Duck foot -fyi- history

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Sam Miller III

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There seems to be more than a little confusion about the lineage of the Duck Feet...Perhaps the following will clarify

The original Duck Feet were designed and produced by Arthur "Bud" or "Brownie" Brown at two locations. First was in Laguna Beach and the second in Huntington Beach from the mid 1950s to early 1960s. The company was never financially secure

In 1959-60 Brownie sold to Ken Norris of Pacific Molded Products in Los Angeles who produced them for several years along with the Swimaster Wide View mask and a Jack Prodanovich designed gun.

Ken entered into a licensing agreement with W. J. Voit to market the Swimaster line as a upscale or professional line of Voit. At at that time Voit was located in Los Angeles, but a year or so later Voit built a new plant in Orange county on Harbor Blvd in about a mile south of US divers. About that time Ken sold all rights to Swimaster to W.J Voit.

Voit was a huge rubber producing company for the sporting goods industry, so once again an agreement was reached with US Divers; Voit would produce US Divers rubber goods and US Divers would supply their hard goods to Voit who would re brand as Voit. The Voit Swimaster mask and the Voit knives were produced by Newport divers manufacturing company in Orange California by Joe Lamonica who also designed the very successful spear gun for Voit, later Mares and most recently known as JBL

For a while after being acquired by Voit the Duck feet molds remained unchanged, but Voit was at that time a giant in in the sporting goods industry so the Voit engineers were put to work to redesign the foot pockets of the original fins to make them more comfortable and marketable to the ever increasing diving public. In 1968 or thereabouts the original molds were reused to produce the Original Duck feet, but it was too late and the reintroduction of the original Duck Feet was met with little or no acceptance

When Voit was sold to AMF in about 1960, the AMF logo appeared on the Voit & Voit Swimaster products.

There have been a lot of fins designed and manufactured since Brownie first produced his Duck Feet, but there has never been a fin to equal the propulsion of the DUCK FOOT, made by Brownie, Ken or Willard, nor has there ever been a mask to equal the comfort and durability of the WIDE VIEW..

I will now eagerly await you comments...
 
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I have a 1961 Voit catalog and AMF owned them at that time. I was about 10 and don't remember when the Duck Feet made it the Voit catalog, and maybe they had several consumer catalogs, but they are not in this one. I am fairly sure Swimaster was in Voit catalogs by 1963.

Also, the Mares name on the evolution to JBL is new to me. Not saying you are wrong, I just don't remember that. I think some guys on Spearboard have a good history on Voit/JBL.

Is WF Voit different than WJ in my catalog?

Can you read the image? I should have scanned at higher res.
 

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Well here we go... If you are going to question, please have references, catalog numbers or some thing back up your statements...I just don't have time remining in my life for all the
" think, believe, I suspose, I heard..."


SO HERE WE GO;

1961......

Voit address;
2945 East 12 Street
LA 23 ,Ca
Voit's fins were the Voit Viking part #SA 66, and the A6. 11 & 9

Swimaster
905 East 59 Street
LA, 1, Ca
Swimaster's fins were the Duck Feet, part # 1F75, 2F75, and the smaller 1F50 & 2F50

Voit produced a Swimaster catalog # 162 in 1962
The 1962 Voit Catalog was # 262D

"Also, the Mares name on the evolution to JBL is new to me. Not saying you are wrong, I just don't remember that. I think some guys on Spearboard have a good history on Voit/JBL."

It has been my oservation that the posters on the Spearboard do not have and interest in diving history. Can you provide an example of the history of Voit/Mares/JBL -- Perhaps the catalog numbers and a little history as I have you?
 
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Sam, I was in the Coast Guard 1978-1983. Some of us were still using Voit Swimaster UDT's as late as then. I was issued a pair in brown gum rubber. Do you know when those were last made? I still have a pair in very nice divable condition and use them often.
Regards
Scott Drennon
 
Thanks, I love UDTs, however, I am going to have to go with the Jets as being the best all around fins ever and the Wide View, lol, nope, the best mask ever made is available now for 99 dollars, The Atomic Frameless. Nothing comes close to the Atomic Frameless.

