Setting up an old fashioned/vintage style rig

[Tao of the Dive]

Ok, I recently decided it would be interesting to set up a non bc/ wing dive rig. Not for any deep or specialty dives, just shallow stuff. My intent is to set it up with modern equipment though, no vintage style gear. So my delimma is, how do I set thsi up, in an era where they tell you you NEED the BC/wing. Would a backplate serve my purpose minus the wing? And when it comes to balancing out the weight, after I put on the backplate (probably plastic), and the rest of the usual gear, how do I trim that without a BC/ wing?

The way I see it, this is the way diving started, this is where our roots as divers are. To me, it qualifies as an art form, and I'd like to find a way to touch that past, and keep the artform going. So ANY ideas are appreciated.

 

[captain]

You do it with your weights but you must be very precise. You need weights in 1 pound increments to be able to get as close as possible. If you are not wearing a wet suit you might want to be about 1 or 2 pounds negative to compensate for the increase in tank bouyancy at the end of the dive. If you are wearing a wet suit you would start a couple of pounds positive to compensate for wet suit compression at depth. In that case you have to swim to decend until you reach a depth where you are neutral. Weight will need to be ajusted based on the depth of the dive and the degree of suit compression and loss of bouyancy. I stared diving in the pre BC era and still dive my vintage equiptment with out a BC or at most a horse collar BC if I am wearing a full wetsuit.

Captain

 

[jamiep3]

Old style back packs for your tank are availble from several sources. There are always some on ebay. Also I know Aqualung still markets them through their commercial dealers and if you search on the Leisure Pro site they carry one with a cam band.

I have a couple that I use for shallow diving. Last summer went divining in a lake with Back pack, steel 72 with J Valve, Two hose regulator, Mask and fins. Try diving this way is probably the closest thing to flying without a plane.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Here's a pretty minimilistic approach for shallow dives:

http://www.aquavitinc.com/swem.html

 

[Aquacatfighter]

You can get the old stye back packs from your local dive shop. Some of the older dive shop pull the backpacks from old B.C. from class training....

 

[captain]

Here is a thread about bouyancy with vintage gear which is similar to what you are planning.

http://www.scubaboard.com/t76043-difficulty-of-vintage-diving.html


Captain

 

[MaxBottomtime]

And another...

http://diver.net/backpack_divers/

 

[Tao of the Dive]

I wonder where they got those backpacks they are using in thsi link. That is pretty much the way I was looking at going. They look reminiscent of the plates in some jacket style BCs I used before I went back inflate.

And another...

http://diver.net/backpack_divers/

 

[captain]

You can find the old style back pacs for sale on Ebay or just pull one off an old jacket BC. They are everywhere.

Captain

 

[drbill]

Back in the 60's and 70's when I dove this way, we would go to depths of 100 ft or more (although usually stayed much shallower). I never adjusted the weights on my belt, but then I come from German stock so I have the typical German legs- well muscled and strong. I still dive with my soft backpack and mostly deflated wing (so I can stay on the bottom to film).

I remember the first time I used a BCD in the late 70's. I was with a Cousteau team on the northern Channel Islands and they required one. The darned thing kept auto-inflating so I asked the "dive master" if I could simply pull the inflator hose. Her response was "Can you still dive like that?"

Dr. Bill