small semi circular notch about 1-2mm deep on both sides of the fin's side walls to make it pivot on that point like the novas.

I know this would shorten the life of the fins in the long run but I'm willing to experiment with a cheap pair.

Any info on what's the best way to go about doing this pls?

SangP

No, learn to fin properly for your style with the fin you have. Any fin will work for any person. If you attempt to over kick the fin it will work less efficiently

 

[SangP]

CoolTech,

I completely agree but there are some fins that are a bit much no matter how slowly or carefully I fin. Whats worse is getting cramps trying to surface fin back to the boat or getting left behind cus I'm moving too slowly.

So is there anything I can do to a cheap pair of quattros to make them just a tad easier to use?

SangP

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

No, there is NO fin that is a bit much if you fin correctly. There is however, an issue with endurance. This is generally dealt with via strength training.

Most of the people I know use ScubaPro Jet fins made popular by the US Navy... This includes many of my buddies and their girl friends (my gf included). I can use those or my preferred fin the Rondine-L... a 42" fin when used correctly, blows every other fin in the world out of the water...

 

[SangP]

Dude,

I have jets, 2 of them in fact, 2 apollos, 1 force fin excellerating, a sporasub full foot and a slipstream. I'm not looking for advice on how to use stuff but how to mod stuff....

The purpose of the fins would be rec travel fins but with the power to do that tad more than my apollos.

I love my jets and apollos seriously but they'e a pig to lug about. I can get an almost new pair of quattros for $36 so I figured that I can experiment without too much heart break on it to make it a bit easier to use.

I can use a pair of L jets fine n they are awesome but the weight man! the weight for travel!

SangP

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

All that weight? 2 lbs. 1 ounce per fin? (Yes, I weighed them for travel) and they were less weight than longer fins...

 

[SangP]

As a pair they're 3 kgs ++ with springs, the mares barely tip the scales at 2kgs. It isn't just the weight as I'm a foot heavy guy. I had to resort to putting weight pockets on my halcyon just to trim out better.

Trust me I did try everything to trim better when using jets but my instructor finally agreed that I am too feet heavy not to have use weight pockets. Nothing short of arching till my feet touched my butt would result in me not tilting back.

I would really love to use the jets for even snorkeling as they can really move me for scuba too but honestly I haven't tried them for snorkeling cus I'm worried bout my feet sinking once I stop moving. I borrowed a mate's aeris velocity fins n they are great travel fins but gave about as much power as a baby's burp.

CoolTech, come on I don't need to justify why I want to mod the fins I just want to know what's the best way to make them easier to use short of cutting a slit in between it..

SangP

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Good luck. I have never heard of anyone modifying fins...

 

[David Wilson]

SangP:

There's a recent thread in this very forum about trimming fins:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fins-masks-snorkels/340632-cuting-down-fins.html

Here are my two contributions copied from that thread:

1. Here's an image from a Korean site illustrating the process of cutting down fin blades with shears:

The fins above are Dolphins, all-rubber full-foots made by Gull of Japan, which are often used as swim training aids. Swimmers often cut down rubber swim fin blades to suit the training régime they are following. There's a web page at
Fins and Swim Workouts - Swimming with Fins - or do You Call them Flippers?
which recommends this for swimmers: "You can make your own short blade fins by cutting off all but two or three inches of the fin's blade." Remember, though, that this amount is intended for swimmers rather than divers.

So, I guess the answer to your question is: it all depends. As a material, rubber is fairly easy to cut. Plastic may well be a very different proposition. As for length, just remember you can keep chopping bits off, but you can't put the bits back if you chop off too much. I suggest that you experiment a bit, trying out your truncated fins before cutting off more.

2. I've come across web images of a Taiwanese-made full-foot "skin diving fin", coded CDE-814, with cutting lines on the reverse side of the blade. You can just see the lines criss-crossing if you look closely at the upside-down fin in the picture below:

The fin was marketed by a Taiwanese company called PacificLink International, which included the following statement in its product description on the
Taiwan Manufacturers Directory, China Manufacturers - allproducts.com
website: There are some lines in the back of fin. For training, you can cut any angle to train muscle & power & speed. I've had a look this morning, but no longer found the fin among PacificLink's offerings. The fin remains on China Diving Enterprise Co., Ltd.'s website at
cdmax
but I haven't seen it anywhere else online. I wonder what the logo and the lettering embossed on the top of the foot pocket says.

I see that your enquiry has elicited a great deal of scepticism so far. If you still feel strongly that you have come up with a good idea, then go ahead and conduct an experiment. You don't need anybody's permission to do so. Competitive swimmers routinely cut down their fins to match their progress when training, so there's the precedent for a test to determine whether the same holds good for diving fins. Just because something hasn't been tried before doesn't mean it won't work. Let us know how you get on.

 

[SangP]

I was looking around a bit an remembered seeing fins being mod like crazy like completely removing the blade but keeping the rails and having fabric in place that acts like a scoop and some really weird pivot fins.

I completely understand if some of you guys think I've gone loony but I've got a good cheap fin that I can trash up or gasp... make better.

SangP

 

[SangP]

Look what I found... when's there's a will there's a way!

Scoop fin modification:

My mod will be a lot less interesting than those but making a fin pivot more like the novas aren't that bad an idea.

Now where's Bob Evans when you need him .

SangP