Save yourselves, it's too late for me (help needed)

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Hammerhead

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Fellow divers, gather round, my name is Larry and I’ve a story to tell. Sad perhaps, but salutary, I hope you’ll find.

My friends! My friends! Please don’t turn away. That’s better, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Go on, pull up a chair, it won't take long...

Best to start at the beginning, I suppose, just ten years ago I learned to dive, and from the very start, I felt I'd found my niche. I remember it well, so well…

I took my time meandering through courses, you know how it is - Open Water here, Advanced there, Nitrox here, Rebreather there. Maybe a bit of Medic First Aid or Deep Air Oh yes, it was fun, but was I fulfilled? I thought I was.

Then once upon a summer’s dive holiday, I happened to be buddied up with a grizzled old dive dog in his sixties. His diving style was immaculate, and most impressively of all was how he managed it with some absolutely ancient gear. I mean, two hoses? What on earth?

For some reason the old boy took liked the cut of my jib and over local rum, we sat and discussed at length the advantages of his choices, the freedom it gave him in the water, the sweet, ineffable nostalgia of days gone by when diving was simple and things like split fins and trimix were not even a distant cloud on the azure horizon.

He spoke of a world divorced from long hoses and GI3; a world devoid of DIR and factional fighting, where people dove simply for the love of the sport.

He spoke long into the night of a time removed from our troublesome age and his words came to me across the gap of decades and echoed in the bottomless pits of my diver’s soul.

His honey-sweet words tore down the walls of complacency I had built without thought as easily as he himself cut through the water.

How young I was, how naive, wily old devil that he was, he knew from the look in my eyes that I hungered for his eloquent illusion.

Then came the hook. Of course.

He gave me a scuffed AMF Swimaster depth guage as a gift. To my amazement, it matched my brand new computer to the foot at 160 fsw. For the next week it was my constant partner on every dive

I came back home and for a while it was OK, but after a couple of weeks, I found myself getting up late at night and sneaking out from my warm bed, tiptoeing down the stairs, guilt and anticipation raising the hairs on the back of my neck

Down to the cabinet to pull open the drawer and hold – if just for a fleeting moment – the comforting weight of history in my hands.

One day at work, I essayed a few searches online and I discovered ebay and a huge vista of vintage equipment for sale at affordable prices. I’ll admit I dabbled occasionally, but it was purely recreational. It was no big deal, I could quit any time I liked.

Then it was a small step to picking up a few old single hose regs, maybe a horse collar or two or a couple of bronze dive knives. I couldn’t see it myself, of course, but by now the addiction was beginning to show. I tried, but the craving was too much, like claws digging into my very heart.

Friends and family could only turn away, anguish in their eyes; my job suffered; my health failed and my dog left me.

Today, the worn-out wreck you see, shoulders hunched and hands palsied is all that remains of the idealistic young man who made the mistake of believing that the clock could be turned back.

My story ends, my friends, I beg you do not follow me. Yes, leave now, it’s for the best.

What’s that? What bag? Oh this one, yes the brown paper one between my ankles. What is in it, you ask?

Well ‘tis something special, maybe you’d like to try it, in fact. Oh yes, it’s perfectly safe…go on, just hook it up to this tank here if you don’t believe me. There we go, of course you can have a breath here’s the mouthpiece, let me help you, yes, just like that…

…now just take a breath, mmmmm.

LionsPark17-18-06-06053.jpg


LionsPark17-18-06-06055.jpg


Anyway, enough of that crap, the photo’s don’t do it justice, the chrome is immaculate, the hoses supple and completely un-perished. Anyone out there who can put a date on this?

Back on topic, the result is that my first attempt at double hose diving is in less than 2 months in the Philippines. As a novice, I’d really appreciate some tips (yes, Nemrod, I know – mount it LOW!!!).

If all goes to plan, I’ll be using it primarily for photography; bubbles at the back and all that…

FWIW, the reg’s already been on a tank, and the guy at the shop who dives a Snark III and a Siebe Gorman Mistral (I think), reckons that it’s as damn near good as new.

It’s my understanding that the 3,000 PSI I’m likely to get at the resort is a bit of a no-no for these old fellas. True?

Also, the resort I’ll be diving at is also likely to be very picky about having an octo (as in I’d need one) and SPG, so I’d love a bit of advice on how to mount these.

The plan is to use my Halcyon Pioneer, with the twin cam straps – sound like a good idea?

I’m so excited I gotta go pee!
 
