|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 12, 2019 14:28:19 GMT -8
Looking forward to diving my Spoiler Fins!!! Mark Sorry too for my own aside from your topic, Mark. When I first saw the US Divers Spoilers, my attention was drawn to the pointy bits at the blade tips. Do they serve any practical purpose, or are they there for aesthetic reasons? DRW Cool catalog page, but it looks like Cousteau there (Philippe, I believe) is putting on a pair of Scubapro Jets instead of the USD Rockets. π
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 12, 2019 14:34:14 GMT -8
Ok guys, crazy idea and itβs a long shot, but if I could get Oceanways to do an exclusive run of Aquala green fins, would anyone buy them considering they cost the same as the black ones they currently offer? I'd love to own a pair of matching Aquala green fins, Ty. Solid green fins are comparatively rare. Here are a couple of newish examples, not necessarily available for purchase: 1. Glaros Super (Greece)2. Wisetop (Taiwan)And to complete the ensemble with a green oval mask, the "Glubinka" model is currently on sale in Ukraine: Sportok-UkraineDRW I love the Glaros fins and that mask. Looks like those Wisetops are from the same mold as the new Scubapro full foots from the other thread.
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on Apr 12, 2019 15:26:50 GMT -8
Cool catalog page, but it looks like Cousteau there (Philippe, I believe) is putting on a pair of Scubapro Jets instead of the USD Rockets. π Ty, before SP bought the Jetfin for US-sales, they were Beauchat: The same folks that made the Tarzan suits JB EDIT: I do remember seeing one episode of The undersea World of... where one of the crew walked past the camera with a ScubaPro reg DOH! EDIT-2: Ty, do you need that pair for your collection?!??!?
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 12, 2019 16:14:21 GMT -8
Cool catalog page, but it looks like Cousteau there (Philippe, I believe) is putting on a pair of Scubapro Jets instead of the USD Rockets. π Ty, before SP bought the Jetfin for US-sales, they were Beauchat: The same folks that made the Tarzan suits JB EDIT: I do remember seeing one episode of The undersea World of... where one of the crew walked past the camera with a ScubaPro reg DOH! EDIT-2: Ty, do you need that pair for your collection?!??!? Which pair JB? I have all of those except the Beauchat and the Healthways.
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on Apr 12, 2019 17:02:32 GMT -8
The Beauchats of course: I love my HW Scubamasters!
JB
|
|
|
Post by snark3 on Apr 19, 2019 10:11:28 GMT -8
I picked up another set of fins. A previously unmentioned (in this thread)fin, the (Sportsways) Waterlung 707. There is no mistaking they are a jet fin knock off
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on Apr 20, 2019 6:43:55 GMT -8
I do like the way the 707's look: I think a little more aggressive.
JB
|
|
|
Post by technidiver on Apr 20, 2019 15:01:33 GMT -8
Beuchat gets no credit for the design! I hear from everyone these days at the dive shops: "Scubapro really had a great design, truly ORIGINAL, and everyone else copied it!"
Yeah, ok there pal!
TD
|
|
|
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Apr 20, 2019 21:14:30 GMT -8
Beuchat gets no credit for the design! I hear from everyone these days at the dive shops: "Scubapro really had a great design, truly ORIGINAL, and everyone else copied it!" Yeah, ok there pal! TD Indeed. And Scubapro only chose to adopt the open-heel version of Beuchat's Jetfin, which came in a full-foot fitting too. Where Scubapro outperformed Beuchat was in marketing and salesmanship rather than product design. In the early years, fin designs were shamelessly copied without attribution. Louis de Corlieu, the modern French inventor of the original fin, spent his latter years vainly defending his patents through France's lawcourts against his better-resourced rivals. Owen Churchill was the only one to pay him the royalties he was due when he bought the rights to manufacture de Corlieu's fins for the American market. The Spearfisherman company even made fun to its own advantage of the blatant copying that went on in those pioneer days...
