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Someone please tell me about the aquacat liveaboard. We're thinking about doing that this year with the Louisville dive center. Bishop or ZoCrowes please pm me if you know anything about the trip or are going
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Jan 23, 2016 06:33
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CaptainZalo posted:I've had a couple of late fall dives in two layers of wool and one layer of fleece. It works for a 30-35 minute dive for me when the water temp is around 6-10 degrees Celsius. And I get cold fast, so if you're one of those that go into blizzards with a wifebeater and pyjamas pants, I guess you're good. But that's been traded for a Santi BZ 400 undersuit. Because gently caress freezing. I'd rather be quick to get in the water and have a long, comfy dive than freezing the last 15-20 minutes. I definitely feel you, my issue is with dry suit dive and occasional lengthy RIB rides to get to the site I'm stuck sweating my rear end off before hand. I'm thinking of trying a set of 4th Element Arctics, it's trick getting someone to lend you that kind of thing though but I've got time so I'll keep an eye out for 2nd hand options. Waterproof do something that look similar and is 2/3 the price but I don't know anywhere that sells it. I'm also looking at getting a primary light. I've got a FaMi that works well as a back up but has a pretty wide beam that doesn't serve well in any kind of daylight or murky conditions in the UK. I'm thinking a hand held might be more practical than an umbilical but kind of not sure what to go for. Being in Europe I'm currently thinking a Greenforce head with the Hybrid 2 might work and if I need greater run time I can look at getting a bigger battery pack and cable to make it an umbilical. I'm also looking at LightMonkey as apparently their 12W LED can be matched with their handheld battery pack. If that could work the same way it might be a goer.
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Jan 24, 2016 00:22
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MrNemo posted:I definitely feel you, my issue is with dry suit dive and occasional lengthy RIB rides to get to the site I'm stuck sweating my rear end off before hand. I'm thinking of trying a set of 4th Element Arctics, it's trick getting someone to lend you that kind of thing though but I've got time so I'll keep an eye out for 2nd hand options. Waterproof do something that look similar and is 2/3 the price but I don't know anywhere that sells it. Let me know how you go with the undergarments as I need to get some too and I'm not that sure what I need. Probably Fourth Element though.
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Jan 24, 2016 06:31
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For reference I've got a DUI. For winter UK diving I have a Weezle Extreme and it's perfect, it's actually fine on the dive as well. I don't know if the Artics will be warm enough for winter diving or not so I probably won't be trying them until May or June. Until then I think I'll be looking out for cheap 2nd hand ones. Will update anyway though.
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Jan 24, 2016 11:19
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So we had our water skills tests for divemaster yesterday...the [REDACTED] was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in the water 
Icon Of Sin fucked around with this message at 15:00 on Jan 25, 2016 |
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Jan 24, 2016 18:26
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Icon Of Sin posted:So we had our water skills tests for divemaster yesterday...the XXXredactedXXX was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in the water That was the thing I was asking people not to give people a heads up on. It's supposed to catch people completely off-guard and see how they deal with it. Glad you managed it, and got the proper value from it. Now erase it from your post so others can have the same experience!
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Jan 25, 2016 08:21
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Wait, aren't you supposed to do that in Rescue?? Or are you including wetsuit??? That was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed all the underwater skills tests. My favorite was my buddy unhooking his inflator hose right before diving in. Sonnofabitch sank right to the bottom. As I was helping him, he floods my mask then throws silt up in my face. rear end in a top hat. I had to physically pick him up and move him over 6 feet. Then he did it again.
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Jan 25, 2016 08:47
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I just won an auction on a used wing! So now all I need is a weighting solution as I have a steel backplate and one-piece harness. I won't be using an STA either so what's my best bet? I figure some weight near the tank and then some hip weight that I can ditch if need be? I have been using a Halcyon Evolve with a weighted STA but didn't want to just buy one as Halcyon is so drat expensive however apart from their weight pockets (really hard to put in when you're in the water) that's more or less the setup I'm after.
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Jan 25, 2016 08:54
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pupdive posted:That was the thing I was asking people not to give people a heads up on. Thanks, and redacted 
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Jan 25, 2016 15:08
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Red_Fred posted:I just won an auction on a used wing! So now all I need is a weighting solution as I have a steel backplate and one-piece harness. I won't be using an STA either so what's my best bet? I figure some weight near the tank and then some hip weight that I can ditch if need be? Icon Of Sin posted:So we had our water skills tests for divemaster yesterday...the [REDACTED] was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in the water
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Jan 25, 2016 17:26
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Icon Of Sin posted:Thanks, and redacted The cool thing is to leverage having done it once, and (obviously) when you are with people who have done it, just do it for fun. It's really amazing how much everything (confidence, comfort, situational awareness) just gets better after thinking through that. Have fun with the rest of your course as well, and update the thread with how other things are going!