Go to this link and read this old article for some fun:

Popular Science - Google Books

A lot of these catalogs are at vdh and there are several other places with catalogs for download.

N
 
SHACKLE --My response to your very good question...Had me stumped for a moment...
hope this helps

They were listed in 1972 the New England Divers Catalog as part # 2F95 -$15.00
They were not listed in the Swimaster catalog #271D in 1972

The last appearance in a Voit/ Swimaster catalog was in 1970, page 10
* Part numbers 2F95 black rubber as "Regulation UDT Duck Foot"
* Part numnber 1F85 as Original Duck Foot..Gum rubber

They were offered in Med. Large, Large and Super Extra large

The price was $20.00.

I suspect the US CG may have had them in supply channels or perhaps purchased them on the open market from suppliers like NED

My tribe always wore the gum rubber Super extra large over WW11 tennis shoes amd on occasion socks as a "diving bootie". (The divers to day don't know what they missed)

What did you wear in the US CG?
 
It sounded like you were looking for verification and I offered what I had. There was no intent to criticize.

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How about this:

"Also, the Mares name on the evolution to JBL is new to me. Not saying you are wrong, I just don't remember that. I think some guys on Spearboard have a good history on Voit/JBL."

Maybe you should review those posts.. Might provide further insight into Voit/Mares/JBL

Then post your findings --- never too old to learn
 
Thanks, I love UDTs, however, I am going to have to go with the Jets as being the best all around fins ever and the Wide View, lol, nope, the best mask ever made is available now for 99 dollars, The Atomic Frameless. Nothing comes close to the Atomic Frameless. ...
N

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Nemie,

We have been friends for many years and after all those good years you never cease to amaze me and continue to be my favorite PIA

May I suggest for fin performance that you review the following documents;

FINS

1) USN - Captain Walt Mazzone fin test
fins were tested with USN subjects -- all young and in good condition --all preferred Duck Feet

2) Bill Barada fin test
A Variety of subjects with a varied background and experience.. Ducks were preferred.

3) Dr Tony Christensen UCLA fin test ( his doctoral dissertation)
A representative mix of subjects with varied diving experience ranging from beginners to veteran LA County Underwater Instructors were tested using an underwater ergometer to test for initial and maintained thrust as well as air consumption recorder to identify air consumption.
No fins were allowed to be identified by brand names, however the straight blade stiff fins out performed all that were tested, including those with a variety of popular fin vents.

4) Dr Samuel Miller, IV test
Granted performed by a then high school student, never the less, the tests were performed by a variety of 16 to 18 year olds with varied diving back grounds. The test were performed by swimming for maximum thrust, maintained thrust under water, on top of the water the subjects swam on their stomachs and on the back.
The top performance fin was the Plana, designed by Herb Vander pol, a close second was the Duck Feet and third was the two models of the Jet fins. Copies of this report was widely distributed to the diving manufactures as guide line for future fin design.

MASK

Please review Human Performance and SCUBA diving proceeding, page 7 to 10 including figure #2. It will be noted that the Swimaster Wide view provides the greatest possible field of vision of all mask designed except for a full face mask which is impractical for SCUBA diving. The later redesigned models of the Wide View provided even a greater field of vision almost approaching that of a diver with out a mask.
In addition it had the largest and most practical purge valve and certainly the most comfortable fit with the foam rubber skirt. Unfortunately the cost of manufacture was excessive causing its demise.

You going to be at Portage Quarry this August? Son Sam IV and I will be there-- Perhaps we can discuss this in great detail? As ever looking forward to seeing you,
sdm
 
Mr. Sam, how we gonna get all this good info out of you without challenging your expertise :wink:. It just makes you better. What's it they say, what don't kill you just makes you stronger!

Thanks for those references, Portage is still a long ways off, I do my best.

I wish "they" (any they) would make pure gum rubber amber UDTs again even more than I wish for clear blue urethane Jets, ha, ha. The fin designs today, much more so than masks, just get weirder and weirder, time for an industry recalibration if you ask me.

Nem
 

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