Diving Resistant to Change?

[george_austin]

Kind of a tool and die man myself from the high performance automotive industry in Southern California going back to the mid 60's

I suppose the linear evolution of the differential pressure regulator probably reached it's apex sometime in the late 19th century (sic)? Pretty much any movement in the overall design characteristics are little ones and they're sideways. Better plating. Better etching. Titanium over chrome plated marine brass. etc.

I tell you one thing that I think was probably the last best "leap forward" (depending on your own belief system) in scuba regulator manufacturing - CNC machining. Close tolerance parts and repeatable specs.

Imagine the cost if scuba regulators were still being made in a shop, at a mill and a lathe. . .by a master machinist. One by one. I think we'd be paying a couple grand for a base model and please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.

The "performance" regulators in my arsenal were originally built in the late 60's and early 70's. They're more or less hand built. They have soul. They're worthy of an extra measure of attention to detail regarding upkeep, maintenance and use. They're just more fun.

I think the Poseidon Jetstream stands alone from most modern recreational regulators if you study the design of the first and second stages. I find it a real pleasure to use as well..

 

[boulderjohn]

I believe there are indeed some divers who are resistant to change, and you will see them posting on ScubaBoard regularly. I know some people who will state in nearly so many words that someone decided in 1993 that computers were too unreliable to use, and if that was true in 1993, then it must be true today.

On the other hand, I have seen significant change in the world of technical diving. I only became a technical diver about a decade or so ago, and here is what I have seen in that time.

• Deep stops were all the rage for decompression profiles; people are now moving away from them rapidly.
• Rebreathers are becoming more and more common, especially in the past few years.
• When I first started doing decompression diving, computers were almost never used. It was all bottom timers and prewritten plans. Then people began to use computers, with the VR3 being very popular, but most people still used written plans as a primary and computers as a backup. Then it was the Liquivision running VPM. Today the overwhelming majority I see has Shearwaters, and almost all the ones I talk to are using Buhlmann. Most of the divers I know use two computers, with no written plans.
• When I started, everyone was sending up lift bags when doing drifting decompression stops. Today everyone is using DSMBs.
• When I started, the Jet Fin was indeed the king of technical diving fins. I don't see that many today.

 

[boulderjohn]

In my list I forgot to mention sidemount.

 

[ofg-1]

Diving is very resistant to change. Ever since I started in 1967, you have had to actually go underwater and breathe some type of gas delivered by some method to be considered diving, unless you were free diving, and even then, you are required to go underwater and hold your breath to be considered free diving. The exception is skydiving, but even they are resistant to change. Every person doing it wears some type of parachute and jumps out of or off of something high above the ground.

 

[Sam Miller III]

John
Very interesting post ! I appreciate you documenting the recent changes Your post so succinctly describes the changes in the diving community during the past 20 years when you first entered the brimey deep ocean.



I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An article I authored about 30=35 years ago which provides a bit of insight into the pioneering California diving and the way it was-- along time ago .

"YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN…”

By Dr. Samuel Miller,111

This summer I visited with some relatives and old friends to reconnect with my roots down in southern California, in “smogsville,” as the smog shrouded area of Los Angeles and Orange County is known by most Californians who reside in other areas of the state.

This visit certainly verified the message in the Thomas Wolfe book “You can’t go home again” which I found so difficult to comprehend as a young college student. Yes, Thomas Wolfe was correct! "You can’t go home again."

I spent a very early Saturday morning at Diver’s Cove in Laguna Beach, the fountainhead of American sport diving. It has been a popular diving location since recreational diving began along the California coast in the early 1930s. “The cove” as local divers refer to it, was catapulted from obscurity into international diving fame when it was chosen as the location for the world’s first competitive spear fishing meet in June 1950. The Compton, California “Dolphins Spear Fishing club”, won the meet with a three man team consisting of Ken Kummerfeild, Paul Hoss and Pat O’Malley.

Lots of changes have occurred in and around Divers Cove with the passage of these 60 plus years.
In the early 1950s the rolling hills surrounding Diver’s Cove were devoid of housing and covered with dry chaparral, which emitted the classic California golden glow always associated with the “Golden state.” Now when viewed from the cove the hills appear almost surrealistic emerald green, blanketed by modern multi- million dollar homes on well-manicured lawns interconnected labyrinth of roads.

