Fin ID

[Aquala1]

Ok, it was a few weeks ago when this old Bel-Aqua catalog appeared on eBay. Long story short, I missed winning it, but did snap a few screen grabs before it went away. The reason I did is because I found it interesting that Bel-Aqua had a mask, and fins as part of their catalog...especially the Cressis. Up until then, I was under the impression they only sold diving suits and some spearfishing gear.

Aside from the Cressi fins, do those fins look like anything else you’ve ever seen? Also, what about the mask? I’m wondering if these were redistributes, like the Cressis, or were they were molded proprietarily for Bel-aqua?

BTW...I’m going to go ahead and thank DRW for contributing to this thread. When it comes to fin and mask ID, he’s the man!

[nikeajax]

Nov 16, 2017 13:47:39 GMT -8 Aquala1 said:

Ok, it was a few weeks ago when this old Bel-Aqua catalog appeared on eBay. Long story short, I missed winning it..

Drat and double-drat!

OK DRW, you gotta come through on this one mate! No pressure eh?

JB

[SeaRat]

The Bell Aqua flippers above look a lot like Duck Feet, but perhaps from Europe. DWR has shown some that look very close to these.

The mask rings a bell (no pun intended), as I think I've used it in the 1950s. But I did not like it as the strap system being where it is, hurt my temples. I went to a USD Champion Deluxe mask that was orange in color.

John

[DavidRitchieWilson]

Nov 16, 2017 13:47:39 GMT -8 Aquala1 said:

Ok, it was a few weeks ago when this old Bel-Aqua catalog appeared on eBay. Long story short, I missed winning it, but did snap a few screen grabs before it went away. The reason I did is because I found it interesting that Bel-Aqua had a mask, and fins as part of their catalog...especially the Cressis. Up until then, I was under the impression they only sold diving suits and some spearfishing gear.

Aside from the Cressi fins, do those fins look like anything else you’ve ever seen? Also, what about the mask? I’m wondering if these were redistributes, like the Cressis, or were they were molded proprietarily for Bel-aqua?

BTW...I’m going to go ahead and thank DRW for contributing to this thread. When it comes to fin and mask ID, he’s the man!

I now feel a heavy weight of responsibility on my shoulders, Ty and JB!

I wasn't aware either that Bel Aqua (Aquala's predecessor) ever manufactured or even retailed masks and fins. I did know, however, from my copy of the 1958 Bel Aqua catalogue that the company offered a snorkel, which I understand was one of Bill Barada's inventions.

There are no fins or masks in the 1958 catalogue, however. I went straight to my copy of the 1955 edition of the Carriers' Dive (Wilfred Funk), the book with the long "Equipment listing" among its appendices, and I did indeed find Bel Aqua in both the "Fins and Sets" and "Masks, Goggles and Froggles" section.

Fin entry
BEL-AQUA WATER SPORTS
Healthways fins. See earlier listing. Duck Feet, Cressi.
Whale tail flippers, ADJ natural rubber:
F-40S: Size 3-7: Price: $5.95
F-40M: Size 6-9: Price: $6.45
F-40L: Size 9-12: Price: $6.50
Extra straps 50 cents.

As for the image on Ty's catalogue scan, I'd say from their blade markings that these fins are "Manatee" fins, which appear in the US Divers catalogues of 1955-1958. They too were available in a choice of neoprene or gum rubber. You will find a full description for the year of their launch in the 1955 US Divers catalogue. This catalogue can be accessed in Bryan Pennington's wonderful collection by clicking the "Manuals and Catalogs" at the bottom of the Forum page at Vintage Double Hose.

The other fin illustrated is, as you already know, a Cressi Rondine, which was first marketed in the early 1950s, although it was designed as long ago as 1947 by Luigi Ferraro.

I'll leave it there for the moment and I'd be interested to know whether anybody else agrees with my suggested identification. I'll look further at that mask in the Bel Aqua catalogue a bit later.

DRW

PS. Here's a US Divers ad, courtesy of the Skin Diving History website, featuring among other gear a pair of Manatee fins:

[nikeajax]

Nov 17, 2017 9:05:52 GMT -8 DavidRitchieWilson said:

I now feel a heavy weight of responsibility on my shoulders, Ty and JB!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA--life's rough,especially when you've nailed half of it!

JB

[DavidRitchieWilson]

In that appendix in the Carriers' book Dive (1955 edition), the "Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co." mask entry reads:

BEL-AQUA WATER SPORTS CO.
Also Squale, Champion, Healthways and Cressi masks
Mask:
190. Standard, oval LNS. Price $2.50.
190-R. Standard, round LNS. Price $2.50.
190-TO. AM oval LNS. Price: $2.95.
190-Tr. AM round LNS. Price: $2.95.
191. Deluxe metal rim, oval LNS. Price $3.50.
191-R. Deluxe metal rim, round LNS. Price $3.50.
191-TO. Deluxe AM, oval LNS. Price: $3.95.
191-TR. Deluxe AM, oval LNS. Price: $3.95.
117-A. Diving hood and mask unit. Price: $7.50.