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Jan 26, 2016 05:54
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Bangkero posted:Yeah, a lot of divers do that. Get some trim weight pockets for the tank strap, and ditchable weight pockets for the harness. Depending on how much you need remember the old weight belt is still perfectly viable with a wing. It also has the advantage of separating weight from your rig for when you're handing it back to the boat out whatever. 3 or 4kg is fine but if you add much more it's going to make carrying it an rear end.
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Jan 26, 2016 09:32
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I dive dry too so a weight belt is not ideal.
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Jan 26, 2016 11:51
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A good harness with 4 ditchable pockets?
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Jan 26, 2016 22:25
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I guess that would work but probably just some weight added to my BPW and maybe two ditchable pockets on my harness would be easiest. Just wondered if anyone had any specific brands or models which were better. For example I don't like the Halcyon hip pockets as they are really difficult to load when in the water.
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Jan 27, 2016 03:53
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Red_Fred posted:I guess that would work but probably just some weight added to my BPW and maybe two ditchable pockets on my harness would be easiest. Just wondered if anyone had any specific brands or models which were better. For example I don't like the Halcyon hip pockets as they are really difficult to load when in the water. e: You can also consider the DSS backplate weights for non-ditchable weights. Bangkero fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jan 27, 2016 |
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Jan 27, 2016 04:21
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Yeah they have a fabric sheath that the fabric pocket slides into which when wet and done on feel is really hard. Easy to ditch just not easy to load. Also Halcyon expensive.
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Jan 27, 2016 04:29
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Can someone point me to a good resource / article for setting up my buoyancy and weights? I swear it's almost impossible to stay neutral. 5'10" 180 - 3mil wet suit, Zeagle stiletto, alum tank, 14 pounds of weights. To much weight?
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Jan 28, 2016 00:07
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To start know that "aluminum tank" means not much mean much in terms of weight needed , nor does "steel tank". Even if you keep it at a given size, different manufacturers, and different year ranges make the tanks vary somewhat. I have some steel 120's that are as buoyant as AL80's, and some aluminum C60 that are nearly as negative as some steels of various sizes. Even assuming an 80 cu.ft. tank, the AL80s (3000 PSI fills) versus C80 (3300psi fills) and the Luxfer versus Catalina tanks matter. Take a look at this link: http://www.huronscuba.com/equipment/scubaCylinderSpecification.html Note that during a dive, assuming using most of a bigger tank, you will have a buoyancy swing of almost six pounds, so you will have to be playing with your BCD during the dive to some degree But all that't just background, since until you own your tanks, you will have to dive with what they give you. **** First thing to know, is that at the beginning of diving, buoyancy will be an issue in part because you are still trying to breathe like you are on land, and inhaling before starting anything. If you think about it, you should not really be able to descend without exhaling pretty fully, which is fighting two land based breathing patterns 1. The general take a deep breath before starting 2. The evolutionarily ingrained survival instincts to take a breathe and hold it before sticking your face in water. If you are lucky enough to work with an instructor who is forcing you to be neutrally buoyant from the first time underwater, you can spend most of the open water course getting used to the idea that breathing appropriately is the key to diving. If you were overweighted and kneeling (or standing) during your open water course, then you'll kind of have to learn as you go. **** The first thing to learn how to do is to get perfectly still. in order to be able to get still, you need to be able to be stable. For a typical diver in typical gear, the fins are the main point of stability. They need to be up above the lowest point of your body, with your knees bent, legs spread apart to some degree, and the blades of the fins parallel to the water surface. Fin positioning is key. If your fins are below you at any point other than when you swimming up to the surface, you will be hard pressed to learn neutral buoyancy since any random fin movements are going to send you up. Also key: don't use your hand for anything but equalizing and controlling the BCD. When weightless, any hand motion just makes the body unstable. Divers who are frustrated by their "lack of stability" who then use their hands to "stabilize themselves" are their own worst enemy. It's the had waving that is causing the instability, because weightlessness just works like that. There is no productive way to use your hands for stability or propulsion, and any attempt to do so is counterproductive. At this point, let me just say, that the reason I hate the old PADI videos is that they used a bunch of models (who were bad divers) to shoot their videos, and while the latest ones have gotten better, the videos are still filled with divers who are waving their hand around so much that they look like they are engaging in slap fights. ****
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Jan 28, 2016 00:53
