What is it?

[JamesBon92007]

Mine is a Voit and it's green and has a small oral inflator tube. Yours appears to be newer than mine. On mine you stick the inflator tube in your mouth, push down (holding it with your teeth) and blow. If you want to reduce your buoyancy you push the inflator down without blowing into it. Mine has a CO2 cartridge and overinflation valve at the top on the back. This is what we had when I took my dive class in '69. They were refered to as Mae Wests but, as someone pointed out, that might really only apply to vests with no overpressure valve. I rarely use any kind of BC unless I'm going deeper than 60 or 70 feet but this is what I put on when I feel I might need it. Mine has an extra pocket in the front which is good for holding fishing weights that I find while diving and melt down to make belt weights. I'll see if I can figure out how to take and post a pic of mine. I'm just beginning to get used to those newfangled digital cameras.

 

[SalpaSub Malta]

Very nice piece of equipment. I was amazed to read in an old book that the first idea of a BCD was concieved in the 1680s by a certain Giovanni Alfonso Borelli. I will try to find this book and maybe an image.

 

[SalpaSub Malta]

Managed to find some images, enjoy! More antique images on my website (antique prints section)


https://salpasub.sslpowered.com/videos/Borelli BCD.jpg
https://salpasub.sslpowered.com/videos/Buoyancy device Klingert.jpg

If anyone wants I also have a brief description of how these apparatus were supposed to work.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Wow, that was a very common item in the 70's... actually the one we used for most classes... thanks for bringing back some memories.

 

[Savaaha]

update- It does hold air but has a leak at the stem on the back. Its probably fixable but it works just as well as a wall decoration.