halocline
Contributor
What's a snorkel?
Excellent photos, thanks!
Excellent photos, thanks!
A couple of vintage diving pictures of me ice diving in 1978 Lake winnipesaukee, NH
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AfterDark
Contributor
nice pics everyone!!!
almost makes me yearn for winter...
almost...
have fun
yaeg
almost makes me yearn for winter...
almost...
have fun
yaeg
Bhtmec2
Contributor
I run
into Harry about once a month when he is teaching. Still at it. Unfortunately he is into shake and bake divers due to some financial issues. Some I have seen are not prepared after he sends the off. He is a legend here. I Remember him in the 80 at Rosey Roads teaching when we were Down for requals. He is funny....
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SCUBA as we know it was introduced as Cousteau Diving to the US in the late 1940s by James Dugan but did not appear on the American Market until early 1950s.
Prior to the appearance of SCUBA bubble machine the underwater world was devoted to collection to game and the noble art and craft of spear fishing.
In order to create a long as possible sight picture the spear fisherman would place his snorkel on the left side, his head was bent over to his cheek was touching his right out stretched arm which was holding the spear gun. If left handed the spear fisherman would reverse the stance; the snorkel was on the right side and his head was bent over to his cheek was touching his left out stretched arm which was holding the spear gun.
As the spear guns increased in length and balance bars were added the possible interference with the left handed snorkel became even more critical
It is also recognized that the snorkel, although it had been around for several generations was not popular with spear fisherman because of the bubbles it emitted upon submergence. The snorkel did not obtain universal acceptance and popularity until the late 1950s, and moved to the forefront in the 1960s with the advent of the big bore snorkels ( which were initially homemade units)
Most early divers were both spear fisherman and Underwater (SCUBA) instructors and generally had several dedicated masks; a very low volume for spearfishing and a larger mask for SCUBA. Since the SCUBA air supply came over the right shoulder the SCUBA mask & snorkel unit was worn on the right side
Most of this was well before the creation of NAUI in August 1960 and PADI ten years later.
Harry Hauck did not join NAUI until 1968 a good 14 years after the establishment of LA Co and 8 years after NAUI therefore I seriously doubt if he had influence on the side a snorkel was worn in the civilian community.
SDM
---------- Post added October 12th, 2013 at 05:48 PM ----------
Prior to the appearance of SCUBA bubble machine the underwater world was devoted to collection to game and the noble art and craft of spear fishing.
In order to create a long as possible sight picture the spear fisherman would place his snorkel on the left side, his head was bent over to his cheek was touching his right out stretched arm which was holding the spear gun. If left handed the spear fisherman would reverse the stance; the snorkel was on the right side and his head was bent over to his cheek was touching his left out stretched arm which was holding the spear gun.
As the spear guns increased in length and balance bars were added the possible interference with the left handed snorkel became even more critical
It is also recognized that the snorkel, although it had been around for several generations was not popular with spear fisherman because of the bubbles it emitted upon submergence. The snorkel did not obtain universal acceptance and popularity until the late 1950s, and moved to the forefront in the 1960s with the advent of the big bore snorkels ( which were initially homemade units)
Most early divers were both spear fisherman and Underwater (SCUBA) instructors and generally had several dedicated masks; a very low volume for spearfishing and a larger mask for SCUBA. Since the SCUBA air supply came over the right shoulder the SCUBA mask & snorkel unit was worn on the right side
Most of this was well before the creation of NAUI in August 1960 and PADI ten years later.
Harry Hauck did not join NAUI until 1968 a good 14 years after the establishment of LA Co and 8 years after NAUI therefore I seriously doubt if he had influence on the side a snorkel was worn in the civilian community.
SDM
---------- Post added October 12th, 2013 at 05:48 PM ----------
I suspect some of you consider a 3 to 4 foot spear gun long---below is a description of a California Long gun or aka Long Tom..
My all time favorite spear gun is a "Bottom Scratcher." It was designed/developed in 1939 by Wally Potts and perfected by the Bottom Scratcher spear fishing club of San Diego, California. It is the original California long gun, constructed of by the joining of a simple tube SS handle containing a one piece trigger to a 1&1/4 inch dowel barrel, and a long balance bar that was either made of wood or SS.