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Get the stable position figured out (fins above the lowest point, parallel to the surface of the water, no hand waving), then we can work from there. For every person, that stable perfectly still position will be different. Some very few people have heavy legs, so they have to consciously bend their knees and put their heels into their butts to get their fins parallel to the water surface. Others can do it with a head forward trunk of the body level to the knee, slightly arched back, knees bent pose. Some go to some middle position between the two. Some heavy leg people are really only stable when they are completely upside down. But whatever works for you, that perfectly still position needs to be something that you can hold for a stretch of time or you simply cannot figure out the minimum amount of weight needed. Once you are stable and still, and consistently hold that pose, then you can start checking your weight. The basic method is to basically empty a tank (at the end of a safety stop on a calm day with someone nearby who knows you are going to do this), make sure your BCD is completely empty, and then shed weight until you cannot reliably avoid floating up even in your still and stable position. That's the bare minimum weight you need to dive with. Most people try and dive with a little more than bare minimum for various reasons once they have their buoyancy squared away. If you dive with the bare minimum, and make sure you stop repeatedly throughout every dive in your still and stable position, to check your buoyancy, then you will spend every dive checking your buoyancy. If every time you stop, you start sinking, then you are diving negatively buoyant and you need to keep remembering that you SHOULD BE negative due to wetsuit compression and weight of the air on the tank, and you need to counter-balance that with air in the BCD at the beginning of the descent, and throughout the dive with changes in depth and the amount of air in the tank. Once you commit to stopping, getting perfectly still, and checking your buoyancy throughout a dive, you will start to build the habit of suing that inflator without so much conscious control.
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Jan 28, 2016 01:12
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pupdive posted:Words Thank you! I will work on that over the next two weeks.
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Jan 28, 2016 01:25
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Since it is a process, if you stick with it, every dive helps you get there. Even if you have to dive overweighted on vacation (as most people do, since they don't get to control their wetsuit and tanks choices) to do a safety stop, making sure you stop and get still and stable will keep you aware of your (positive, neutral, negative) buoyancy status, and keep from unintentionally diving negative and using fin motions to maintain your position in the water column. Once you get the feeling of neutral buoyancy, you will start to understand just how little work diving can be, with the fins only moving to glide forward.
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Jan 28, 2016 06:27
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Ropes4u posted:Can someone point me to a good resource / article for setting up my buoyancy and weights? I swear it's almost impossible to stay neutral. Here's a calculator I found that seems to be reasonably accurate, at least as far as my weight is concerned. http://www.divebuddy.com/calculator/weight.aspx It'll get you in the ballpark, more or less. You're roughly the same height/weight as I am (I'm ~5' 9" and ~180 lbs), and depending on whether you're in freshwater or saltwater you're on par with me. My freshwater weight is only 4lbs in a 3mil, and my saltwater weight is ~12 lbs. I've tried going down to 2lbs in freshwater and could get away with it until the end of a dive, when I would become real buoyant and felt like I was struggling to stay down during a safety stop.
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Jan 28, 2016 07:16
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pupdive posted:Once you get the feeling of neutral buoyancy, you will start to understand just how little work diving can be, with the fins only moving to glide forward. And then watch your air consumption plummet, and back pain ~melt away~.
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Jan 28, 2016 07:49
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I dunno freshwater weight but with a full 3.5 mil wetsuit and a slightly positive big camera / strobe I go between 12 and 14 pounds. 12 is good north Caribbean and 14 is good in southeastern, since salt concentrations apparently vary. E: 6' 1" and I dunno 170-180 I think let it mellow fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Jan 29, 2016 |
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Jan 29, 2016 05:26
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This is a strange question, but I'm not sure where I should ask it. My boyfriend has pretty severe kyphosis, to the point that his lungs cannot expand fully. He is fine for things such as jogging, walking, and other day-to-day activities. We are planning a trip to Mexico and I was considering going on a snorkeling trip with him (specifically, something like these scooters) because he isn't SCUBA certified and he's talked about wanting to see coral. That said, I remember that when I got my SCUBA certification, the dive shop was very strict about wanting doctor's notes. I know snorkeling is much safer, but I am really scared that we could get there and the tour operator would tell him that he needs a doctor's note or something since you can tell right away that he has a spinal/chest problem due to the shape of his back. Besides getting a doctor's note ahead of time saying something along the lines of "Legsarerequired's boyfriend is cleared for snorkeling" (and for some reason he hasn't seen a doctor in ten years and he is dragging his feet on actually seeing one), does anyone have advice for something like this?
