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Post by surflung on Sept 23, 2014 10:20:21 GMT -8
Argonaut Kracken Owners Group (KOGs)- SwimJim Bach declared a new group of Double Hose Regulator divers distinguished by their Argonaut Kracken regulators... He calls us "KOGs" for Kracken Owners Group members. Since the Annual Vintage Dive at Lake Wazee was (I think) the first official meeting of the KOGs, that would make Jim, Sea Hunt Jerry, and Me the founding members. We're so proud! Do we get to wear funny hats?  - Right to Left are Eb, Jerry, and Jim P.S. Full story and pictures of the Wazee Get Together is at: vintagescuba.proboards.com/thread/3506/wazee-lake-sept-19-20
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Post by nikeajax on Sept 23, 2014 14:30:35 GMT -8
 You mean like Fred's hat? In the first season of the Flintstones, they belonged to the "Loyal Order of Dinosaurs", which is quite apt, as I'm sure most people would ignorantly see those regs as dinosaurs! Jaybird |
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Post by surflung on Sept 24, 2014 6:00:17 GMT -8
"That Looks Military..."- It's hard to say how modern generations view double hose regulators. A couple of years ago I was beach diving in front of our hotel on Maui with my DA Aquamaster Phoenix... I felt a little intimidated walking by the beach activity booth each day wondering what they thought of my "vintage" double hoses. I was diving my fully tricked out yellow hosed DA Aqua Master Phoenix with OxyCheq BC, Octo, and SPG. - Well, on the last day as I was showering off the salt water after a dive, I overheard one of the dive bookers in the booth... He was looking at me and said to his co-worker, "That looks military." They thought I looked cool! - Now think what young people are exposed to: Video games where Navy Seals use double hose re-breathers... Considering the short attention span and limited historical knowledge of many young people today, they may not even know about the early days of double hose regs in Scuba diving. - All they need to know is that we look as cool as we think we look...
- So with that in mind, I'm thinking we need some KOG hats that make us look like Tom Selleck... 
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Post by nikeajax on Sept 24, 2014 8:04:41 GMT -8
"Now think what young people are exposed to: Video games where Navy Seals use double hose re-breathers... Considering the short attention span and limited historical knowledge of many young people today, they may not even know about the early days of double hose regs in Scuba diving."I think a lot about what young people don't know, as well as what the media feeds them as being good... I see a lot of skulls on EVERYTHING especially things kids take to school: back-packs, shirts, shoes, notebooks... even CANDY!!!! I'm sure a good majority of us on this site grew up knowing that a skull means only one thing: "Don't eff-around with this stuff, it will kill you!" I can't help but wonder if in the not too distant future if some stupid kids will see the "Jolly Roger" on something and think, "Hey, this is 'cool' stuff..." I would have like to have had a secret camera on you at the moment you herd them say they thought it was military gear you had: I could see you chin go in slightly, your spine straighten and your shoulders roll back...  "Yeah boys, I'm what you'd call a double-knot-spy..." Jaybird
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Post by sitkadiver on Sept 24, 2014 8:26:10 GMT -8
What is the modern spelling of trouble ? ..... K.O.G.  - Just kidding Eben, you guys look great and I think a bumper sticker or hat would be a fun ancillary to the dive kit. - Right to Left are Eb, Jerry, and Jim |
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Post by herman on Sept 25, 2014 1:55:03 GMT -8
That is a motly looking crew if I ever saw one.  You just never know how divers will react to a DH. I was diving a Phoenix/DA with yellow hoses and no BC on Bonaire a few years ago when I came on an instructor and 2 students. The instructor pointed at me to the students, grabbed his slate and began to write then swam twards me....Oh great, what does this guy want I thought as he turned the slate.....COOL RIG!! it said. I like to set my regs up a little distance from me and hang around some modern gear to eaves drop on the conversations, you hear some interesting stuff. |
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Post by SeaRat on Sept 25, 2014 2:35:55 GMT -8
Interesting stuff, like, "Is that a rebreather?" John |
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Post by rhwestfall on Sept 25, 2014 3:47:47 GMT -8
The past two weeks had me joining a group group of folks I had never been around before for a drift dive. I did catch a little "flack" for the tanks as I showed up with (twin AL63's which I did both weeks dives without re-filling), and one guy was perplexed by the j-valve rod, but the only comments I got in regard to the Kraken were two separate utterances of "COOL"....
