Vintage dive - July 8th

[justleesa]

Wow, looks and sounds fantastic. What a buzz, to experinece what it was like b4 technology kicked in big time.. Was it hard to maintain some kind of bouyency control?

Regards

Mike

Not hard at all. After 300 some dives, I think I finally got it figured out! I did bounce around a bit while my buddy tried taking the picture of me on the line, but that was the only trouble I had.

 

[justleesa]

I wanna do that!!!!! :biggrin:

Come on over

 

[John C. Ratliff]

For those of you who think a BC is always necessary, remember that Lisa is diving in warm water, with a minimum of wet suit. It is wet suit compression that required a BC in the first place; that's cold water problems. In the 1960-70, when I was in the US Air Force, we dove twin 40s with no BC as standard equipment. We wore LPUs (Underarm Life Preservers) which we could inflate in an emergency, but never did. A diver in warm water can simply weight him/her-self for the equipment used, and be un-hindered by the drag of a BC (which is considerable).

Today's equipment requires a BC because divers demanded single tanks with greater air capasity than a standard 72. As a consequence, these rigs are very heavy. A BC is required to gain neutral buoyancy. A set of 38 cubic foot tanks, or the twin 72s, do not get heavy in the water, and therefore do not require the BC to regain neutral buoyancy. The "modern" tanks are good only because they transfer some of the weight to the scuba instead of the weight system, which is convenient if you are diving a dry suit. The steel 72 is slightly negative buoyant at full tank pressure, and slightly positive when empty in sea water, according to the USD catelog from about 1970. "These tanks are fabricated exclusively for diving. They will sink when full, making it easier to dive, and are buoyant when empty making it easier to surface."

Concerning the breathing resistance, they are comparable to single hose regulators. In fact, it took years for single hose regs to meet the standards that double hose regs set. It wasn't until the 1970s that they surpassed the double hose regs. Even today, if you convert the millibar ratings of the best regulators, you will get interesting readings. Take a look:

Mares Ruby, inhale pressure 6.66 m bar (2.67 inches of water); inhale pos pressure, 2.64 m bar (1.06 inches of water); exhale pressure, 11.45 m bar (4.596 inches of water).

Mares Ti-Planet, inhale pressure 6.24 m bar (2.5 inches of water); inhale pos pressure 2.14 m bar (0.85 inches of water); exhale pressure, 11.50 m bar (4.6 inches of water).

My Trieste II double hose regulator has a breaking pressure of 0.5 inches of water, and if you pull your mouth away from the mouthpiece, it will keep sending out air without effort.

SeaRat

 

[Bob3]

Mmmmm... Duck Feet. I first used them in the later '60s, still use the critters today yet.
Probably have about a dozen pairs, most the "Giant UDT Duck Feet".
They work great for towing disabled boats.
No fin straps to break, either!
There's a pair of Churchills hiding in the top center.

I didn't switch to a single hose 'till well into the '70s, when I finally found a single hose reg that breathed as easy & was as dependable as my Snark III.

 

[captain]

Duck feet! I'd love to try vintage gear. We have an old Conshelf from the 60's...found it in a garage sale! Beast uses it all the tile and it's perfect.

I really wouldn't consider an old Conshelf vintage as most of the parts are inter-changable with newer models. Two hose regulators are true vintage.

Captain

 

[jkennedy]

WOW! Nice gear and looks like you were having way to much fun.........

 

[John C. Ratliff]

The interesting thing about duck feet fins is that there are two different models. The "Giant UDT" model was originally made by Swimaster, before they were sold to AMF Voit. They are gum rubber, and have a straight cut across the foot pocket. The AMF variety has a compounded rubber (foot pocket different from the rest of the fin), and a curve on the top to better fit the top of the foot. But when I was using them in the 1960s, I would wear the original ones upside down, so that the straight-across cut was on the bottom of my foot. This led to fewer cramps, due to better support of the fin by the sole of the foot. The newer, AMF version cannot be used in this manner. In the photo above, the older version is at the top of the photo, and the newer version in the fins at the bottom.

SeaRat

 

[Indigoazul]

Hi,
I was searching the internet, as I have bee doing for years, trying to find a particular, mask, a replacement for the only model I can use. My mask is so deteriorated after 12 years of diving that the glass has fallen out on one occassion (Someone found it for me three weeks later) and it is so deformed and ridden with that dark fungus or whatever it is that water is constantly coming in. I have been trying to get used to other models but it have been a futil effort. I have been years looking for a new mask like mine. Fruitlessly. And here I open the images you have in this message and I almost die of a heart attack when I saw a new mask like mine there!
Please! tell me where I can find one like that I could buy! Or, would you sell me yours???? I would be so happy if I could obtain one!
I would be waiting for your reply. Just in case, my e-mail address is azuloceano@yahoo.com
Regards!
Alfredo

 

[Carlton Fagerlie]

Well we both had the day off and my buddy said he wanted to do a vintage dive. So that's what we did.

On the deep dive to the Sea Tiger I wore my regular gear and just took pictures of my buddy, but on the 2nd dive I got to do a vintage dive.

This was my 2nd ever vintage dive. I was using a Voit Trieste regulator (1969) with a dacor pressure gauge (60’s) and a dacor depth gauge (60’s), twin 38’s with a voit backpack (1961), a Voit mask (70’s – brand new out of the box), an old Body Glove shorty (70’s) and a pair of yellow Aquatic Pinna Nautilus fins (60’s). The regulator had just been serviced.

At first I thought the fins were not going to do the trick but I had no problem keeping up with my buddy with his Whitestag, full power fins. No cramping, no tired legs....they were just perfect.
Still have to practice a bit on keeping my head a bit more up, but otherwise everything went great. I enjoyed the freedom of not wearing a BCD and am looking forward to the next day off Anybody else wanna go?

PS: I usually wear a perscription mask - can't believe how good I saw with the mask....maybe time for new glasses...lol

Do you know the manufacturer of the pinna fins?

 

[justleesa]

I don't, but I'm sure my buddy does....I'll ask him when he gets home