The "Diving hood and mask unit" is illustrated in the Bel Aqua ad below:


As for the image of the mask in Ty's screenshot, John is right to draw attention to the unusual strap system. The nearest I've found so far can be seen in this ad:

The mask I'm referring to is the "Aqua King", which was a Cressi mask made for Healthways, on the ad at the bottom next to the combined mask and snorkel. It doesn't have a top screw though, so maybe the Bel Aqua mask was also made by Cressi to a slightly different design.

DRW

[Aquala1]

Excellent work DRW! Unless there were clones of the Manatee fin, the Manatee is the fin in the Bel-Aqua catalog. The difference is, we’re seeing the bottom of the fins in the USD catalog because of the drain holes, and we’re looking at the top of the fin in the Bel-Aqua catalog. If you read the description of the Manatee, they make a jab at Churchill, and possibly Webbys by saying that no real fish fin is curved, and the Manatee is better because it’s closer to the design of a real fish’s tail. Notice they also describe the larger size as the UDT model, just like Swimaster did with their Duckfeet, and as John pointed out, they’re very similar to Duckfeet.

Pacific Molded Products owned Swimaster at the time (Swimaster was later sold to Voit around 1960) so I wonder if Pacific Molded modified their Duckfeet mold/design so they could offer a fin to other brands, and not directly compete with their proprietary Duckfeet? DRW, is there any evidence of pre-Voit Duckfeet being sold by brands other than Swimaster, that would support this theory?

I’ll make a different post for the mask.

[DavidRitchieWilson]

Nov 18, 2017 7:51:47 GMT -8 Aquala1 said:

Pacific Molded Products owned Swimaster at the time (Swimaster was later sold to Voit around 1960) so I wonder if Pacific Molded modified their Duckfeet mold/design so they could offer a fin to other brands, and not directly compete with their proprietary Duckfeet? DRW, is there any evidence of pre-Voit Duckfeet being sold by brands other than Swimaster, that would support this theory?

Pleased to help, Ty. As for "Duck Feet" fins, they appear to have been made first by The Spearfisherman Company, which also made drysuits. Here is an image from the Orange County California Public Libraries archives:

The caption reads "Duck feet brand diving fins manufactured by the Spearfisherman Company, 7521 Clay Street, Huntington Beach, April 16, 1951" and you can see my source at cdm16838.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16838coll1/id/1016.

The Skin Diving History website has some excellent period ads for the Spearfisherman company at www.skindivinghistory.com/mfg_retailers/s/Spearfisherman/index.html. Here's a couple of examples including references to "Duck Feet" fins:



Arthur Brown, who headed the Spearfisherman company, eventually sold his Spearfisherman Company to Swimaster, during the mid to late 1950s I believe.

DRW

[nikeajax]

DRW, here is where you really shine: your research! (Oh how my heart bleeeeeeeeeeeeeds for you nerd-boy!) I can't tell you how much I enjoy seeing the old artwork and typography: nowadays everyone thinks the typefaces all have to be the same and everyone uses freakin' Helvetica

So again, thank you for glowing yourself to geek-out for us!

JB

[DavidRitchieWilson]

In a previous message, I suggested that Cressi may be the source of the Bel-Aqua mask. Since then, however, Regulator68bj has very kindly sent me some images (below) of a Sea-Net Manufacturing Company Inc mask whose strap arrangement closely resembles the mask appearing in the early Bel Aqua catalogue:





Here's a scan of page 14 of the first issue (December 1951) of Skin Diver:

There's a Sea-Net ad at the bottom of the page with an illustration of the mask. Sea-Net was a very early diving equipment company that made gear for other firms, including US Divers.

It's therefore entirely possible that Sea Net made diving masks for Bel-Aqua.

DRW

[Aquala1]

DRW, I think you nailed it with the Sea-Dive Deluxe mask. It’s hard to tell from the Bel-Aqua catalog whether the mask shown is a heavily retouched photo, or just an artist’s rendering. Either way, with the thin metal lens clamp, and the odd way the strap attaches to the mask, to me the Bel-Aqua mask and the Sea-Dive are one in the same.

[tomcatpc]

Way off topic, but I'd love to see someone make T-Shirts with the Sea-Net Manufacturing Co. "Frog Man" mascot logo!
Mark

[DavidRitchieWilson]

Nov 19, 2017 14:31:06 GMT -8 Aquala1 said:

DRW, I think you nailed it with the Sea-Dive Deluxe mask. It’s hard to tell from the Bel-Aqua catalog whether the mask shown is a heavily retouched photo, or just an artist’s rendering. Either way, with the thin metal lens clamp, and the odd way the strap attaches to the mask, to me the Bel-Aqua mask and the Sea-Dive are one in the same.

The greatest credit should go to Regulator68bj, who had the images in his collection and drew my attention to the resemblance between the two masks. I used to think that unlike vintage fins, many vintage masks were hard to tell apart. Closer scrutiny of vintage mask pictures revealed that most models despite their similarities have a unique feature that isn't always easy to spot. On this occasion, I wasn't the first to notice that distinctive characteristic in another vintage mask.

DRW

[Aquala1]

That’s what makes this forum great. Everyone puts their heads together, pools their resources, and comes up with an answer. Both of you guys came through!