In the very early days if spear fishing around 1950 Wally sold a Bottom Scratcher gun to Paul Hoss a member of the Dolphins spear fishing club which had won the very first spear fishing meet in Laguna Beach in the Summer of 1950. When he sold it to Paul who lived in a suburb of LA, Jack Prodanovich is reported to have said to Wally that "Selling a gun up north was like selling guns to the Yankees." And he was correct. Paul disassembled the gun did some modifications that improved the trigger pull and began producing a very close copy affectionately became known as the "Hoss gun" by the "Yankees" of Los Angeles and Orange County. The Hoss copy was cosmetically and functionally identical in every respect except for the Sturgil muzzle which was the muzzle of choice for all guns used by serious Yankee spear fishermen. The guns which were made by Wally and Paul were all custom made therefore no two were exactly identical. It was reported substantially less than 100 were made in a 30 plus year period by Wally and some where between 20 and 30 by Paul in about a 10 year period. Needless to say they were difficult to obtain and are now scarce and highly prised by those who own them, or collectors of diving memorabilia.
Known through out the spear fishing fraternity as the "California long gun" and on occasion the "Long Tom," they were made for long shots at big fish in then the clear unpolluted waters of SoCal.
I was fortunate to have ended up with two. My own personal custom gun and a friend's who after being chased out of the water by a shark decided that spear fishing was not for him, so he sold it to me a half what a bare unrigged new one costs -$20.00.
My guns measure 7 foot 9 inches plus the point which can have many configurations and lengths adding as much as a foot if the Prodanovich point impact aka power head was used. It has a sling pull of 4 foot 8 inches and the 5/16 diameter SS arrow rides on the first rails to be installed on a spear gun. It has a balance bar that extends approximately 15 inches behind the trigger mechanism.
It was made during the era of the kettle cured rubber. I can't recall when surgical rubber for spear gun slings became popular but I think in the mid 1950s. I used 28 or less inches of surgical tubing for power when it became popular and readily available. I do vividly recall the first time I test fired it at Ships Rock off Catalina using the then new surgical slings...the arabelete type slide ring exploded totally disintegrated ! The arrow went flying in to the blue water never to be seen again by man--or at least me...so slide rings from aerospace material was custom made. A number of years later Joe La Monica who developed the Voit/ Mares/JBL gun began producing a very strong SS slide ring which I modified and converted my guns to use.
My first and my favorite gun has a custom (aka home made) "San Diego" style "dump pack" constructed from a piece of SS sheet, a SS Piano hinge, several lengths of WW 11 webbing and a SS rod as the release pin. The dump pack contained 200 feet of yellow 1/8 Polypropylene line fan folded into small bunches secured by two pieces of a bicycle inner tube (they won't rot) terminating with a small WW11 water purification bag modified into an automatic Co2 inflation float. It has a 15 inch SS balance bar
Gun number two is equipped with a huge six inch "Riffes Reel," produced and marketed about 30 years ago by a now defunct San Diego company by the name of Aquacraft. The reel holds about a jillione miles of hard lay tuna trolling nylon line. I can not recall how much it holds and I have never been reeled there fore cannot accurately state with any reasonable amount of certainty the amount of line on the Riffe's reel but it is a lot! It originally came equipped with a 15 inch balance bar, which the former owner trimmed to eight inches. I found this too short and extended it to it's original length of 15 inches by the addition of a piece of 1 &1/4 wood dowel.
Do I still use the guns? Heck no, especially when one Bottom Scratcher/Hoss gun sold on E bay several years ago for $2200.00 plus dollars.
I have several custom wood guns I made about 20 or more years ago that I currently use, but another story for another time.
But-- I still have wonderful memories of the Bottom Scratcher and years gone by.
Sam Miller
<<<<Jack Prodanovich passed away at 94 years of age. He was one of the first members of the "Bottom Scratchers Spear fishing club" founded in 1932. (see anouncement on Scuba board)
Wally Potts passed away several years ago.>>>>
My all time favorite spear gun is a "Bottom Scratcher." It was designed/developed in 1939 by Wally Potts and perfected by the Bottom Scratcher spear fishing club of San Diego, California. It is the original California long gun, constructed of by the joining of a simple tube SS handle containing a one piece trigger to a 1&1/4 inch dowel barrel, and a long balance bar that was either made of wood or SS.
