Origin of "Horse Collar" & "Mae West"

[Akimbo]

I actually did that, and patented it, but no manufacturer would take it on.

I have a couple of those too. I have to wonder how many patents are issued that actually make enough money to pay the attorney fees.

Did you find any patents for this type of crotch harness during your patent research for actual parachutes? It is surprising how many things that weren't patented in the early days of aviation.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I guess I'm getting old. I thought everyone knew about Mae West.

I should think she'd be very popular with feminists: She defied convention, empowered herself, and successfully branded her sexuality in her forties without starving herself to look like a teenager.

Think Madonna--but with a great sense of humor and no body image issues. She always assumed the audience was in on her jokes.

She had some truly memorable lines:

Judge: Are you trying to show contempt for this court?
Mae West: I'm trying to hide my contempt for this court.

Young woman: Goodness! Look at those diamonds!
Mae West: Goodness had nothing to do with it.

"When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad, I'm better."

And her signature line:
"Come up and see me some time."

Google her quotes and watch some of her movies.

My favorite was her response regarding her taste in men:

"I ain't exactly discriminatin', if you catch my meanin'."

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I have a couple of those too. I have to wonder how many patents are issued that actually make enough money to pay the attorney fees.

Did you find any patents for this type of crotch harness during your patent research for actual parachutes? It is surprising how many things that weren't patented in the early days of aviation.

Your comment on the attorney fees is appropriate; they made the Para-Sea BCD perhaps the most expensive BCD ever (no ROI). In looking at harnesses, we did not look at the parachute harnesses, as they were a bit backwards of mine. I did not find at equivalent parachute-style harness for a BCD. At the time, the BCDs were pretty much taken over by either back-mount or jacket-style BCDs (from Scubapro and U.S. Divers Company). My prototypes (three, two BCDs and one PFD style for my canoeing).

I just looked again at my documentation, and found two NEDU publications:

RESEARCH REPORT B-57
BUOYANCY CONTROL OF OPEN CIRCUIT SCUBA
PROJECT NS 185-005 SUBTASK 4 TEST 22
F.G. JENSEN; W.F. SEARLE, Jr.
20 February 1957

NAVY EXPERIMENTAL DIVING UNIT
REPORT NO. 1-90
EVALUATION OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE BUOYANCY COMPENSATORS
James R. Middleton
March, 1980
AD# A084407

I did submit my Para-Sea BC to the NEDU, and if I can find it, I'll publish their response. But the Navy guys were not too impressed with it, as I recall.

Below is a photo of how it worked underwater, taken of me in Clear Lake, Oregon by Lynn Herbert. When I put some air into the Para-Sea BCD, and go head-down, that air travels to the "wings" on my side, and the moment arm between the air lifting me and my weight belt is much reduced. (see the below photo)

SeaRat

 

[Gone for diving]

Nice DIR form.

 

[Akimbo]

Just to round out the discussion: Rescue harnesses for commercial divers require parachute crotch straps in most jurisdiction now, especially for bell diving.

This one takes it a step farther by strapping to each leg instead of splitting into a "Y" at the crotch but is the same concept.

​

This one is simpler: Miller North Sea Bell / Backpack Harness

This one is popular in the North Sea. Most bells have a 2-pont spreader on the lifting tackle now. The older single deadman ring in the back causes a lot of strain on the diver's neck if the hat is still on.

 

[scubadada]

In 1972 I bought an almost a BC from Scubapro. It was separate from the tank harness and plate. It went over the head and had a waist and a crotch strap. The real advancement was that it had a low pressure inflator.

 

[Akimbo]

It was separate from the tank harness and plate. It went over the head and had a waist and a crotch strap. The real advancement was that it had a low pressure inflator.

To my knowledge, the first vest of that type of vest was the Bouée Fenzy imported from France. Here is an ad from International Marine Supply in Skin Dive Magazine in June 1968, Page 71.

$125 was almost unimaginably expensive in those days but you started seeing them used by some of the pro underwater photographers and journalist once they figured out how revolutionary they were. It didn't take long for the oral inflator to be replaced with power inflators introduced for the drysuits that started showing up about that time. That is when the BC was really born.

The vest on the left is the original imported into the US and the one on the right is the second version imported here.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

A couple of years ago I put together a presentation for the Northwest History of Diving Association meeting, and presented it. I still have it, and have converted it to PDF format and attached it here. Amongst these slides is this diagram where I show the different moment arms for different BCDs, and how they can influence our attitude in the water. This diagram was presented at IQ 6, the Sixth International Conference on Underwater Education in 1974 for a paper I wrote titled "Comments on Buoyancy Control and Emergency Procedures." I had a companion paper in that publication titled "The Life Vest," where I detailed how an unconscious diver in a life vest would be supported; basically there were two different positions, one with the face in the water and one with the head supported out of the water. I named them "Stable One," with the head out, and "Stable Two" with the head down. A lot depended upon how the diver reached the surface, face up or down.

The "Stable" positions were named after these two positions for the Apollo space capsule when it hit the water, whereby Stable One was in the normal position, while Stable Two was upside down. Ever wonder about those three inflated balloons on the top of the Apollo capsule; those were to flip the capsule over if it ended up in Stable Two position. The photo below is of a boiler plate Apollo capsule, where we (USAF Pararescue) placed the floatation collar on it. Because it is a boiler plate (markup) capsule, no balloons are on the top.

SeaRat

 

[BWes]

I was first certified by my local school district. We used the NOAA Diving Manual as our text book and dove horse collars, jet fins and J valves. PADI did not exist at the time. On a drive trip to Montery Bay my dive buddy had his air shut off by the J-valve. Instead of reaching back and pulling the reserve or coming to me, he panicked and made a free assent 80 feet to the surface. Luckily he was ok. When you have an emergency, stop and think!! It just takes a few seconds to evaluate your situation. I was less than 10 feet away and could have helped.