It is no longer possible to drive up to the edge of the cliff at Diver’s Cove and park haphazardly. Parking places are now regulated. They are neatly identified with white stripes on the concrete and crowned with a row of coin eating parking meters; silent sentinels waiting for the next quarter for fifteen minutes of violation free parking.

Also absent is the steel cable that provided beach goers and divers to access to the beach. It was a much-appreciated gift from some unknown beach lover who spent their time; money and effort to securely bury one end of the cable in cement and dangle the rest of the cable over the cliff to create a Tarzan style hand over hand beach access. Now modern stairs complete with handrails and a drinking fountain welcomes the divers to the beach

The beach scene I remember so well from my youth is now only a distant memory, but they are memories of gold as were the hills surrounding the cove.

In the genesis of recreational diving the beach was populated with young athletic sun tanned male youths clad in the diving costume of the era, baggy long underwear, tucked in to equally baggy swim trunks,* round often home made diving masks on their faces,** short green fins on their feet ***and the weapon of choice three or five prong 3 “Jab Stick”**** unceremoniously stuck in the ground
.
Like ancient tribes returning from a successful hunt they stood in small groups, wrapped in surplus WWII olive drab army or navy blue blankets, shivering and blue lipped from the cold of the water and the chill in the air. Roaring bonfires fed by WWII surplus tires added much needed warmth as it belched fourth thick heavy black smoke into the clean crisp smog free Orange County air. *****

Divers Cove has now become a popular diving destination for dive training classes. It is populated every Saturday and Sunday morning by young certified diving instructors who have arrived before 7:00 to conduct an ocean check out dive for their classes of aspiring divers. Under the ever-watchful eye of their SCUBA instructor, young and old, male and female don the costume of modern diving. Bright colored wet suits have replaced the long underwear for thermal protection; clear form fitting twin lens masks of clear silicone replaced the black round rubber masks; multi hued long lightweight split plastic fins now adorn their feet replacing the short green Churchill fins. Not a spearfishing weapon is insight, since this area has been a game reserve for over a generation.

Yes, there have been a lot of changes in the last sixty plus years. Tomas Wolfe’s message has been verified. "You can’t go home again," but you can relive fond memories from the distant past and dream and hope for the future of recreational diving.

Only the sea, the eternal sea, has relentlessly remained the same...SDM 111

Copyright Dr.Samuel Miller,111, Dr. Samuel Miller IV & Lee/CCnews/TPR; may not be used with out permission of the authors and/or Lee/CC news)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An explanation of the equipment and terms used in the article :

*Long underwear or heavy GI surplus OD sweater was the consume of diving ..
See SDM anniversary edition,2001, John Steele Painting of me as a 20 year old right after WW11 --- in the winter weather long underwear and a GI sweater was used or if exceptionally warm water such as in Mexico old pajamas were used - not for warmth but to protect from sun burn-

** see my article "The Mask" made by the late great Charlie Sturgil, www.ledgensofdiving.com

*** Churchills by Voit were green or greenish- WW11 Churchills were black, Sea Net produced Frog feet , Art Brown's Duck feet did not appear until mid 1950s

****Jab stick - Previous (original ) (name for a pole spear-by my tribe) Power supplied by thrust of arm, later a plumbing elastic was discovered by Bill Barada and attached

***** Huge bonfires to warm up participants & avoid hypothermia- wrapped in a blanket or heavy GI surplus WW 11 overcoat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Compton, California “Dolphins Spear Fishing club”, Ken Kummerfeild, Paul Hoss and Pat O’Malley used US Divers recently imported Arbalete spear guns in the very first International Spear Fishing meet in 1950. In 1940s Rene Bussoz founded Rene Sports and began importing the Arbalete rubber powered spear guns which were introduced and accepted by SoCal divers. There were two models, #1501, standard, one sling @$19.95 and the #1502 Delux , two sling @$24.95. The two flopper point #1515 was priced at $2.95 as was the detachable Spear head #1519. It was possible to purchase the guns two ways, assembled @ list price or disassembled about 10% less. I preferred to drive to LA and purchase a disassembled model for around 18 or so hard earned college kid dollars.

