Buoyancy

[dhaas]

Early days (1950s - 1971 or so) no BC, Octopus, Pressure Gauge and not even a "Safety Vest" until maybe 1971 or so......As stated you had to FIGURE OUT how much lead was required to try and be close to neutral with lung power. Steel 71.2 tanks helped not changing buoyancy as much as the common aluminum 80 now....

When I got a SPG for my Voit MR12 along with my buddies getting a pressure gauge we thought we were hot stuff!

Those large "crotch grabber" front mounted BCs came next, adding power inflators and from there it's been all downhill since

The Cousteau divers even had harnesses that integrated weight on the waist belt I believe. Ditching it wasn't something they thought about......

See photo of Ryan Spence, Cousteau gear collector diving as simple as streamlined as possible

I try and copy this concept as much as possible with my modern gear.

YMMV

David Haas
www.haasimages.com

 

[AfterDark]

I did my open water in 1973. No bc. We used 2200 psi steel 72's. They had a very gentle buoyancy swing. Frank Hammet was my instructor. See below and you will know from whom I borrowed my sig line.

The South Florida Dive Journal

I did mine in 1968 same deal. I did have a short gray UDT vest but didn't start using it until later. The 72 I used back then just failed hydro a couple of years ago. I'm still diving!

---------- Post added May 18th, 2012 at 02:21 PM ----------

Early days (1950s - 1971 or so) no BC, Octopus, Pressure Gauge and not even a "Safety Vest" until maybe 1971 or so......As stated you had to FIGURE OUT how much lead was required to try and be close to neutral with lung power. Steel 71.2 tanks helped not changing buoyancy as much as the common aluminum 80 now....

When I got a SPG for my Voit MR12 along with my buddies getting a pressure gauge we thought we were hot stuff!

Those large "crotch grabber" front mounted BCs came next, adding power inflators and from there it's been all downhill since

The Cousteau divers even had harnesses that integrated weight on the waist belt I believe. Ditching it wasn't something they thought about......

See photo of Ryan Spence, Cousteau gear collector diving as simple as streamlined as possible

I try and copy this concept as much as possible with my modern gear.

YMMV

David Haas
www.haasimages.com

Plus one there! I didn't get a SPG until abt 1976. I remember doing ice dives with my SP adjustable Jvavle set to 800psi reserve. It's amazing how little gear we "needed" back then.

 

[Splitlip]

I did mine in 1968 same deal. I did have a short gray UDT vest but didn't start using it until later. The 72 I used back then just failed hydro a couple of years ago. I'm still diving!

---------- Post added May 18th, 2012 at 02:21 PM ----------




Plus one there! I didn't get a SPG until abt 1976. I remember doing ice dives with my SP adjustable Jvavle set to 800psi reserve. It's amazing how little gear we "needed" back then.

I actually got my "sea view" gauge when I was certified. Got to remember to turn the j valve down.

Even without the gauge, the j valves worked fine. We often sucked the tanks down until the reg resisted and then we surfaced. No safety stops so it was cool.

Remember the 120 rule? "We don't need no stinking tables."

 

[DaleC]

Hi AD, the Nemrod leaks around the inflator attachment point (an aquaseal fix when I get around to it) and the UDT vest slowly leaks right through the fabric.
I use the SeaTec all the time.

Whether bouyancy compensators are needed or not has a bit to do with locale IMO. You can dive sans BC in cold water but the compression of the wetsuit means you have to jump through some hoops to do so. For me it makes for a complicated procedure when what I'm really after is simplified so I either go with the BC (when using a wetsuit) or use my drysuit without the BC.

In warm water (say with a 3mm or less) there really isn't a need for a BC when properly weighted using a ST 72. I could see using one for surface support though (say in the ocean where there is a risk of drifting).

Unless one is recreating a period specific look, my outlook is that (when in debate) function should win out over form.