It looks good. Since it's a shiny chrome Warner Ave, that places it between '64 and '69(they converted to shiny chrome in 64 and to a round label in 70). You can see a progression of labels here: http://www.vintagescubasupply.com/labsusd.html
Get yourself a copy of the New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving(from the 60's; anything later omits double hose material, from what I understand). It has a lot of tips on diving with the older gear. Be cognizant of your body position in the water, and you'll do fine. This is coming from a novice double hose diver. The bug you described bit me bad. I now have two DA Aquamasters and two Healthways single stage regs. Go to www.vintagesoublehose.com and www.vintagescubasupply.com and join the party! I think my hardware collecting will end when I have 2 of everything :) Oh, and you should be ok with 3000psi, but don't exceed that. You may want to put a heavier yoke on it. I just tend to dive with low pressure steel tanks.
 
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... (snore, snort)...oohh, I'm sorry, wha, what?:huhu:
 
bennedc:
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... (snore, snort)...oohh, I'm sorry, wha, what?:huhu:

ADD is a pain, isn't it?

Got any advice on the gear, or just here to take the piss?
 
shugar:
nice story........

the resorts will require you to have an spg and octo? can't you just bring a bailout bottle?

Jag

I'm pretty sure Asiasdivers will want SPG as a minimum, and the bailout is not really used there at all - I'll get in touch and ask...
 
thepurplehammerhead:
ADD is a pain, isn't it?

Got any advice on the gear, or just here to take the piss?
I'm sorry, I was just taking a nap. Good luck with that antique. Don't kill yourself.
 
Oh, purplehammerhead, you turn away from truth and allow yourself to be seduced by the siren song of the past. You and my husband, straying from the true path. I am so sorry.
 
Hmmmmm, I see you have a nice DA there. Nice story too, I was about to break down in tears between that and just getting back from the movie "The Lakehouse".

Well, we just went through all this for Peter. I fear he is under evil influences from the dark side and needs an exorcism that can only be successful using a Royal Aqua Master to put the fear into the dark forces.

For you, a simple solution is more nearly possible.

For an SPG on a rental tank you must have a banjo bolt adapter. These are sometimes hard to find. Check on the VSS site and see if Chuck has some for sale.

The octapus, well, you need an adapter which can be gotten from several sources. the one I am most familiar with and which work well is the Hookah adapter from VDH but some people build their own.

OK, not done yet, from DiveRite or is it OMS you can get a three way splitter. This allows you to connect the octapus on a 40 inch hose to one outlet and a LP inflator on the other and then have one extra port. You may need to get a custom length LP hose for the inflator to allow a most compact routing.

I recommend the octapus on a 40 inch hose with a swivel fitting on the regulator. I recommend you route it under your arm and use a slip bungee DIR style to hang it around your neck. The under arm routing allows it to stay below your double hose routing. If you need it then you pull the octapus free of it's bungee and hand it to the OOA diver or to yourself. If to yourself, push the double DOWN under the octapus.

I am not sure what a Halycon Pioneer is but I am thinking it is some sort of wing with a BP type system. Good then, I use something similar often. One thing, when selecting a wing for use with a double hose it is really important to pick one that has the inflator corrugated hose OFF CENTER otherwise it tries to occupy the same space as the double hose cans.

A BP using a STA is going to place the tank higher from your back than optimal. I also found it nesscary to drill an extra upper hole lower than normal so the tank can be pushed down without the upper band falling off the tank shoulder. If you can do away with the STA but you will still likely need to drop that upper band down.

Oh, I almost forgot, in order to use a banjo you must have a long yoke form VDH or VSS or just steal one from an old Calypso or Conshelf.

One other thing, OK, two other things, one, do yourself a favor and have an expert rework the regulator as there will be plenty of time for you to learn to repair it on your own. Two, the DA can handle 3,000 psi just fine. I don't know why this misunderstanding persists but the DA works fine at 3,000 psi.

OH, let me go on, I cannot emphasize the different behavoir of these double hose regulators enough--you must practice before hand or you will be sorry that you did not. Why not join the vintage group in a few weeks at Wazee or Portage for some training from people who actually are experts at double hose diving.

I rediscovered double hose diving two years ago but I was trained on them and did own (and still do) a Mistral and dove it regularly from about 1966 to 1972ish before being forced into BCs and other foolishness--being young and impressionable at that time ya know! So, anyways, I feel your pain, so will your credit card!

Good luck and let me know if I can help you in any way.

N
 
All of your questions are answered in another VERY recent thread here on "The Sea Hunt Era":
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=148067
Titled: Diving "Modern" with "Vintage" Reg

In short, octopus adapters: http://vintagescuba.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1150869721
SPG adapters (banjo bolts): http://www.vintagescubasupply.com/hoses.html
And, regarding 3000 psi: 3 votes say that it's O.K.
My comment- "The DAAM will do O.K on 3000 psi, but then again the seat WILL last longer if you stay with lower pressures. The U.S.Navy and dive shops of the past had an endless supply of HP seats. Not so today (although they can be resurfaced). You can still use an AL80, though. There is no law which says you can't bleed it down before you hook your regulator to it."

I suggest you read the entire thread, for fun if for no other reason. Welcome!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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