Very First Prototype

The first prototype made was a couple of boards slapped together just to see what would happen. I bought a fence board from the Home Depot bargain bin, a roll of ¼” thick rubber, some Velcro pads, super glue, and a box of nails. I had wanted the foot pocket to be underneath the fin tip, I had this idea that it would be better for power delivery.

I learned very quickly that you need a soft material on the top of the foot, and that solid wood was extremely uncomfortable. Also the top of the foot is not a flat surface. Seems obvious now but it’s exactly the kind of thing you have to prototype something to learn.

I went make notches in the top and eventually abandon the idea of having the foot pocket underneath the fin tip. I bought some used fins and trimmed away the fin tips just to get a comfortable foot pocket and get some progress.

Eventually I attached the foot pocket to the underside of the fin tip base with screws and had my first real success with a wooden fin tip. I felt vindicated and even more motivated to keep going.

I went on to make more fin tips, realized that symmetric fin tips would “clack” as I swam and I’d have ruined sidewalls within minutes, and settled on the asymmetric design we use today.

I thought (and still think) a single bent fin tip would look great and tried bending a fin tip to form. I built a mold, soaked a sheet of plywood overnight, cranked it into position, and after 2 days I had a delaminated mess. We may work on a bent fin tip later, but for now I chalk it up to a learning experience.

This was all just in the first few months, plenty of more designs, prototypes, testing in an unheated pool in December-February would provide more highs, lows, and insights as I learned and got better.

If you have something you’re passionate about, start simple, iterate fast, and believe in it.

Written by real people, never AI