Secchi disk depth (ZSD) and Forel-Ule index (FUI) are the two oldest and easiest measurements of water optical properties based on visual determination. With an overarching objective to obtain water inherent optical properties (IOPs) using these historical measurements, this study presents a model for associating remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs) with FUI and ZSD. Based upon this, a scheme (FZ2ab) for converting FUI and ZSD to absorption (a) and backscattering coefficients (bb) is developed and evaluated. For a data set from HydroLight simulations, the difference is <11% between FZ2ab-derived a and known a, and <28% between FZ2ab-derived bb and known bb. Further, for a data set from field measurements, the difference is < 30% between FZ2ab-derived a and measured a. These results indicate that FZ2ab can bridge the gap between historical measurements and the focus of IOP measurements in modern marine optics, and potentially extend our knowledge on the bio-optical properties of global seas to the past century through the historical measurements of FUI and ZSD.