419 Dive Log Australasia AUGUST 2026

a small sailing boat, to home furniture, to electronic devises and YES, even diving apparatus. There is no way today that instructions would be published in a monthly magazine for building any kind of underwater life support system in the home workshop. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Recently I came across yet another amusing do-it-yourself diving project in the June 1954 issue of Popular Science magazine, a surface-supplied breathing apparatus made from a hot-water bottle! Now, I’m not suggesting for one minute that readers rush to the workshop to tackle this apparatus, but you have to hand it to the youth of the 1950s who REALLY wanted to become underwater explorers! No doubt their parents were very supportive when junior emerged from the backyard workshop fully kitted out in a home-made “hottie” hookah. Well, supportive at least until Mum discovered that her hot-water bottle had been purloined and Dad’s garden hose converted for surface supplied air adventure! I have included only a small section of the build instructions for obvious reasons, but hopefully the image of a friend of mine in New Zealand who built one of these units some years ago, will bring a smile to our readers faces. By the way, the unit worked very well to three meters depth, and no body bags were required afterwards. Mounting the twin breathing hoses of a 1950s diving regulator to the “hottie” via some PVC pipe and air non-return valve connections, the unit was fed with breathing air through a length of hookah-hose (read garden hose-pipe!) via a double-acting hand-operated car tyre pump situated on the wharf. The “hottie” acted as an air ‘enconomizer’ bag, smoothing out the pauses between strokes of the air delivery pump. Naturally, one was dependent on one’s VERY best friend with plenty of muscle and staying power to keep the “hottie” fully inflated throughout the dive. No mean feat as the diver descended and the water pressure took effect on the bag. An air relief valve was inserted into the “hottie” so that it could not be over expanded by an over enthusiastic air pumper. The unit was simple and no doubt today it would be labelled highly dangerous, but those were the days

when young lads thought themselves indestructible and underwater adventure beckoned. If you would like more information about diving pioneers, contact the Historical Diving Society Australia-Pacific by email at: info@historicaldivingsociety.com.au or visit our website www.historicaldivingsociety.com.au or https://m.facebook.com/groups/120950924589540/

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DIVE LOG Australasia #419 AUGUST 26

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