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Fins
Oct 14, 2012 18:44:43 GMT -8
Post by nemrod on Oct 14, 2012 18:44:43 GMT -8
The T nuts would be flush on the inside and I wear fins socks with my UDTs . I do not know if it would work or not. You may not understand what I am envisioning, spring straps attached via a T nut and screw. It is just I have seen so many of the fine fins thrown away when the heel strap rubber tears while the fin itself is still in OK shape. I think that chlorine is not good for neoprene, I do not use my good stuff in the pool. I do my swim workouts, when I use fins, with cheap Speedo rubber fins. I seem to go through a pair annually. The UDTs that are or were (?) available on this site from the VSS store are really nice. The gum rubber is very high quality. It exudes wax and smells like smoke, it is the real deal and the Made in USA, at least on my set, is nice. Nice box too. Love them. I have not used them but once in the last couple of years. At SD just past I did one of my several dives on St. Andrews Park Jetty with them. I went out through the surf which believe it or not, was pretty big for this area and there were several surfers out, it was a good surf day. The UDTs were as usual hard to get on and a wave rolled me over as a struggled with them. But, when my dive was over, I got a body board and put my UDTs on and surfed them! Fun, I can see why so many body and belly board people love them. Nem
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 14:57:26 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Oct 15, 2012 14:57:26 GMT -8
Nem, Agreed, chlorine and fins are not good, but I wash them off, use silicone to keep them from drying out, and continue to use them in the pool. Today, I confirmed that the USD Spoiler fins are terrible fins (won't bend at all). I also put the Giant UDT Duck Feet up against the Full Foot Duck Feet, and here are the results of a 25 yard swim, done twice with each fin (I did other swims, but most were underwater). I agree that the fins should not be trashed because of a broken heel strap. I had a set of USD Aqualung fins that had the strap break, and I repaired it with neoprene cement and inner tube rubber. I won't used it except in the pool, but it did save the fins. Full Foot Duck Feet: 16 kicks (one cycle each foot for one kick) Giant UDT Duck Feet: 14.5 kicks The Full Foot Duck Feet "give" more than the Giant UDT Duck Feet, by bending because of the full foot pocket. They therefore loose some power. They are also shorter, which will give up a bit of power. Now, here's a few more photos of the box. This box has the iconic image of the diver and the boat that was synonymous with the Duck Feet, and the Wide View mask too. Here's the end of the box: And here is a close-up of the image: Painting by John Steele, [Added later, as a result of Sidney Macken's post below]Now, until I took these photos I did not notice something about this painting. Note the arm coming down, with a gaff to snag the turtle. I had never really seen that part of the image before. I had thought the diver was spearfishing and found the turtle and was admiring it, rather than hunting the turtle. Oh well... Now, the question: does anyone know who painted the original print? John
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sidm
Pro Diver
Posts: 219
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 15:34:27 GMT -8
Post by sidm on Oct 15, 2012 15:34:27 GMT -8
John, Look at the corners of the picture that wraps around the side of the box. If it is signed it might be there. This looks like the work of John Steele who did a lot of covers for Skin Diver Magazine.
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 15:48:13 GMT -8
Post by nikeajax on Oct 15, 2012 15:48:13 GMT -8
"Now, the question: does anyone know who painted the original print?"John, being a graphic artist, I can tell you there's about a 5% chance that you'll ever find out "whodunnit"... I'm not saying it's imposable, 'cause there are people out there that are really into old graphics, and sites dedicated to such things that nearly everyone takes for granted... www.americanartarchives.com/artist_bios.htmbut we make things much more exciting for potential buyers: I doubt they'd have sold nearly as well if it was just a white box that said simply, "Swim Fins" in black helvetica typeface I wonder how many paintings the artist did before someone said, "Excellent, send it to the lithographer..." I know when I was a kid, and I saw JYC and JMC's faces on a set of fins and mask, I HAD TO HAVE THEM, because I just knew those fins were THE BEST... Just something to think about... Oh, and isn't that a Voit Wide-View in the image... Jaybird
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 16:03:11 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Oct 15, 2012 16:03:11 GMT -8
Sid, thank you. It is John Steele! www.ronchurch.com/erichan.htmThis paragraph practically states that John Steele painted the cover for Swimaster for their Duck Feet fins. It is nice to be able to give the artist the credit for this iconic image of diving. Jaybird, we got lucky... Here is another quote that many of us understand: Finally, the corker: I am thinking of taking this box cover, and having it framed. John
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 16:24:35 GMT -8
Post by nikeajax on Oct 15, 2012 16:24:35 GMT -8
I love being wrong in things like this: VERY COOL! A lot of artists are never recognized for their work!
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 16:36:33 GMT -8
Post by nemrod on Oct 15, 2012 16:36:33 GMT -8
That is a great photo but it is not nice to convert a beautiful turtle into turtle soup. Baby turtles on a release I attended: A nice, big, fat one: Well, next time I find some perished Duck Feet and I am going to try my idea to add spring straps because: A. It would save them for actual scuba use. B. Spring straps would make them severely more useful. Rotten fin straps are OK in the pool, but here, not so much, this place is known for current, Spiegal Grove:
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 16:43:08 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Oct 15, 2012 16:43:08 GMT -8
Nem,
Thanks, but read the entire write-up by Eric Hanauer. John Steele later disavowed spearfishing altogether. I really like your photos. I am enthralled by the sea turtles, and use video of their swimming to analyze swim techniques. Thanks for sharing.