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Feb 4, 2016 21:59
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Down to scheduling classes I'll be assisting with as part of my DM. Passed all demonstration quality skills, which is probably first time I've actually thought about what goes into each skill in a very long time. There's a world of difference between "quick and functional" vs "this is the first time you've seen this, so I'm going to be very slow and point out every single step along the way". This October is the 10-year anniversary of my open water certification, so a) things have changed a bit since then (computers weren't a thing that every diver had) and b) there's probably one or two skills that I even haven't done since then, if ever.
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Feb 5, 2016 00:20
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Icon Of Sin posted:Down to scheduling classes I'll be assisting with as part of my DM. Passed all demonstration quality skills, which is probably first time I've actually thought about what goes into each skill in a very long time. There's a world of difference between "quick and functional" vs "this is the first time you've seen this, so I'm going to be very slow and point out every single step along the way". This October is the 10-year anniversary of my open water certification, so a) things have changed a bit since then (computers weren't a thing that every diver had) and b) there's probably one or two skills that I even haven't done since then, if ever. Keep posting. I'm scheduled to leave Japan at the end of April and plan to do a DM somewhere in SE Asia for a couple of months; reading about what I may be doing is great.
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Feb 5, 2016 00:43
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Trivia posted:Keep posting. I'm scheduled to leave Japan at the end of April and plan to do a DM somewhere in SE Asia for a couple of months; reading about what I may be doing is great. My instructor sent us this link as an example of what he was going to be looking for. 20 open water skills, and 4 skindiver skills that we are expected to be able to know and demonstrate during an open water class and beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKHUqMefeg8 Odds are that you already know how to do each one for yourself, but thinking through the steps and how you'd show someone else how to do each of them makes it a touch different. Making it look easy is the hardest part, especially on the mask removal skills for me. Relaxing your face underwater without a mask is difficult, doubly so when you almost have water go up your nose because you didn't properly flood your mask before removing it 
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Feb 5, 2016 03:32
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legsarerequired posted:This is a strange question, but I'm not sure where I should ask it. Disclaimer: I am not a diving doctor (but am a diving instructor) and this advice should be treated as any advice on the internet. The best thing I can advise your boyfriend to do is to see a dive specialist doctor - however, there are reasons specific to scuba diving which prohibit some people with obstructive lung disease from diving. From my limited knowledge of your boyfriends condition - it doesn't sound like what he has will restrict air flow in and out of the lungs. This is the major factor in assessing the suitablity of a candidate for scuba diving. If they simply have a limited lung capacity with unobstructed airflow, there shouldn't be any reason why they cannot snorkel (or even dive) as long as he has the sufficient exercise tolerance to undertake activities safely. You could also try calling the Divers Alert Network for medical advice, they are normally very helpful, even to non members. Tomberforce fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Feb 6, 2016 |
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Feb 5, 2016 14:57
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legsarerequired posted:This is a strange question, but I'm not sure where I should ask it. You can also inquire directly with the company about their expectations. Even if he gets turned down he can see plenty of coral just by regular snorkeling.
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Feb 5, 2016 15:35
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Thank you so much for your input everyone! I showed him the link and he said he would rather go snorkeling anyway. I really do appreciate your responses.Bangkero posted:I wouldn't call that snorkeling since it's still breathing compressed air at depth. It's more of a fancy form of hookah diving. If your bf has to bail from the scooter then he has to have the lung capacity to either reach the bailout tank or CESA 30ft to the surface. He should go see a DAN doctor. Those are both really good points. We live in Houston so there should be a doctor within a few hours' drive that could talk to him if he decides that he's serious about snorkeling. I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a DAN doctor, so thank you all again for being so helpful. I kind of worry that I'm being a downer if I remind him to see a doctor, but I feel like a) his spinal condition is immediately apparent so he may get questioned about it by the operator and b) the absolute worst thing would be if he got hurt, or if he gets denied by the operator after all these months that he could have seen a doctor and gotten some kind of note.
