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Post by nikeajax on Jul 29, 2020 15:34:53 GMT -8
...I promise and pinkie swear..... Nuh-uh, he's lion, I can see his fingers crossed behind his back all the way from the Bay Area! Cheater, cheater punkin eater... JB
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Post by vance on Jul 29, 2020 15:47:22 GMT -8
Here're my thoughts on this: 1. You're dead. You no longer care. 2. If you bequeath your stuff to someone, it's their stuff to do what they want with it. Sell, keep, or dump. 3. If you didn't pass it on to someone who appreciates it as historically important, you f'd up. 4. You could give it to whomever you choose here on the board, and (they) would do something good with it. What that is, is no longer any of your concern. You're dead. 5. You could do everything in your power to sell it and get the money for your loved ones. Good luck with that. 6. Keep it, dive it, and live a long time. When you are dead, f'it. 7. Give it to a museum. (Boring, but probably a good option.) 8. Make a big bonfire, throw it all in and dance around it. Feel really bad in the morning when you sober up. 9. That's all I got.
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Post by cnotthoff on Jul 30, 2020 13:26:35 GMT -8
I know Phil is being somewhat tongue-in-cheek when he says, "You're dead. You no longer care". But many of us are at an age where we've had to deal with the death of a close family member. You're doing the planning for them.
I've mentioned finding homes for my Dad's collection a few times. About the only thing he didn't collect was vintage dive gear. His collection was literally tons of old tools, farm equipment, beer signs, and anything else that struck his fancy. During the estate sales we had (it took 3 or 4) I got to talk with people who were excited to find a place where they could get a dozen grinding wheels (the big ones you pedal like a bike). It made me feel great to see Dad's stuff going to people who really appreciated what it took to amass that tonnage, and how cool it was to find just the 8 foot steel chicken they were looking for. Many pieces went to the Museum of American Heritage where he had curated many exhibits and displayed his pieces. Many went to be display pieces on ranches. I have no idea where the hundreds of doorknobs ended up.
So Jim, find a few deserving folks to leave those cool pieces to. Check any of the Vintage Dive Museums. Your kids may not be interested in keeping your collection, but they'll get a kick out of talking with those strange people out there who will tell them how cool their Dad must have been.
Good Dives, Charlie
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Post by crabbyjim on Jul 31, 2020 6:38:54 GMT -8
Charlie, thank you for your thoughts on what to do with vintage dive gear. Last year I offered some of it for sale here but didn't get much of a response. I had my almost new-in-the-box RAM, my Trieste and a few other pieces at reasonable prices but only found a home for my Nemrod Silver III. This is the place where people interested in this gear hang out but perhaps they already have too much of their own.
I have yet to try Ebay but that's next. Some of the items there are overpriced junk (ex. a beat up RAM starting at $450 - no bids yet) although a Royal Mistral in the box sold for $661 with 41 bids recently.
I didn't set out to acquire a collection of vintage gear, but to recreate my original setup and see if I could still dive it. I did, I have and now I have a collection of some good, bad and ugly stuff. Whether I donate of sell the physical items, I have learned a lot about the evolution of scuba equipment, how it works and something about the people who built it. I also value the members of this forum, those who I have met and others whom I would like to meet. Those are the valuable pieces of vintage gear.
Don't worry, be crabby!
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Post by cnotthoff on Aug 8, 2020 8:12:35 GMT -8
Another possible recipient: Your Old Dive Gear and Memorabilia Wanted: Blain Roberts, founder of the legendary Lahaina Divers, and his wife Kim are breaking ground for the nonprofit Mermaid Museum, right next to their award-winning Westport Winery in Aberdeen Washington. Their mission is to teach ocean ecology from seashore to seafloor, immersing the experience in mermaid mythology. If it’s time for you to downsize and clean out that garage while getting a tax deduction for your contribution, contact Kim Roberts at kimroberts2@hotmail.com to see if they can use what you have. Specifically, they are looking for any large taxidermy specimens of fish and crustaceans, black coral (and jewelry), larger shells, historic dive equipment, mermaid collectibles from movie costumes to posters, and any items that are marine or vessel related they we can weave into the mermaid stories, like a sextant to discuss celestial navigation. www.mermaidmuseum.org
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