Can YOU clear ropes and stuff off your props?

[David_J]

So, after getting **** round one of the props (shafts) at the weekend it got me thinking.
Have I seen somewhere a mini scuba outfit for "shallow diving"
Is it safe with a bit of instruction?
If you go to the local scuba school for a bit of instruction and say you only want to get under your boat will they laugh you out the door?
Has anyone got it/used it?
What do you do if you get stuff on the props?
Going under at sea sounds really dodgy to me but back in the marina I would give it a shot.
If you get locked ionto a pot maybe you need the proffessionals.

(Gawd, on review of the post I see it does not allow use of the word cr*p, what is this place coming to??
How on earth is the word cr*p going to offend anyone these days??)

 

[tcm]

There was a thread bout this a while back. I got the gear and tank cheap, all pretty obvious, just to do what you plan ie go under the boat which of course isn't dodgy unless in big waves when you'd be smashed against the hull. People went bonkers when i sed nah, i didn't have training cos i dive max 5m. I also have a compressor which seems a ton more dodgy than the actual diving...

 

[Tugw]

The kit (if i recall rightly) is called'Spare Air' if you search on e-bay im sure youll find it.A few people on here have used it and seem to think its OK

 

[David_J]

There was a thread bout this a while back. I got the gear and tank cheap, all pretty obvious, just to do what you plan ie go under the boat which of course isn't dodgy unless in big waves when you'd be smashed against the hull. People went bonkers when i sed nah, i didn't have training cos i dive max 5m. I also have a compressor which seems a ton more dodgy than the actual diving...

Ooooops, sorry, didnt realise there was a previous thred. Maybe thats where I read about it. Memory is going!!
When we got tangled up on saturday it was flat calm and little or no current running so with a safety rope I would have given it a shot there and then with the right gear and save a ruined weekend. My friend the diver who cleared the mess for me said you have to have the weights or you will use most of your effort just pulling yourself under water.
So with the mini scuba gear, shorty wet suit, weights, safety line etc and a lot of common sense it seems a realistic way of possibly getting out of a mess, only in the right conditions.
Was the previous outcry from prffessional diver people perhaps?

 

[Nick_H]

The biggest risk is being hit on the head by the sterngear, so i'd only go under when the boat isn't rolling or pitching at all, which nearly always means limping to a port or anchorage first. Use your common sense and I don't see any problem with going two or three metres deep to clear your sterngear. Don't be tempted to go much deeper without training though, as there are then some things you need to know about.

For the odd occurence, it may be cheaper to get a small tank and regulator second hand.

 

[mitchc]

Diving without training

Guys.

PLEASE PLEASE consider some training before using these Mini B scuba kits.

The very first rule you learn when diving is never hold you breath! The reason; the scuba regulator that you stick on your mouth delivers air at the same pressure of the surrounding water.
Very simply this means if you take a breath a 10 mtrs you are breathing air at twice the pressure than at the surface. If you then hold your breath and ascend by the time you reach the surface the air in your lungs will have expanded to twice it's original volume!! This will rupture your lungs and you will be VERY VERy unwell!
Even if you only plan to dive to 5 mtrs the air will have expanded by 1.5 times when you get to the surface, you will still be very unwell.

At the minimum please ask a dive center to give you a try dive (a couple of hours in the pool messing around blowing bubble), it will at least give you an idea of how it all works.

If you need any more info please feel free to PM me.
Take care with the bubbles,

 

[oldsaltoz]

There was a thread bout this a while back. I got the gear and tank cheap, all pretty obvious, just to do what you plan ie go under the boat which of course isn't dodgy unless in big waves when you'd be smashed against the hull. People went bonkers when i sed nah, i didn't have training cos i dive max 5m. I also have a compressor which seems a ton more dodgy than the actual diving...

We can't find a diver in our marina to clean hulls despite high payments being offered.

I wonder if it has anything to do with huge salt water crocodiles we see all the time?

Avagoodweekend and get some training, you never know the life you save might be your own.

 

[David_J]

The biggest risk is being hit on the head by the sterngear, so i'd only go under when the boat isn't rolling or pitching at all, which nearly always means limping to a port or anchorage first. Use your common sense and I don't see any problem with going two or three metres deep to clear your sterngear. Don't be tempted to go much deeper without training though, as there are then some things you need to know about.

For the odd occurence, it may be cheaper to get a small tank and regulator second hand.

I tried diving on one of those dodgy diving experiences in Greece years ago and didnt like it but a few metres to get to the props I could handle but anything more is Definitely out!!!

 

[neale]

So, after getting **** round one of the props (shafts) at the weekend it got me thinking.
Have I seen somewhere a mini scuba outfit for "shallow diving"
Is it safe with a bit of instruction?
If you go to the local scuba school for a bit of instruction and say you only want to get under your boat will they laugh you out the door?
Has anyone got it/used it?
What do you do if you get stuff on the props?
Going under at sea sounds really dodgy to me but back in the marina I would give it a shot.
If you get locked ionto a pot maybe you need the proffessionals.

