Some more finds...

[DaleC]

Picked up these Aqualung Spoiler fins today

The water goes in here

and comes out here. Those crazy monkeys.

Also picked up this

The CO2 cartridges look to be full and I am a little nervous about pulling the cords (I think I'll sandbag it first). Hopefully I won't be back to typing with one finger again.

It appears to be in fairly good shape but I will wash it and strip it down to see what's what. Either way, I regularily dive sans BC so I will have some fun donning this at the local watering hole and pretending it's operational

 

[captain]

That is a Navy underwater swimmers vest, still being produced and used. There are two versions, one with one co2 cartridge and no relief valve authorized for use to 30 feet and the double co2 cartridge with relief valve authorized for use to 90 feet. The cartridges are fairly hard to find on the civilian market, I wouldn't pop them just for the hell of it. I use one on some dives for possible emergency flotation. I am wearing one in my avatar photo.

 

[DaleC]

Thanks Captain. It's a double cartridge vest.
I don't think I can detach the cartridge without discharging it though and am somewhat leary of old compressed cylinders after reading about Chatterton blowing up his garage :shocked2: Do you know if I can undo the bolt securing it to the vest without discharge?

 

[captain]

The only thing that will discharge it is pulling the lanyard. You can lossen the set screw that is just above the lanyard attachment point on the lever that locks the cartridge in place and simply unscrew the cartirdge. No chance of it exploding. The pressure is only a few hundered pounds. Chatterton's mishap I believe was a high pressure cylinder that had been underwater for 50 years.

 

[MarkH]

The BC I have now had one of those cartridges. The lever inside that punctures the cartridge was so corroded that it broke when I pulled the cord. The threads on the cartridge were also so corroded that I couldn't safely take it off. I ended up just cutting the bladder around the cartridge to remove it and then glued a patch over the hole. Mine has a power inflator as well though, so I can still use it.

 

[DaleC]

Welcome to the vintage section Mark.

I'm pretty sure I can unbolt it from the vest. It doesn't hold air right now but I suspect that has to do with the valves and not the bladder. I'll tinker with it and post the results.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

DaleC,

I have successfully removed a stuck CO2 bottle in a vest by using a cutting oil, and soaking the mechanism for a few days. I then used a vice grips and a crescent wrench to remove it. Mine did not have a set screw though, so if you have that, it needs to come off first. But if it were me taking it apart, I would use protection, such as both a face shield and safety glasses, plus some heavy (leather if possible) clothing and gloves when taking off the cylinder. It would also be good to put something substantial between you and the cylinder when removing it from the vest. One way to do that is to do it "blind," with a lot padding (preferably ballistic, or something similar) over it too (but do still have the face shield and safety glasses on).

Concerning the Spoiler fins, those were USD's answer to a Nemrod fin, as I recall (but don't have anything to show). They did not work too well--too stiff for much propulsion. I bought a pair a few years ago, and only took them into the pool once. The theory was that there would be some water getting out the holes in the end, which would give the diver a bit more propulsion. But I don't think there was actually much happening there with the fluid dynamics.

SeaRat

 

[DaleC]

Hi John,

I saw your post on VSS about the Spoilers and wondered what happened with the pool trials. Even if they are poor performers they are odd enough that I had to buy them. Kind of like the six cylinder Mustang. Looks cool but...

The UDT vest came apart ok and all the parts are present and in working order but the fabric seems to have lost its integrity in many places. Not holes per se but just a general seeping of air. The CO2 cartridges actually look well preserved and the metal trigger mechanism only has some minor cosmetic rust.

It, along with my "wraparound" mask, UDT duckfeet and DAAM would make a bit of a display of US Navy divers kit for rebreather training I suppose.