Adding a modern wing to a vintage backplate?

[oldschoolto]

I love the idea... Gonna find a small wing to fit my old-school doubles....

Jim

 

[minnesnowta]

I would love to know what you find out, Jim!

 

[WeldonDowd]

An old school plastic backplate is perfect for warm water diving because the weight. Akimbo hinted on this earlier but even with an aluminum plate and no wetsuit I'm a tad heavy. I have a DR travel wing on a stainless freedom plate and am way heavy without a wetsuit. The plastic plate would be perfect and like I said earlier it will go on a plastic plate with no mods. I'll post some pics in this thread when I get home later if it will help.

 

[dead dog]

Sure you can. You might have to cut some holes in the center web area between the bladder, but no big deal. I use a blow-molded plastic back-pack with a wing for warm water where the additional weight of a metal plate isn’t needed. Many boat operators have a cow if you don't use some form of BC.

Back in the 90's a diver made just this device. It was lobster season and he was hell bent on getting some. At 130 feet he ran out of air ( leak ? ) no one knows because his equipment was never found. Yes, he had back pack with a wing. First he sucked the wing dry. Next he dropped his weight belt. But he was still sinking with steel tanks. he finally dropped his tanks and did a free accent. When he reached the surface he was almost dead, with no flotation device to hold him up. You can keep your BC's and wings. Remember they are attached to your tank not you.

 

[rx7diver]

Back in the 90's a diver made just this device. It was lobster season and he was hell bent on getting some. At 130 feet he ran out of air ( leak ? ) no one knows because his equipment was never found. Yes, he had back pack with a wing. First he sucked the wing dry. Next he dropped his weight belt. But he was still sinking with steel tanks. he finally dropped his tanks and did a free accent. When he reached the surface he was almost dead, with no flotation device to hold him up. You can keep your BC's and wings. Remember they are attached to your tank not you.

Dead,

In your example, wasn't the real problem (other than running out of air at 130 fsw) the diver's use of a tank that was too negative even when empty? If the diver's tank was empty and the diver had dropped his weight belt (and the diver wasn't wearing integrated weights or weight pockets, etc.), shouldn't he have become positively buoyant, eventually, as his wet suit expanded during his free ascent--even still wearing his tank?

And why would the wet-suited diver have had difficulty remaining on the surface without a tank and weightbelt?

I don't see how his wearing a BCD caused a problem here. (Except maybe to lead him to NOT choose his gear--appropriate wet suit and tank--carefully enough!)

Did I misunderstand your post?

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[dead dog]

Yes, I believe the steel tank was too heavy. He reported it was 90 cu. ft. tank. He said he was wearing weight belt ( amount of weight ? )

" And why would the wet-suited diver have had difficulty remaining on the surface without a tank and weight belt? " Heavy seas ( choppy ), he almost drowned coming to the surface.

I'm not saying his wings ( BCD ) was the problem. I'm saying if he had a other type of safety device it might have help him better, other then one attached to his tank. To each his own.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

OK, now...looks like someone mentioned that mixing modern with vintage is problematic at best. Please forgive my ignorance but why is it problematic? ...., I just truly don't know why.

Thanks again!

Why can't you mix the old and the new?

Well that answer was given to us a long time ago.

I think we can look to Mark 2:22:

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."


You wouldn't want that brand new wing to burst now would you?

 

[KD8NPB]

Sounds like you're trying to replicate the Gill Atwater wing.

 

[dead dog]

" I don't see how his wearing a BCD caused a problem here. (Except maybe to lead him to NOT choose his gear--appropriate wet suit and tank--carefully enough!) "

He didn't have a BCD or a wing, which is what he was wearing at the time of the accent.

 

[Sam Miller III]

'
Sounds like you're trying to replicate the Gill Atwater wing.[

/QUOTE]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is a Gill Atwater wing?