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Pre-war life jackets

If it doesn't pertain to metal, wood, wire or fabric—but it is about vintage Chris-Crafts, ask your question or give your advice here.

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Don Vogt
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Pre-war life jackets

Post by Don Vogt » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:15 am

anyone have a good source for authentic style pre-war life jackets, like a "mae west" or whatever? thanks.

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Sun Apr 06, 2008 5:50 pm

Don:

Great timing. I have had he thought of producing a modern-day, practical facsimile of a pre-war 30s -40s vintage jacket. We have a prototype under development now. A very rough concept vest is posted here. There will be considerable refinements. Color is not accurate on this sample.

The vests will be a brushed nylon, which will have the soft look of a natural canvas, but they will dry like a modern day vest. Let me know what you think.

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Image
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Don Vogt
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pre-war life preservers

Post by Don Vogt » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:37 pm

funny coincidence, isnt it, Bill? they look nice but my recollection is that the front part consists of 2 more cylindrically filled pieces, one on each side, rather than a series of smaller tubes in a vest arrangement. I will try to see if i can find a picture of someone in the navy during the war to refresh my recollection. Do you have something you are basing your design on? The idea of canvas-like nylon makes a lot of sense. In any event, i think there should be a lot of interest in something that is (pardon the oxymoron) an authentic reproduction.

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:52 pm

The second photo is an original jacket. These would be civilian issue not military.
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Don Vogt
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pre-war life preservers

Post by Don Vogt » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:01 pm

yes, I guess the civilian ones may have been different. There is a merchant marine life jacket photo in the website for the national world war 11 museum; also I think the ones issued to the navy and the air force seemed to have an inflatable chamber on either side of the front and hence I think these were the "mae west" type. In any event, keep us posted on your progress. what were you thinking of stuffing it with?

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drrot
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Post by drrot » Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:47 pm

Bill,
Are yours for decoration or are they Coast Guard approved?

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:25 pm

The jackets that we are looking into the feasibility on are basically a modern-type life jacket that just happens to have a vintage look to it. They will not be kapok or cork filled, rather they will be filled with a modern closed-cell foam, or whatever a typical life jacket has today.

The manufacturer that I am working with is in the business of making jackets for a variety of manufacturers. As I mentioned, the first photo posted above is a prototype. The color is not correct, nor are the blue straps...it was just a rough prototype.

If we can make this work, we will produce a range from childrens to womens to mens in all sizes. These could be Coast Guard certified. The manufacturer states that some of their jackets are, and others are not. Kind of a technicality that has little to do with the safety of one jacket versus another...more of a hoop that can be jumped through if the certification is of the utmost importance.

Interest? If so, I'll put this on the front burner.
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Don Vogt
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pre-war life preservers

Post by Don Vogt » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:08 pm

Well, I guess my preference would be to find an example of a common pre-war life jacket, and then use that as a model, but with modern materials, etc. but maintaining the "look" of a vintage jacket.

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drrot
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Post by drrot » Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:03 am

I went through this several years ago trying to get the right look for a raceboat. Ended up modifying something off the shelf.

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:51 am

Here is a look at another prototype jacket. This is getting fairly far down the road, so it will give you a bit better of an idea of the look.

The floatation on these is provided by a closed-cell foam. The shell is a brushed nylon. The jacket will dry, and resist mildew just as any modern-day jacket would.

Image

Image


Please express your interest or feedback. i would like to see this through to completion. It is a feasible idea only if we have enough interest to justify production.
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Don Vogt
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pre-war life jacket

Post by Don Vogt » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:54 pm

bill, this is a very nice jacket. However, I still would be interested in knowing how it relates stylistically to some known pre-war jackets.

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:10 pm

Don, to reiterate...the second photo in my first post on this IS an authentic pre-war jacket. It is not a reproduction.

Here it is again here:

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Don Vogt
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pre-war life jackets

Post by Don Vogt » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:43 pm

Thanks for the clarification. Yes I would be interested. Given the limited storage in my boat, having them coast guard approved, if that is feasible, would allow them to serve two purposes.

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