Spear guns for use in and under the water first appeared in later part of 1930s with Le Prieur's 38 cal Nautilus gun followed by Kramarenko's spring powered gun . In 1940 Champion commercially produced the kettle cured rubber powered Arbalete, which reached the US in the late 1940s via Ben Holderness New York based "Aqua gun company" and Rene Bussoz's west coast "Rene Sports"

Locally in Kalifornia Bill Barada created the CO2 powered gun in mid 1930s (see my article in Discover Diving "The magnificent gas gun." ) The Wally Potts created and produced the first US rubber powered gun in 1939, known as the Potts gun or the Bottom Scratcher gun. When copied and produced in the early 1950s by Paul Hoss they were often called the Potts/Hoss gun. The basic difference was the Hoss used the bullet proof Sturgil muzzle. A total of only 130 to 140 were made. One sold on E bay a few years ago for $2500.00.

Chuck Blakeslee founder of Skin Diver magazine developed and marketed a CO2 Cartridge powered gun in 1950 identified as the Barracuda. In short order it was followed by the CO2 cartridge powered Mark VII produced in bucolic Orange County and a the Viking, which I have never discovered who made it or where it was produced.
Fisher CO2 gun distributed by Sea Net (Pops Romano)

Tarpon gun distributed by Sea Net (Pops Romano)

Modern wet multi cellular suits were serendipitously developed in early 1950s by Bradner and Bascom..were declared "Secret" and did not reach the civilian diving market until after the Korean war

Snorkel was an American invention, named by the French after a German WW11 Sub- equipped with Dutch designed and developed breathing tubes

Snorkels were J shaped for many years-First big bore were homemade from PVC pipe and a regulator mouth piece - they first appeared commercially in1968.

Masks were Japanese, French or Italian imports or American designed and produced Sea Net - or homemade (Charlie Sturgil see my Discover diving article of about 25 years ago titled "The Mask"

Surface floats- were automotive inner tubes, inflatable surf mats and on occasion a paddle bard, or surf board I

In those early days there was no training, . no magazines, a few books and certainly no SCUBA board

I apologize I am not as succinct in my post

SDM

 

[Sam Miller III]

Located a early post about the" home made - aka custom" Mask by the late great Charlie Sturgil

FYI:


I published the following DYI article some time ago in my dedicated column "The Way it was...." that appeared monthly in the now defunct San Diego based national dive magazine "Discover Diving." Might possibly be of interest to some of you

'The Mask,

One of the great pioneer divers of all times was the late Charlie Sturgil. "The Old Walrus," as he was affectionately known, started his diving career in 1929 in the frigid waters off Northern California where he hunted for abalone by a method he described as "feeling for abalone." He would dive on a reef, feel until he found an abalone and pry it off, without the use of mask, fins, snorkel or thermal protection.

Charlie began diving with a mask using a Japanese mask in the late 1930s which was loaned to him by his good friend Bill O'Conner. A few years later after the end of WW 11, Charlie, a master tool and die maker and an inventor of sorts, developed the necessary tooling to produce masks on a semi-custom basis for himself and a few close friends. I consider myself very fortunate to have been included in the latter category.

In early years during the genesis of recreational diving the masks were either too large, too small, too stiff or after a few dives, would rapidly deteriorate into a gummy, sticky mess. This did not make for comfortable diving! After using a number of the masks of that era,the Japanese imports, and the American made Sea Net, I decided it was time to contact Charlie to ask him if he could make one of his custom masks for me.

After checking my meager finances, found I could possibly afford one of Charlie's masks, so I gave him a call. "Sure, Sammy, I'd be happy to make a mask for you, come on over", Charlie replied to my request. Within moments I was off to the temple of Southern California diving, Charlie Sturgil's garage.

I was met by this jovial hunk of a man with his infectious, ever-present smile. "Hey ya, Sammy" was always his cordial greeting. Alter a few moments of catching up on the diving scene it, was time to get to work. "Sammy, I'm now making two masks; the original for $6.00 and a new oval model for $8.00", Charlie explained. After considerable soul searching and penny counting, I opted for what I felt I could afford, the original round mask for $6.00.

Now, Charlie's garage was something to behold. It appeared to be in total disarray, and the best way to describe it would be the day after a big sale in a bargain basement. Diving equipment in various stages of repairs, pieces of metal, lengths of stainless rods scattered about... Omnipresent was the huge metal turret lathe and miscellaneous metal working machines. But to Charlie, it was his arena, it was where he excelled in turning these seemingly scrap pieces of metal into custom spear points, spear shafts, yes, even masks.