 

[Paladin]

I never used--or even owned--a BC at all until three years ago. Never needed one. But some of the places I've started diving in the past few years require the use of a BC, so I bought a new horse collar in 2009 from Divers Supply. I have since bought a jacket and a wing but I prefer the horse collar. I don't use a BC underwater. Once I'm beneath the surface, I completely forget about it. I only wear one to satisfy the BC requirements at dive OPs. The horse collar is simple and comfortable and it goes well with my dive gear (much of which is from the '60s and '70s). My double hose regulator does not play well with a jacket but gets along quite well with my horse collar.

 

[AfterDark]

Paladin, how you feeling these days? Recovery going well? Have you got wet yet?

 

[Splitlip]

I never used--or even owned--a BC at all until three years ago. Never needed one. But some of the places I've started diving in the past few years require the use of a BC, so I bought a new horse collar in 2009 from Divers Supply. I have since bought a jacket and a wing but I prefer the horse collar. I don't use a BC underwater. Once I'm beneath the surface, I completely forget about it. I only wear one to satisfy the BC requirements at dive OPs. The horse collar is simple and comfortable and it goes well with my dive gear (much of which is from the '60s and '70s). My double hose regulator does not play well with a jacket but gets along quite well with my horse collar.

AFAIK, all of my local ops require a BC . I've lots of friends with boats who have never ever used a bc. I've an 18# wing which can be attached to a basic back pack. I have the backpack on a shelf. But for now th 18 is on my aluminum plate.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Here's how I dived in the late 1970s.

I've done a lot of experimenting with weighting systems, and David is correct that the Cousteau divers used weights integrated into their harnesses. What many don't realize is that the Cousteau divers never wore a waist strap, so the weight belt was their waist strap. It did not attach to the scuba though, but was independent. The buckle was the key, as it actually did have a key to accept a metal loop from the crotch strap. They could therefore take off their scuba and keep their weight belt without any problem. JY Cousteau himself probably never did wear a BC; I have seen no film of him actually using a buoyancy compensator. Here is a photo of me with my twin 42s, without a waist strap (the military harness waist strap was wrapped around the tanks), and the cratch strap hooked neatly into the weight belt buckle.

In the 1980s I experimented with many different BC designs, some of which were built by Bill Herter of Deep Sea Bill's in Newport, Oregon. He first built a BC bladder into the back of one of his custom wet suits. Then he made the whole back of the wet suit a BC bladder by sandwiching two 1/8 inch foam neoprene layers together, and putting a BC inflator hose into the back of the wet suit. Realize that the BC was only necessary with the advent of the wet suit made out of foam neoprene; a dry suit was actually inflated back in the 1950s by the diver snorting air from his mask (which was under the face seal), and compensated nicely for compression at depth, but also kept the diver from suffering a "suit squeeze".

In the mid-1980s I developed and patented a front-mount BC I call the Para-Sea BC, which would not ride up and which distributed the buoyancy away from the divers neck. I think it was one of the most expensive BCs ever, as I invested between $2K and $3K into the design and patent. I still use it when I dive in the Clackamas River, though, and it is still a very nice design.

SeaRat

 

[Sitkadiver]

John,

Great pictures as always.

You've got me going on an interent quest.... I cannot think of ever seeing JYC in a BC, nor am I able to find any photos of him wearing one. If I come across one, I'll let you know, if for nothing else, the novelty of it.

 

[Paladin]

Paladin, how you feeling these days? Recovery going well? Have you got wet yet?

The boys and I went diving a couple of weeks ago. The water temperature was 55 to 60 degrees. We stayed shallow and froze our tookuses off but had a good time. I have to go back in for surgery on May 31 and will have to heal for six weeks before I can do any more diving. I'll be able to dive, maybe, from mid July to mid August, then I have a final surgery that needs to be done to finish up. Eight weeks after that, I'll be back to normal, hopefully.

We're planning a trip to Florida in November to dive some of the springs and, maybe, Crystal and Rainbow Rivers.

Once all the surgeries and medical procedures are done, my lawyer will move forward on my claim against the woman who caused all this.

Thanks for your concern, AD.