In the very early days if spear fishing around 1950 Wally sold a Bottom Scratcher gun to Paul Hoss a member of the Dolphins spear fishing club which had won the very first spear fishing meet in Laguna Beach in the Summer of 1950. When he sold it to Paul who lived in a suburb of LA, Jack Prodanovich is reported to have said to Wally that "Selling a gun up north was like selling guns to the Yankees." And he was correct. Paul disassembled the gun did some modifications that improved the trigger pull and began producing a very close copy affectionately became known as the "Hoss gun" by the "Yankees" of Los Angeles and Orange County. The Hoss copy was cosmetically and functionally identical in every respect except for the Sturgil muzzle which was the muzzle of choice for all guns used by serious Yankee spear fishermen. The guns which were made by Wally and Paul were all custom made therefore no two were exactly identical. It was reported substantially less than 100 were made in a 30 plus year period by Wally and some where between 20 and 30 by Paul in about a 10 year period. Needless to say they were difficult to obtain and are now scarce and highly prised by those who own them, or collectors of diving memorabilia.
Known through out the spear fishing fraternity as the "California long gun" and on occasion the "Long Tom," they were made for long shots at big fish in then the clear unpolluted waters of SoCal.
I was fortunate to have ended up with two. My own personal custom gun and a friend's who after being chased out of the water by a shark decided that spear fishing was not for him, so he sold it to me a half what a bare unrigged new one costs -$20.00.
My guns measure 7 foot 9 inches plus the point which can have many configurations and lengths adding as much as a foot if the Prodanovich point impact aka power head was used. It has a sling pull of 4 foot 8 inches and the 5/16 diameter SS arrow rides on the first rails to be installed on a spear gun. It has a balance bar that extends approximately 15 inches behind the trigger mechanism.
It was made during the era of the kettle cured rubber. I can't recall when surgical rubber for spear gun slings became popular but I think in the mid 1950s. I used 28 or less inches of surgical tubing for power when it became popular and readily available. I do vividly recall the first time I test fired it at Ships Rock off Catalina using the then new surgical slings...the arabelete type slide ring exploded totally disintegrated ! The arrow went flying in to the blue water never to be seen again by man--or at least me...so slide rings from aerospace material was custom made. A number of years later Joe La Monica who developed the Voit/ Mares/JBL gun began producing a very strong SS slide ring which I modified and converted my guns to use.
My first and my favorite gun has a custom (aka home made) "San Diego" style "dump pack" constructed from a piece of SS sheet, a SS Piano hinge, several lengths of WW 11 webbing and a SS rod as the release pin. The dump pack contained 200 feet of yellow 1/8 Polypropylene line fan folded into small bunches secured by two pieces of a bicycle inner tube (they won't rot) terminating with a small WW11 water purification bag modified into an automatic Co2 inflation float. It has a 15 inch SS balance bar
Gun number two is equipped with a huge six inch "Riffes Reel," produced and marketed about 30 years ago by a now defunct San Diego company by the name of Aquacraft. The reel holds about a jillione miles of hard lay tuna trolling nylon line. I can not recall how much it holds and I have never been reeled there fore cannot accurately state with any reasonable amount of certainty the amount of line on the Riffe's reel but it is a lot! It originally came equipped with a 15 inch balance bar, which the former owner trimmed to eight inches. I found this too short and extended it to it's original length of 15 inches by the addition of a piece of 1 &1/4 wood dowel.
Do I still use the guns? Heck no, especially when one Bottom Scratcher/Hoss gun sold on E bay several years ago for $2200.00 plus dollars.
I have several custom wood guns I made about 20 or more years ago that I currently use, but another story for another time.
But-- I still have wonderful memories of the Bottom Scratcher and years gone by.
Sam Miller
<<<<Jack Prodanovich passed away at 94 years of age. He was one of the first members of the "Bottom Scratchers Spear fishing club" founded in 1932. (see anouncement on Scuba board)
Wally Potts passed away several years ago.>>>>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now back to God's frozen divers...
SDM
Now back to God's frozen divers...
SDM
DaleC
Contributor
Sam, this sounds like very good reasoning for the left headed snorkel position - I've never spearfished so I never thought about that.
Thank You.
Thank You.
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