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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 1, 2019 4:08:42 GMT -8
I chanced upon the above Beuchat publicity material on Luigi Fabbri's excellent Blu Time Scuba History website at Beuchat 1964. 1964 was the year when Beuchat introduced the Jetfin: 55 years ago! I believe I can identify a few of the Jetfin clones showcased (mondialement copiƩ = copied worldwide) and I even own one of the "exhibits". Would any of you care to have a go at naming the make and model of any of these fins? The little flags indicate their countries of origin, and yes, I am aware that the Spanish offering isn't really a Jetfin lookalike. DRW
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Post by scubalawyer on Jun 1, 2019 6:10:27 GMT -8
The US Divers Rocket fins and the ScubaPro Jet Fins stand out. No clue as to the others. M
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 1, 2019 8:11:44 GMT -8
I thought I'd repost the image with numbers added for clarity. Thanks for your contribution, Mark: what are the numbers of the Scubapro Jet Fins and the US Divers Rockets? DRW
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Post by nikeajax on Jun 1, 2019 8:22:07 GMT -8
The Spanish aren't copies, merely influenced! But I will give "copy" to all the others So do we know who actually designed the Jet's? Scuba/dive gear was a lot like the aircraft industry in the early 20th Century, people were trying anything, one, two, three... four... just add more wings! Front, back, side... then some poor fool had to test the danged things Fortunately testing dive gear is infinitely safer JB
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 1, 2019 8:59:56 GMT -8
The top, right one behind he Beuchat full-foot jet fin looks a lot like my Lightning Jet Fin. The one below is obviously the Rocket Fin by U.S. Divers Company. The one below the Rocket fin is the original Scubapro jet fin, and the one below that is a Japanese copy. The Japanese now have a jet fin called the REVO, but that is made by Scubapro Japan, while the one pictured is a jet fin copy, probably from an earlier era.
On the left side, the Spanish fin (second from the top) is one that I think I was issued while in Bermuda with the USAF. Here's a letter from 1969:
The fins were Nemrod fins, I believe. Since that was so long ago, I don't recall real performance issues or problems. The fin used a different principal, which had the vent in the top, dead area of the fin, and extending all the way to the tip of the fin in channels, much like the U.S. Divers Company Spoiler fin. However, Nemrod's implementation used a much more comfortable foot pocket and better flexibility, I think (many, many years ago) fin blade for their fin. That was a parascuba jump, and they stayed on my feet. The reference to "...chasing the damn boat..." was that the boat driver would not come to me in the water, and had cut the engines and was drifting away in the wind.
I wrote quite a bit more on this jump with the S-17 parachute, which will be in my memoir.
I found a different jet fin, with reversed vents, by White Stage! I'll see if I can scan the ad, from the 1978 New England Divers, Inc. catalog.
John
PS, I just counted the years on the fingers of my right hand, and that entry will be fifty years ago this coming November! WOW!
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Post by snark3 on Jun 1, 2019 12:02:55 GMT -8
The one labeled #6 looks like a Waterlung 707
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Post by nikeajax on Jun 1, 2019 13:53:54 GMT -8
Skip, I thunked you was onta sumthin' son, but it ain't a 707, an' they was later they're ribbed and have a nearly straight edged blade... White Stag?!?!??! JB
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Post by snark3 on Jun 1, 2019 14:44:19 GMT -8
JB after looking at #6 again, you may be right they're not 707's. While the curved sides and ribs are the same as the 707's the one pictured has more of a point at the end of the blade in the center, than my 707's do.
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 1, 2019 16:09:10 GMT -8
Okay, I got the New England Divers Company catalog for fins in 1978 copied: NED catalog001 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Note that the upper left fins were all U.S. Divers Company, and both the two Rocket varieties and the Spoiler had the characteristic "V" blade. Also note that #G is the "707 Floating Fins by Sportsways. NED catalog002 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Look at the top fin, the White Stag Hydro Stream fin. It has backwards venting. I used the Super Stag for my second set ever of my scoop fin varient, and still have them; I also have a set of unmodified Super Stag fins, which are really great fins too. The one marked "I," the Mark X, is the AMF Voit entry into the vented fin category. John
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Post by scubalawyer on Jun 1, 2019 18:12:56 GMT -8
Mark: what are the numbers of the Scubapro Jet Fins and the US Divers Rockets? DRW 6. USD Rocket Fin. 7. SP Jet Fin. Neither have a logo so both clones? Anyway, final answer. M
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Post by snark3 on Jun 2, 2019 1:22:29 GMT -8
John- Check out the picture "A" USD Spoiler. Those don't look anything like the Spoilers you were modifying or the ones I have.
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 2, 2019 3:44:43 GMT -8
I believe John is correct when he identifies Fin No. 2 as a Nemrod product. Here it is labelled F as a "Venturi Power" fin in a 1974 Nemrod Italian-language catalogue: And here is the Nemrod Venturi Power again in an ad targeting an English-speaking audience: In the image above, the Nemrod Delfin might have been a closer match than the Nemrod Venturi Power to the original Beuchat Jetfin! DRW
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 2, 2019 3:52:52 GMT -8
6. USD Rocket Fin. 7. SP Jet Fin. Neither have a logo so both clones? Anyway, final answer. M It looks as though Beuchat airbrushed out the logos on the Jetfin copies, Mark, before inserting them into the publicity material. I'm guessing the French company wanted to show how many firms around the world had copied the Beuchat design without identifying the rival products in the process in case the reader wanted them instead. As for the answers, No 6 certainly looks like a US Divers Rocket fin if the following current eBay picture is anything to go by: I'll leave matters to others when it comes to identifying Nos 5, 7 and 8. To my untutored eyes, Nos 5 and 7 do look identical apart from length, so I'm interested in hearing what other people have to say. I'm pretty sure I know, however, the identity of fins numbered 1-4 and I'll reveal my thoughts about them in due course. DRW
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 2, 2019 4:20:34 GMT -8
To sum up, and thanks to everybody who has contributed so far:
1. 2. Nemrod Venturi Power Fin. 3. 4. 5. Scubapro Lightning Jet Fin. 6. US Divers Rocket Fin. 7. Scubapro Original Jet Fin. 8. Jet Fin copy by unknown Japanese manufacturer.
DRW
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 2, 2019 7:07:55 GMT -8
John- Check out the picture "A" USD Spoiler. Those don't look anything like the Spoilers you were modifying or the ones I have. 'Good eyes; this is what the patent looks like though. I'm not sure whether it was ever produced in this three-vent fashon though. John
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