The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
To be frank, I have had a hard time with my neck seal on my Fusion for the past year. Nothing seemed to fit my 22" neck with any consistency. Yeah, I'm a big guy and according to the guys at Whites, my suit was nicknamed the "Fat Bastard". Of course, they love to pull my leg, so who knows?
Well, this last year a seal manufacturer actualy came out with an XXXL seal. The ball started rolling for me at DEMA when I saw SI Tech's silicone seal, that would fit in their ring system. Then I was the bad news that the possibility of them have a large seal was next to nil. Still, everyone I talked to seemed to come to the same question: "Have you talked to Steve Gamble yet?"
So, on my way through Gainesville to Cave Country, I set up a meeting with Steve at his shop/residence. He said he had the seal I needed, and so at 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon, I walked into his humble work shop, with my Fusion in hand. We talked a bit about the pros and cons of the ring system, and really: I just don't dive enough to need it. On top of that, he wasn't sure if the ring was compatible with the Fusion, so we decided on just the seal. He produced the seal, and I saw "Pete" written on it. I was feeling good about this. I put it on and to my surprise I was not about to black out. Steve didn't like the way it impeded the flow of blood in the carotid arteries, so I took it off and he trimmed just one ring off of it. I put it back on and it felt great! No super pinch, and it felt like it would seal. Yay! I was excited.
At this point, I was going to just leave the suit with him. Everyone knows that these repairs take weeks to get done, but I wasn't sure. Steve, sensing the question in my mind, told me to sit tight for a few minutes while he installed the new seal. Wow... I was really looking forward to seeing this.
The first tool Steve reached for was his trusty basketball. That's right: a baskietball. He stretched the neck seal loosely over this and got out his trusty shears. It was with some trepidation that I watched him cut the neoprene seal away from the neck. Then he matched the new seal to the opening. It looked just about perfedct.
He then put the seal on a form so he could lightly buff it. That being done, the heat activated contact cement came out and he painted the entire circle of the seal twice. He then turnded his attention to the suit, and painted it twice as well. This is when the magic started to happen. Steve would heat a couple of inches with a heatgun and then gently massage the seal onto the suit. Once in place, he would oll it in with a wood seam roller. There was no rush, but the job went quickly. Heat massage and roll. Sometimes he would stretch the seal and other times he would push it together. It was obvious he was in his medium. At the end, there was just a tad more seal than suit, and I was thinking it would be impossible for him to not have a fold. I was wrong... he massaged it right in and it looked GREAT.
He told me to keep it cold for the next few days until the glue really set... cave diving was perfect for this, so I was set. My dives were wonderfully dry. Thanks Steve!
I'll post a few more thoughts when I get back to Winter Park tonight!
Well, this last year a seal manufacturer actualy came out with an XXXL seal. The ball started rolling for me at DEMA when I saw SI Tech's silicone seal, that would fit in their ring system. Then I was the bad news that the possibility of them have a large seal was next to nil. Still, everyone I talked to seemed to come to the same question: "Have you talked to Steve Gamble yet?"
So, on my way through Gainesville to Cave Country, I set up a meeting with Steve at his shop/residence. He said he had the seal I needed, and so at 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon, I walked into his humble work shop, with my Fusion in hand. We talked a bit about the pros and cons of the ring system, and really: I just don't dive enough to need it. On top of that, he wasn't sure if the ring was compatible with the Fusion, so we decided on just the seal. He produced the seal, and I saw "Pete" written on it. I was feeling good about this. I put it on and to my surprise I was not about to black out. Steve didn't like the way it impeded the flow of blood in the carotid arteries, so I took it off and he trimmed just one ring off of it. I put it back on and it felt great! No super pinch, and it felt like it would seal. Yay! I was excited.
At this point, I was going to just leave the suit with him. Everyone knows that these repairs take weeks to get done, but I wasn't sure. Steve, sensing the question in my mind, told me to sit tight for a few minutes while he installed the new seal. Wow... I was really looking forward to seeing this.
The first tool Steve reached for was his trusty basketball. That's right: a baskietball. He stretched the neck seal loosely over this and got out his trusty shears. It was with some trepidation that I watched him cut the neoprene seal away from the neck. Then he matched the new seal to the opening. It looked just about perfedct.
He then put the seal on a form so he could lightly buff it. That being done, the heat activated contact cement came out and he painted the entire circle of the seal twice. He then turnded his attention to the suit, and painted it twice as well. This is when the magic started to happen. Steve would heat a couple of inches with a heatgun and then gently massage the seal onto the suit. Once in place, he would oll it in with a wood seam roller. There was no rush, but the job went quickly. Heat massage and roll. Sometimes he would stretch the seal and other times he would push it together. It was obvious he was in his medium. At the end, there was just a tad more seal than suit, and I was thinking it would be impossible for him to not have a fold. I was wrong... he massaged it right in and it looked GREAT.
He told me to keep it cold for the next few days until the glue really set... cave diving was perfect for this, so I was set. My dives were wonderfully dry. Thanks Steve!
I'll post a few more thoughts when I get back to Winter Park tonight!
