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Post by SeaRat on Jun 3, 2021 15:03:52 GMT -8
I had scheduled a dive with my Aqueon for yesterday, when my wife unexpectedly went working. But I had a dental appointment, and so bicycled to that instead (the time line for a dive with it wasn't there).
Now, I was also going to dive tomorrow, but my back is sore from a 20 mile bicycle ride yesterday (strained hip muscle). So it looks like Monday I'll get back in the water with my Aqueon.
On Monday, I expect to get into deeper water, some 22 feet deep, and work out the kinks is my technique with the Aqueon device. I'll be making in-water mods of the spring tension, make sure that the leg supports are correctly tightened, and work on the actual technique. Because I'm not really ready to be without fins with the Aqueon, I will probably use my Force Fins with it. That may change as I get more experience with the Aqueon too.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 7, 2021 16:34:18 GMT -8
I made my second dive in decades with the Aqueon today, and now I knew why I abandoned it decades ago. I'll have more information on the dive late, as I have GoPro footage of it and am trying to download dive information from my Cobra computer for the first time in a long time. It looks like the last time I downloaded dive information was September 5, 2016. So it may take a while.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Aug 25, 2022 17:57:12 GMT -8
Well, I never got to the GoPro footage of that dive, but it's there somewhere. However, I did get my Aqueon wet yesterday, and that was a good thing. I did it not as a scuba diver, but took off the scuba and simply went into the water with the Aqueon, shorty wet suit, and my mask and snorkel. Here's the Aqueon: IMG_0179 by John Ratliff, on Flickr So I got into the water, and adjusted the two leg braces down until it was snug, and decided to swim it out into the Tualatin River after my dive. To my surprise, it actually was working, and working fairly well. My only problem was that with my head down in the water, and 3 feet of visibility, I wasn't swimming in a straight line. I was able to go against about a half-knot current fairly easily. I have foam pads on the shin side of the Aqueon, and those did fairly well in cushoning my shins. I think I need to try it a bit more to get more comfortable with it before using it again with scuba. So the next time I got to the Tualatin River at Cook Park to dive, afterwards I'll swim it a bit more. I pulled the original pamphlet for the Aqueon, and noted that the inventor did not use it with scuba. He swam on the surface. Aqueon002 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Aqueon001 by John Ratliff, on Flickr So I'll do the same for the time being. I did use it with scuba decades ago, and it seemed to work then, but that was in a Washingtos's Lake Chelan without any current. JCR & Aqueon by John Ratliff, on Flickr I have had a real couple of losses in my work on my new swimming techniques. I lost my second generation Hammerhead Unit last year, when I went to help a gal with a lifejacket and afterwards left it on the rocks at High Rocks. I didn't even realize I had left it there until I missed it, and later (much later) looked at the GoPro video of that dive just before helping the gal. I was using it, and put it up on the rocks before heading out to help her. So it was gone. Last winter I built an entirely new, 3rd generation Hammerhead Unit, made out of wood and formed like a sea lion's flipper. I used it several times in the pool, then took it to High Rocks about a month ago. I forgot to take it to the water, and it was still there, leaning up against my Honda Pilot's bumper, when I came back. I was really happy to see it, as no one had taken it. Then I got out of my gear, got into my Pilot and drove off, thinking I had it in the back. I didn't realize that when I drove off, it was still leaning against my bumper. Well, I couldn't get back to it for a few days, and figured it might still be there; it wasn't. It was gone that Thursday when I came back. Then on my dive last Tuesday, I saw a guy picking up stuff from the roadway. I followed him a bit and caught up with him, and asked him if he had seen a weird, wing-like thing with handles. He told me he had found it, and had thrown it in a dumpster. He said, "It has a new home." So now I've lost both my second- and third-generation of my Hammerhead Unit. I'll have to make a new one, or go to my Aqueon and take the driving blades off and make my original one out of the Aqueon. But I don't want to take my Aqueon apart either, so I'll make a brand new one, but I've lost about a year of testing with it. So stay tuned, there will be more to come. John
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 17, 2023 15:00:22 GMT -8
Okay, JB, here’s one other image of my Scoop Fins and the Aqueon on the dock. This one is a bit more close-up, and I used the Aqueon on my dive yesterday. I was in pretty shallow water, and it did not work well there. But this is slightly more artistic a photo than the ones on the Healthways thread that I posted yesterday. ECCBB516-C55C-46E0-9B6D-4658B7792545 by John Ratliff, on Flickr John
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Post by nikeajax on Jun 17, 2023 16:29:00 GMT -8
John, very fun! I do like all the wood... I've been painting lately so I become critical when it comes to composition: unfortunately, I can't share my images as they are somewhere between R & X rating JB
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Post by SeaRat on Jul 21, 2023 16:02:39 GMT -8
JB, I’m getting close to finishing my fourth version of the Hammerhead Unit, and this time I’m putting my name and contact info on it. I’m wondering whether you could help with a logo that would show off the swimming position of the Hammerhead Unit on a diver’s silhouette? I already have an idea about it, but would like to imbed it into the wooden fins (or blades) of the unit. The reason is that the first one is back on the Aqueon (see the photos above), and the second and third versions are both lost due to me leaving them an High Rocks after a dive (I’m getting older). So I need both the contact info imbedded into the blades, and a nice logo that will show more of how this unique design is used. By the way, I don’t expect this to be free. John
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