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Feb 5, 2016 19:06
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For those thinking of getting certified, ignore this because I think people really manage to psych themselves out about mask stuff, and most people can do this as long as they have not made worked themselves into a state about this.Icon Of Sin posted:Odds are that you already know how to do each one for yourself, but thinking through the steps and how you'd show someone else how to do each of them makes it a touch different. Making it look easy is the hardest part, especially on the mask removal skills for me. Relaxing your face underwater without a mask is difficult, doubly so when you almost have water go up your nose because you didn't properly flood your mask before removing it Let me say a couple of things about mask skills from the professional side. First, as a DM, this just needs to be something you don't think about twice. From now on, on every dive you do, take your mask off swim without it, and put it back on. You should not have to do this in any order because the reason for no mask swimming is not to demo the skill in the pool, but so that when the mask comes off unexpectedly, it's no big deal. To be blunt, this is a basic open water skill, and not something that you should be having to get straight at the DM level. But instructors largely blow teaching and reinforcing mask skills, because they sometimes focus in the list of skills they are putting divers through, instead of focusing on why we have make sure divers can do skills in the first place. Confident, capable divers. That's the goal. Mask skills are a basic self-rescue technique. A student diver should be able to handle their mask coming off at any time before they do their open water dives. If they cannot handle this, they should not be going on that dive. You can always lose a mask, you can always run out of air. These need to be no big deal things for every diver from open water dive one. (That's our job as an instructor to make sure they can do these things, no muss, no fuss, no big deal.) Remember that there is nothing about mask skills that say you cannot pinch your nose at any time. Pinching your nose is a basic self-rescue skill, a basic self-rescue technique every diver should learn even before they put on a mask. Pinching the nose solves water in the nose problems immediately. Many divers get uncomfortable because they get water in their mask, and because they were never taught the basic self rescue technique of pinching their nose, they inhale a little water in their nose and bolt for the surface. Mask on, mask off, does not matter: a nose pinch solves it. Use it, and build it into your demo.
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Feb 5, 2016 21:31
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I've gone snorkeling a few times in Florida, and fallen in love with it. I've always enjoyed watching nature shows, and being able to see marine life up close was amazing. I've toyed with the idea of giving scuba a try, but frankly, I don't trust myself to be in charge of my air supply. I have these recurring visions of myself being deeply engrossed in the ocean life and forgetting to check my air or some other vital thing, and drowning like an idiot. Is there vibrating timers or something similar that would let me know "hey dummy, time to surface now"? Also, how deep would you have to be diving before you have to worry about getting the bends if you surface too quickly?
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Feb 6, 2016 04:31
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The Zombie Guy posted:I've gone snorkeling a few times in Florida, and fallen in love with it. I've always enjoyed watching nature shows, and being able to see marine life up close was amazing. I've toyed with the idea of giving scuba a try, but frankly, I don't trust myself to be in charge of my air supply. I have these recurring visions of myself being deeply engrossed in the ocean life and forgetting to check my air or some other vital thing, and drowning like an idiot. Is there vibrating timers or something similar that would let me know "hey dummy, time to surface now"? Gas management is one of the key training components of any open water course. If you have an air integrated computer you can set audible/flashing alarms if your gas supply runs too low, but by the time you've gone through your training, managing your air will be no problems. Remember you should always have a buddy looking out for you too! Decompression sickness (the bends) tends to be associated with deeper dives, especially with repetative dives deeper than 20-30 metres but people have certainly got bent shallower than that. There are a huge number of variables at play and a dive profile which would result in DCS for one person, may not for another or even for the same person on a different day. Diving conservatively within the depth and time limits set by decompression tables or your dive computer and always making slow, controlled ascents should ensure that you have a lifetime of safe diving.
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Feb 6, 2016 05:05
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The real risk of diving is not to your health, but to your wallet.
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Feb 6, 2016 08:32
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DontMockMySmock posted:The real risk of diving is not to your health, but to your wallet. It's the perfect I-hate-money hobby. I don't even want to think about how much I've spent in the last 7 years diving.
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Feb 6, 2016 08:38
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Trivia posted:It's the perfect I-hate-money hobby. Yeah it's pretty insane. And I mountain bike too... 
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Feb 6, 2016 14:29
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Just got back from Cozumel last week. So amazing. The night dive was badass. My video. The fish ended up getting away. With chunks missing out of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKthbgHIzNA Ended up going to Playa De Carmen for a day when the winds were too high to dive. Cenotes are cool too  Thanks to whoever recommended Blue Magic.
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Feb 7, 2016 03:23
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Just landed in Atlanta after two weeks in Bonaire - 30sh shore dives. No camera or GoPro until I get more experience. But here is a nice donkey from the donkey rescue place 
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Feb 7, 2016 03:37
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