|
|
|
Post by SeaRat on Apr 21, 2019 18:06:52 GMT -8
Okay, I'm being a very "bad boy," at age 73. I simply cannot stand it when there is an engineering SNAFU, and it's not fixed, and that's what's happened with the U.S. Divers Company Spoiler Fins. When that happens, and having the Pararescue background that I do, I modify things. Now, I know that the Spoiler Fins are interesting from a vintage diving standpoint, but my experiences and experiments with them tell me that I won't ever wear them again, especially in open water, without making some rather extreme changes. Sooooo, these fins are in the process of being converted to my "Scoop Fin" design. Why? Well, the blades, being doubled over, are too stiff to effectively propel a diver. There needs to be some flexibility in order for the fin blade to push effectively against the water. In addition, the double-fin design begs putting a membrane in between the two blades, and I'm in the process of doing that. The first step was to cut away the parts of the fin I don't want or need. Here's what it looks like right now: _MG_5876 by John Ratliff, on Flickr _MG_5877 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Now, I'm going to use a part of my very old wetsuit, with nylon on one side, to make the flexible membrane for the "scoop" effect. Each side will form almost a semicircle, and this will allow effective "channeling" of the water to the rear. It will also allow the blade to be much more flexible, and therefore form a more effective pushing surface for the blade. John
|
|
|
Post by nikeajax on Apr 21, 2019 18:21:59 GMT -8
Where Scubapro outperformed Beuchat was in marketing and salesmanship rather than product design. I've never been a fan of SP, yeah I know they have good gear an' all but... My buddy Jim Steele said his father refused to sell SP gear, he detested the way they sold things. They evidently hired a guy who sold fried chicken franchises and they were overly zealous about what anyone could and couldn't sell in a SP-shop and where their gear MUST BE DISPLAYED! Jim's dad was a Dacor guy, so that meant Jim was too: they also had a great respect for Healthways gear. JB
|
|
|
Post by vance on Apr 21, 2019 19:19:30 GMT -8
Okay, I'm being a very "bad boy," at age 73. I simply cannot stand it when there is an engineering SNAFU, and it's not fixed, and that's what's happened with the U.S. Divers Company Spoiler Fins. When that happens, and having the Pararescue background that I do, I modify things. Now, I know that the Spoiler Fins are interesting from a vintage diving standpoint, but my experiences and experiments with them tell me that I won't ever wear them again, especially in open water, without making some rather extreme changes. Sooooo, these fins are in the process of being converted to my "Scoop Fin" design. Why? Well, the blades, being doubled over, are too stiff to effectively propel a diver. There needs to be some flexibility in order for the fin blade to push effectively against the water. In addition, the double-fin design begs putting a membrane in between the two blades, and I'm in the process of doing that. The first step was to cut away the parts of the fin I don't want or need. Here's what it looks like right now: _MG_5876 by John Ratliff, on Flickr _MG_5877 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Now, I'm going to use a part of my very old wetsuit, with nylon on one side, to make the flexible membrane for the "scoop" effect. Each side will form almost a semicircle, and this will allow effective "channeling" of the water to the rear. It will also allow the blade to be much more flexible, and therefore form a more effective pushing surface for the blade. John Wow! You've gone crazy, man! I'm looking forward to finding out how your mods work!
|
|
|
Post by SeaRat on Apr 22, 2019 19:18:19 GMT -8
I have made one interesting observation from my fin forensics, and that is that the defining aspect of the Spoiler Fin has a major flaw. If the fin blade actually flexes, the inner channel closes and that highly touted water vortex coming out of the end of the blade is pinched off. In other words, this fin could not have worked as advertised and still be manageable and comfortable on the diver's foot.
I have just about put the fin back together, but have to go back to the ACE Hardware store for longer pop rivets. I also have taken one of the two blades off the other fin, and will test it soon with only one blade.
Photos to follow soon.
John
|
|
|
Post by SeaRat on Apr 24, 2019 18:19:35 GMT -8
Okay, yesterday I spent over an hour in my fins, and wore on one foot my full-foot Plana scoop fin and on the other foot one of my Spoiler fins, with the outside blade removed, but the bottom blade intact. It actually bent a bit, and was much more comfortable. Propulsion was good too. The Spoiler foot pocket is much more comfortable with the adjustable strap fairly tight, so that the foot is well into the pocket.
Now, I'm about to make the modification to revamp the Spoiler Fin concept into the Scoop Fin concept. I had to get longer pop rivets yesterday, and now can complete the process. I have one fin ready to go, and the other about half-way there (I still have to remove the bottom fin on order to convert it).
John
|
|
|
Post by SeaRat on Apr 26, 2019 7:53:32 GMT -8
One "Scoop" modification has been made for one of the fins. It's getting wet this morning.
John
|
|