Charlie knew the location, size, shape and type of everything in his garage. His storage system was logical and certainly workable, but it still defies the imagination how he managed to find anything, let alone make anything, but he did.

Charlie went to work with the speed and skill of a emergency room surgeon. He immediately uncovered a length of 5 inch O.D. soft rubber World War 11, surplus firehose, from which he cut a 4 inch piece. He placed the piece of rubber hose in the wooden mold and proceeded to his trusty bench grinder where he slowly cut a 1/8 inch wide, 3/32 deep groove all around the edge for the glass. This was followed by the rough contouring for the forehead, cheeks, and upper lip. He then went to his metal rack and withdrew a piece of 3/4 x 16 inch 22 gauge stainless steel, which he placed in his specially constructed mold and carefully, yet skillfully, forced the stainless steel around the mold forming it into a familiar round mask shape. His next step was to form the band evenly and smoothly around the mold creating the lip for the compression hand with light rapid laps of a hammer. Using silver solder, the welding process of the era, he soldered the tabs for the strap and the compression screw tabs to complete the band. A piece of pre-cut 1/3 inch glass, the same kind used for window glass, was taken from the shelf and fit into the groove; the compression band placed around the mask and the compression screw tightened.

At last, the mask was assembled. My own custom Sturgil mask! Charlie proceeded to take some cursory measurements of my then youthful face, and returned to the grinding wheel, skillfully grinding a little here, a little there, another trial fit, a little more grinding. Finally, a perfect fit. A final hand finish with fine sandpaper, attaching of the strap, cut from a truck inner tube, and I was the proud possessor of a real genuine Charlie Sturgil Original Style Diving Mask.

This occurred many years ago when diving as well as life was much simpler, a time when pride in workmanship and ownership were at a premium. Charlie made almost 40 of these one of a kind custom dive masks, however only three are known to have survived the rigors of our disposable society, mine, Alex Pierce's of Toronto, Canada and Charlie's widow's Laura's mask which now on loan and rests in a Southern California museum. And indeed they are museum pieces... the three remaining masks are all almost sixty years old and represent an era which was experienced by only a precious few which will never be experienced again upon this earth.

Charlie has reverend position in the fraternity of diving pioneers; he won the world's Spearfishing contest in 1950 with a pole spear, was a LA County Underwater Instructor and serendipity developed much of the spearfishing and SCUBA equipment which has become mainstream in todays diving.

I will never forget Charlie, nor will anyone who ever knew him.... nor will there ever be another mask like a Sturgil Mask.

Dr Samuel Miller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
post script;

Charlie passed on November 15 1984, His devoted wife Laura passed on a few years ago at the age of 90.

About 15 years ago at the last "Fathers of Spearfishing" gathering at Seatec/inflatable systems in Corona California I organized a "Tribute to Charlie." Nothing formal, we just stood around and told stories about our experiences with Charlie--and what stories were told...The experiences we had!

If Charlie knew you and liked you he always addressed you in the familar; Ie Sammy, Bobbie, Jimmie,--Those he didn't have great admiration or didn't know well it was formal Sam, Bob or Jim.

His daughter Laura Lee was married to Billy Meistral, one of the twin brothers who founded Dive and Surf and the very successful Body glove. Billy also passed on several years ago.

A SoCal spearfishing club The Fathomiers has been presenting the Charlie Sturgil spearfishing meet for about 30 years...It came full circle when Charlie's grand daughter, Laura Lee Gonta won the meet several years ago using one of Charlie's legendary pole spears.

I still have a number of items custom made for me by Charlie; the mask, points, stringers, dive float frame etc. All are as good as they were when he made them so many years ago, no longer is use they are religated to places of honor in my garage, a silent testimony to days and dives of the past.

