Sea Hunt marker buoys

[AfterDark]

Does anyone know anything about the little marker buoys that Lloyd Bridges (AKA Mike Nelson) used in the Sea Hunt show? Are they still being manufactured and where can they be obtained?

I had one years ago but lost it. It had a C02 cartridge about the same size has a C02 pistol, and was made from pretty thick rubber. They were very cool.

Thanks DA Aquamaster. I wanted to say Dacor in my post but I wasn't sure. I'd buy more then one those things were sweet.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

When I started diving they were still a cataloged item with Dacor. They came in single and dual cartridge models and used 7 gram unthreaded CO2 cartridges.

The single model was attached to the bottom of a heavy rubber balloon and the dual cartridge model was the same basic thing but with a cartridge on each end of the "balloon".

I forget the lift of each version, and while it was not a lot, they were also fairly low drag on the surface, very low volume in a pocket and very quick and easy to deploy.

They were unfortunately prone to dry rot as well prone to cracking where the cap with the firing lever screwed into the body that contained the cartridge. But...a modern version with silicone rubber and better plastics would be something I'd consider buying.

 

[Dhboner]

Google "Scuba 2000" in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada and send an e-mail to "Alec" (the owner). I believe he has the largest collection of Sea Hunt memorabillia in North America and might be the biggest "expert" on the subject. If anyone knows the answer to the OP's question, he does!

Bob

 

[Akimbo]

I had one in the early 60s since it was obvious that every diver should carry one. I could never find any that were gray though.

As I recall, they weren't much good below 60'. Sea Hunt style deployment was nearly impossible because the line would get tangled into knots long before reaching the surface. Like most products, there is a reason that nobody makes them anymore. You could probably make one from a small respirator bag, or maybe an ambu.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I had a use for such marker bouys a while back. I wanted to mark the perimiter and points of interest of the shipwreck "Norlina". After the marker bouy's were deployed and tied off I was going to go to the surface and mark each location with a GPS and then draw a schematic of the wreck. The wreck is very shallow, 20 to 40 feet and it's right next to shore, but it's 367 feet long.
I tried to think of anything that was compact and cheap so up to a dozen could be carried and easily deployed. I thought of everything from zip lock bags to woopy cushions, until I remembered those self inflating markers on Sea Hunt.
Some small finger spools could be used as a line.

 

[Paladin]

I had a thought today. Take one of those kid's punching balloons, insert an easily (but not too easily) ruptured, small plastic pouch filled with diet Coke. Drop in a Mentos tablet or two, then seal the nozzle tightly closed. Tie a line to the eyelet at the end of the balloon and fold it into an easily stored package. At the dive site, when a buoy is needed, squeeze the pouch and break it. Then let the balloon go.

You would have to experiment with the right amounts of diet Coke and Mentos to keep from bursting the balloon, though.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I had a thought today. Take one of those kid's punching balloons, insert an easily (but not too easily) ruptured, small plastic pouch filled with diet Coke. Drop in a Mentos tablet or two, then seal the nozzle tightly closed. Tie a line to the eyelet at the end of the balloon and fold it into an easily stored package. At the dive site, when a buoy is needed, squeeze the pouch and break it. Then let the balloon go.

You would have to experiment with the right amounts of diet Coke and Mentos to keep from bursting the balloon, though.

What about vinegar and baking soda?
A small plastic vial filled with vinegar and some baking soda in the balloon. As soon as you bend or twist the vial the vinegar leaks out and reacts with the soda giving you C02 (I think it's C02, somebody correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[elmer fudd]

There could be any number of ways you could fabricate and deploy these things. To me the question would be am I trying to be period correct or practical? With safety sausages, lift bags, octopuses, etc..., I'm not really sure there's much of a practical reason to fabricate something that's kind of retro, but only bears a slight resemblance to vintage gear. If the purpose is to recreate the past and try to experience history first hand then you want an authentic recreation, warts and all.

I'm not saying this is a bad idea, just that if I were going to build it, I would either go totally modern and try to make the best modern marker buoy I could or I'd try to replicate an original as closely as possible, with the possible exception of using modern materials like silicone that will hold up to wear better.

 

[elmer fudd]

Also, it seems to me that if you're going to use vinegar and baking soda or Mentos and Coke, that you may as well just use a CO2 powerlet instead. They're cheap, convenient and durable and I suspect they hold several times the CO2.

 

[Nemrod]

I gave a functional one to the vintage museum last year. Several companies made them including Dacor and Healthways and Voit. They were a rubber bag with a lanyard and a CO2 cartridge in them. Pull the lanyard and a needle pierced the CO2 cartridge inflating the rubber balloon. They worked very well and were easy to carry and deploy. Inadvertent deployment at depth was not dramatic because the gas bubble was small but of course expanded to the surface producing a ball about 18 to 24 inches diameter.

N