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Post by crabbyjim on Dec 9, 2019 17:43:45 GMT -8
Does anyone else remember the Sea Otter Buoyancy Compensating Vest the replaced the USD horse collar? I had one and lt was just as good as the other bc jackets available at the time with the exception of the buckle. It was a combination waist strap and crotch strap and wasn’t very user friendly. I think it was a contemporary of the Dacor constant volume hard pack that Searat uses.
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 9, 2019 22:26:55 GMT -8
I think the Otter BCD was a yellow, over-the-shoulder soft BC with a section on the back. Is that right, Jim? I have looked through my USD catalogs, but so far have not seen them ______________________ I found it in a New England Divers, Inc. catalog dated...well, it's not dated. It only lasted under the name "Sea Otter" for a year or two, then became the "Calypso Compensator." The catalog states: This is its picture from the NED catalog:  USD Sea Otter BC002 by John Ratliff, on Flickr John |
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Post by crabbyjim on Dec 10, 2019 6:27:21 GMT -8
There is a photo of the print ad for sale on ebay but I can't copy it to this page due to my computer illiteracy. It is available on FB in the vintage diving in Monterey page.
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Post by regulator68bj on Dec 10, 2019 8:16:45 GMT -8
Hi jim
All-new "Sea Otter" add appeared in "Skin Diver mag " circa 1979
john 68
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Post by cnotthoff on Dec 10, 2019 15:44:39 GMT -8
John's picture is of US Divers' Calypso BC. The Calypso preceded the Sea Otter. It was secured to the diver with a 5-point harness. Instead of squishing the diver, the bladder inflated away. It was very comfortable to dive. The complaint many had about the Calypso was that it floated a diver face down if unconscious at the surface. Since many people thought of these new-fangled buoyancy compensators as life vests, it was not popular and was discontinued.
Sea Otter was a full jacket style BC. I dove a blue Sea Otter for a couple of years. It was fine as long as you didn't hit the power inflator until the dump valves let go. The vinyl internal bladder eventually rotted out. Aqualung has kind of gone back to their bladder-mounted inflate/deflate mechanism with their i3 Controller.
Good Dives,
Charlie
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Post by lakediver on Dec 10, 2019 19:38:31 GMT -8
The USD Calypso was the first BC I ever owned. I remember wow these things are cool. So it would have been about 1978 or so? Mine was all black in color.
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Post by cnotthoff on Dec 10, 2019 21:49:39 GMT -8
The USD Calypso was the first BC I ever owned. I remember wow these things are cool. So it would have been about 1978 or so? Mine was all black in color. Sounds right. My Assistant Instructor had a Calypso when I started teaching in 1978. Good Dives, Charlie |
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Post by SeaRat on Dec 10, 2019 21:56:42 GMT -8
John's picture is of US Divers' Calypso BC. The Calypso preceded the Sea Otter. It was secured to the diver with a 5-point harness. Instead of squishing the diver, the bladder inflated away. It was very comfortable to dive. The complaint many had about the Calypso was that it floated a diver face down if unconscious at the surface. Since many people thought of these new-fangled buoyancy compensators as life vests, it was not popular and was discontinued. Sea Otter was a full jacket style BC. I dove a blue Sea Otter for a couple of years. It was fine as long as you didn't hit the power inflator until the dump valves let go. The vinyl internal bladder eventually rotted out. Aqualung has kind of gone back to their bladder-mounted inflate/deflate mechanism with their i3 Controller. Good Dives, Charlie Hi Charlie, The catalog from New England Divers stated that the pictured BCD was the Sea Otter. In a different catalog from Central Skindivers, that same apparent BCD is named "U.S. Divers Calypso Compensator." 'Don't know which is correct. CJ, Here's the photo you have on Facebook. I downloaded it into me "Photos" application, then uploaded it to Flikr:  78683718_814330848998284_3559238444712460288_n by John Ratliff, on Flickr John |
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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 10, 2019 22:01:21 GMT -8
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Post by george on Dec 11, 2019 5:05:26 GMT -8
Still like my hoarse collar, so much I have two new ones from Sea Tech.
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Post by crabbyjim on Dec 11, 2019 7:24:54 GMT -8
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Post by cnotthoff on Dec 11, 2019 10:57:02 GMT -8
Mark, You found my old Sea Otter BC. Does it hold air?
You can tell that John's picture is of a Calypso, because it has the metal clasp that formed part of the 5-point harness. A crotch strap had a similar slot A that tab B slid into, then all were captured by a wire buckle. I saw them in yellow or black.
The Sea Otter shown in the US Divers catalog is secured by a waist belt with a plastic buckle. Both featured the one-hand inflation/deflation mechanism.
Good Dives,
Charlie
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Post by crabbyjim on Dec 11, 2019 12:10:29 GMT -8
I must have had a Calypso, not a Sea Otter, because I remember the buckle that Charlie described.
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Post by tomcatpc on Dec 11, 2019 17:02:22 GMT -8
No...will not hold air, just for show.
Mark
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