So now you know...Just a small part of the rest of the story of recreational diving

I sincerely hope the last two post have not been too boring but some how shed some light on the origin and changes made in the diving community as I was an observer as well as an active participant in the diving community over the past almost 70 years

Samuel Miller, III

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've seen a LOT of changes in diving just since I started in 2001. And I don't think it's any more resistant to change than any other recreational activity. Equipment's expensive, and if it works why replace it? I'm still riding the bike I purchased in the mid-80's, and skis I acquired in the late '90's. And I'm using an old Salvo dive light I bought in 2004, despite the fact that more modern lights are smaller, brighter, and cheaper. Why replace what works? On the other hand, I currently dive a Shearwater Petrel dive computer which is far more advanced than the Suunto I purchased back in 2001 ... primarily because I "outgrew" the capabilities the latter could offer. Based on advice I received on this board I did try Jet fins about 15 years ago, but as my feet aren't shaped like a 2x6 I found them uncomfortable. I've since gone through a few fins, and far prefer both the F1's I use locally and the Eddy6's I use for travel today. I think fin technology has made some significant changes, mostly in materials and foot pocket design, and rarely see anyone in Jets anymore.

As for the comparison to computers ... back in the 80's I worked for Digital Equipment Corporation. And I happen to know there are still a lot of PDP-11's and VAX's out there running VMS today, despite the fact that the company ceased to exist 25 years ago. They're used primarily for process control, managing automation in factories and assembly lines. Why are these companies so resistant to change? Haven't they ever heard of PLC's and Ethernet? Or is it just that since the existing equipment gets the job done just fine they don't see any reason to "fix" it?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[CT-Rich]

Maybe the resistance to change might be better described as how fast are modernizations adopted? How long did the transition from plastic decompression tables to PDCs take? How long did it take to go from oral inflate horsecollar BCs to modern LP power inflating Jacket/ harness BCDS? The evolution of tech diving.

How about the development of mixed Gas diving? In Shadow Divers there was a whole discussion about whether mixed gases were safe and viable options, that was set in the early-mid 1990s. Today almost anyone can get a Nitrox certification. On my upcoming trip, the only gas available will be Nitrox. In less than 30 years it went from exclusively advanced tech and commercial to a must have for dive travel.

Computers have followed a similar arc. 30 years ago, a small percentage of divers would use computers (along with tables). Today you are unlikely to see tables on a boat, much less find rec divers that could use them.

I was just watching a series of videos about the history of British cave diving. It seems to me that divers are constantly looking for ways to extend bottom times and mitigate risk. The market place tries new things and their usefulness determines market share.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Like gypsyjim I also started diving when much of the current equipment wasn't readily available. For me part of it is that I do not feel compelled to add a bunch of equipment that I don't have a particular need for. I did buy a new regulator and set of gauges in the early 80s because they really were significantly better than my old regulator. It's difficult for me to imagine that there has been any substantial improvements that would justify spending hundreds of dollars for only a very slight improvement. The same with fins--I would have to spend a couple hundred bucks to find out if the new super-fins are actually better than my old, trusty, extremely durable Jet Fins which also fit into my carry-on bag. Mine are from the early 70s when they made what I consider to be a significant improvement--they made them a bit more flexible and added a lightning bolt to the insignia. I see a lot of the stuff that's for sale as just something to try to sell to people who already have everything. For the most part I like having a SPG and actually knowing how much air I have left, compared to having a pretty good idea based upon my estimates. BCs have their uses but I still don't think I need one to go beach diving in Southern California. I like the stretchy wetsuits a lot better than the old, stiff ones. I don't do anything that might be called "Technical Diving" so I don't pay much attention to a lot of the new gadgets.

 

[msinc]

Like gypsyjim I also started diving when much of the current equipment wasn't readily available. For me part of it is that I do not feel compelled to add a bunch of equipment that I don't have a particular need for. I did buy a new regulator and set of gauges in the early 80s because they really were significantly better than my old regulator. It's difficult for me to imagine that there has been any substantial improvements that would justify spending hundreds of dollars for only a very slight improvement. The same with fins--I would have to spend a couple hundred bucks to find out if the new super-fins are actually better than my old, trusty, extremely durable Jet Fins which also fit into my carry-on bag. Mine are from the early 70s when they made what I consider to be a significant improvement--they made them a bit more flexible and added a lightning bolt to the insignia. I see a lot of the stuff that's for sale as just something to try to sell to people who already have everything. For the most part I like having a SPG and actually knowing how much air I have left, compared to having a pretty good idea based upon my estimates. BCs have their uses but I still don't think I need one to go beach diving in Southern California. I like the stretchy wetsuits a lot better than the old, stiff ones. I don't do anything that might be called "Technical Diving" so I don't pay much attention to a lot of the new gadgets.

You mean there are actually two divers on this website that don't dive with a BP/W!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!