There was a time where folks knew what a DH was, even if they had never dove one, but I think that group is diminishing rapidly. I miss stuff like the old JC exploring the oceans shows. You never see stuff like that anymore. It kept it mainstream. Guess we have to do our best to keep the topic alive, and the Kraken helps quite a bit to do that.
Strangely enough, recently when I told someone I had a "modern DH", they immediately correlate it to the kludge that was put out a few years back. That was a real POS, and really harmed the DH image. Again, more ground to make back.
Dive On!!!
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Post by surflung on Sept 25, 2014 5:37:04 GMT -8
KOGs One Week Anniversary Dive...- The KOGs, Deep Sixers, Inland Vintage, and Sea Hunt Dive Clubs are converging on Fortune Pond this weekend... Arriving tomorrow the 26th and diving probably all three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We hope to get some good pictures and video of Argonaut Krackens in deep, clear water. Its supposed to be cloudless sunny skies so the light should be way better than it was on our last trip where the skies were overcast the whole weekend. Note how dark the red hoses were at 85 feet deep in front of the Fortune Pond pier. - I'll have SwimJim's Argonaut Kracken prototype there... A genuine piece of diving history. Jim was one of the elite group of double hose divers who torture tested the Kracken before it was put into production. He says he'll autgraph the certificate/paperwork for me and anyone who'd like to see and handle it is certainly welcome... You can probably have a picture taken with you, Jim, and the Prototype. As far as I know, only Jim, me, and Sea Hunt Jerry have dived with this prototype regulator. Jim tortured it and we just tried it out!  
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Post by rhwestfall on Sept 25, 2014 8:41:25 GMT -8
...."first annual"... hmmmmm  me thinks you mean "inaugural"? When you do year #2 you can then assign the "annual" connotation...  |
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Post by herman on Sept 25, 2014 10:19:01 GMT -8
Didn't dive it but I had my hands (and machines) on it before Jim saw it. If some of the parts are unplated brass, those are the ones I made from the drawing in my shop as prototypes and were used on the first few that went into the water. There was a lot of back stage checking, testing and refining that went into this reg. |
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Post by surflung on Sept 29, 2014 8:23:52 GMT -8
- Thanks Herman... I haven't taken it apart to look inside but from what Bryan included in the description, it most probably has your handy work inside. This weekend I asked SwimJim to write a comment and autograph on the official prototype paperwork. I would be honored to ask the same of you some day if we ever meet personally.
- The Kracken Owners Group (KOG) could not quite handle coordination of a three man Argonaut Kracken dive this weekend. Sea Hunt Jerry arrived at Fortune Pond first and wasn't sure if he might turn around and go home right away. He had a Whitetail Buck (deer) try to dive thru his driver's side window a few miles before Spooner in the pre-dawn darkness. I drove thru the broken glass about an hour later and I can say the road was thickly lined with trees. Thank heaven he didn't lose control of his van and drive off into those trees.
- Anyway, Jerry was already suited up and diving his Kracken when I arrived. It was such a beautiful weekend, everybody was rushing to get in their first dive with whatever they wanted to try out first. SwimJim and Eric did their deep technical dive first. I dove my Sea Hunt 38s and Voit VR1 project (it worked great!)... Anyway, although everyone of us dove our Krackens at least once, we didn't get a chance to do it together so, no group photo of the KOGs this weekend!
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Post by herman on Sept 29, 2014 16:22:11 GMT -8
Be happy to sign it. The whole project was a lot of fun for me but to see people diving them is very gratifying. I am really looking forward to the day I can walk up to some stranger (I know most of the owners in the US,at least on line) and ask them about the reg. Should be interesting to see their face when I tell them what I know about the reg.
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Post by CG-45.com on Sept 29, 2014 16:32:24 GMT -8
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me thinks you mean "inaugural"? When you do year #2 you can then assign the "annual" connotation... 