John
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Fins
Oct 15, 2012 18:13:40 GMT -8
Post by nemrod on Oct 15, 2012 18:13:40 GMT -8
John, you would be amazed out how fast the baby turtles are. I hand released two of them so they would not get under the boat and instead go get in seaweed. As soon as I positioned them to get to the seaweed and released, zoom, they were gone. Another sleeping beauty, do not disturb: Trust me, these baby turtles were handled with the most extreme care and were under the control of a conservation group with the correct licenses etc. They were apparently late bloomers that hatched during a cold snap and were to lethargic to crawl so they were taken to the turtle center and allowed to get their strength back before release directly offshore from where they were hatched. They kept trying to get under the boat so those were carried away from the boat a little bit. Nem
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Fins
Oct 16, 2012 12:19:51 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2012 12:19:51 GMT -8
They grow up to be really big guys...........chasing them will drain your tank mucho quickly............. ]
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Fins
Oct 17, 2012 6:21:50 GMT -8
Post by scubadiverbob on Oct 17, 2012 6:21:50 GMT -8
Vintage turtle pictures I took in Hawaii with my Nikonos II; are they the same type of turtle?
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Fins
Oct 17, 2012 18:55:28 GMT -8
Post by nemrod on Oct 17, 2012 18:55:28 GMT -8
Cool fins on those turtles. Yes, those are hawksbill turtles, same as the ones in my photos. However, the baby turtles we released were the leatherbacks.
Nem
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Fins
Oct 19, 2012 17:51:09 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Oct 19, 2012 17:51:09 GMT -8
I really have enjoyed the turtle photos. Turtles show us how well an animal which was terrestrial can again adapt to the water. That is what we are doing with our fins, and underwater swimming techniques.
In the early 1980s, I re-discovered fin swimming as a sport. We had been doing this in the USA years before, but it had been lost, so I sought to revive it. I contacted the Underwater Society of America, and George and Carol Rose. They appointed me the "Finswimming Director" for the Underwater Society of America (USA), and so I began an almost ten year campaign to promote finswimming in the USA (the country, not only the organization). I finally handed it off to Mike Gower, who is still the Finswimming Director for USA.
But in doing so, I started looking again at different fins. Here is a photo of me holding the Mares Plana fins, which were probably the best full-foot fin I had used to that time. I used it to complete a nearly 18 mile open water swim on the Umpqua River a few years later. (My wife got mad that I didn't stop mid-way when it was taking a long time, as she and my Parents-in-law were waiting for me back in Roseburg.) But the swim was worthwhile, and the fins worked very, very well. I also used the Farallon mask, and a Shotgun snorkel on that swim.
John
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Fins
Oct 19, 2012 21:30:54 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Oct 19, 2012 21:30:54 GMT -8
Here is a different photo of the Mares Plana fins, along with a pair of Cressi fins, and the two masks I was using at the time. These were much longer fins than most, and provided very good thrust with a lot of comfort. On that long swim, I wore them for hours without cramping.
After those were gone (foot pocket finally ripped) I bought a pair of Mares Plana Concorde fins. These are not rubber, but rather two different types of plastic. They are included on the original photo I posted here and are green and black (upper right 1:00 position). The foot pockets both have torn heels, but I have worn them with fin-keepers and may try them out again in the pool on Sunday.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s I would go to the North Umpqua river, sometimes at noon, and swim for an hour. I'd start at a park, swim upstream toward the side of the river, then swim downstream to get back to exit. It was fun chasing large-scale suckers and Northern Pike Minnows around in the water.
Did any of you use fins for diving, finswimming or snorkeling, and have favorites? If so, please post your experiences. This is not restricted to scuba activities.
John
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Fins
Oct 19, 2012 22:47:25 GMT -8
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Oct 19, 2012 22:47:25 GMT -8
John: Aren't your long rubber fins Mares Concordes, not Planas, which have thermoplastic elastomer foot pockets and plastic blades. I know this because I associate Mares Planas with the historical changeover from traditional rubber fins to synthetics. Mares made wonderful all-rubber full foot fins in the 1960s and 1970s (Sea Kings, GTXs etc) and suddenly discontinued production of them all to concentrate on plastic fins. The Mares Concordes live on, I'm glad to say, in Turkey, where the moulds, complete with the signature on the blades continue to be used for the benefit of freedivers: Full-foot long-bladed Concordes and full-foot jet-type fins with heel straps are the flagship fins of the Turkish rubber company Adalilar Kauçuk of Istanbul, usually retailed under the brand name "Free Sub": www.adalilarkaucuk.com/There's at least one Turkish online retailer selling the fins: www.mcavmarketi.com/Kategori/KAUCUK-PALET-pmk36.html
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