(Gawd, on review of the post I see it does not allow use of the word cr*p, what is this place coming to??
How on earth is the word cr*p going to offend anyone these days??)

Write up on the Mini B shallow water diving kit, and the shallow water course specially designed to accompany the kit, in the August issue of MBM.

 

[David_J]

Guys.

PLEASE PLEASE consider some training before using these Mini B scuba kits.

The very first rule you learn when diving is never hold you breath! The reason; the scuba regulator that you stick on your mouth delivers air at the same pressure of the surrounding water.
Very simply this means if you take a breath a 10 mtrs you are breathing air at twice the pressure than at the surface. If you then hold your breath and ascend by the time you reach the surface the air in your lungs will have expanded to twice it's original volume!! This will rupture your lungs and you will be VERY VERy unwell!
Even if you only plan to dive to 5 mtrs the air will have expanded by 1.5 times when you get to the surface, you will still be very unwell.

At the minimum please ask a dive center to give you a try dive (a couple of hours in the pool messing around blowing bubble), it will at least give you an idea of how it all works.

If you need any more info please feel free to PM me.
Take care with the bubbles,

Fully appreciate your comments but as I hinted in my original post I would get some form of basic traing if they didnt laugh me out the door. Personally I dont like diving. 2m if essential maybe, 5m or 10m, no chance. Ever.

 

[David_J]

Write up on the Mini B shallow water diving kit, and the shallow water course specially designed to accompany the kit, in the August issue of MBM.

Brilliant, Thanks

 

[Hurricane]

Brilliant, Thanks

I bought a cheap deal set a few years ago for the old boat and then bought another cheap one to go with it for the new boat. We've done the PADI courses a few years ago but I wouldnt say I was an expert.

Last time I was out on the boat, I gave the props and shafts etc a clean - it isnt a very nice job - you get all the little bits in your hair etc.

BTW have a look here - I think this might be a good option

www.powerdive.com

 

[Tranona]

The best solution is to fit effective rope cutters in the first place to avoid fouling and the need to

 

[DavidJ]

The kit (if i recall rightly) is called'Spare Air' if you search on e-bay im sure youll find it.A few people on here have used it and seem to think its OK

I don't think it's "Spare Air" that he's refering to, it's more the kit that pumps air continually to you from above.
The "Spare air" (we have them) cylinders only give about 30 breaths at sea level.

 

[fireball]

I went to see Andark at SIBS specifically about learning to dive with the intention of having some kit aboard. The instructor said they get many pupils specifically for this purpose. The course was ~£300 and they teach you to dive to 15m.
I also asked about being able to come straight back up - to be told you can't do that ... but what was meant was that there are no decompression stops, but you do need to do a safe assent.

I can duckdive to 6m with mask & flippers, but time is extreemly limited and clearing a line off in clear warm water with the boat on a mooring proved difficult ...

 

[Dave_Snelson]

I'll be packing a drysuit tomorrow for our trip just in case I end up having to remove poly net and rope from prop. Junior hacksaw - never put to sea without one!

 

[Nick_H]

Hadn't seen the Spare Air product before. Just for clearing fouled rope it looks perfect, as it shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes with a sharp knife to free it. Different though if you want to be able to scrape barnacles off the props, rudders etc., it takes me best part of an hour and a full 10L tank to do mine

 

[Nautorius]

Well I am looking at getting one.

Was out on a sail boat over the summer when a spinnaker sheet went over the side and wrapped around the prop. The wind dropped and left us between tankers and close to the rock. Now I have done a 2/3 week course many years ago and a guy was there who was half way through one. We had no equipment and without weights in open sea it is pretty much impossible. Fortunately we got a Rib to tow us in. Once in the marina the other guy jumped over with just a face mask and sorted it...but it still took 5 minutes.

For seafety alone I want that kit, and I also did not take to deeper (more than 5m diving) so have no intention of using it in any other way. I will use it like an EPIRB...leave it sat there unless needed.

Paul

 

[Hurricane]

I went to see Andark at SIBS specifically about learning to dive with the intention of having some kit aboard. The instructor said they get many pupils specifically for this purpose. The course was ~£300 and they teach you to dive to 15m.
I also asked about being able to come straight back up - to be told you can't do that ... but what was meant was that there are no decompression stops, but you do need to do a safe assent.

I can duckdive to 6m with mask & flippers, but time is extreemly limited and clearing a line off in clear warm water with the boat on a mooring proved difficult ...

FWIW the course would be good for you - if only to put the dangers into perspective.

As TCM says, there isnt much to it if all you are going to do is just go under the boat. I'm begining to wonder though - I wouldnt want a boat like yours if it draws 15m

AFAIK the dangers of pressure at 1.5m are quite minimal. From memory, on our PADI courses, they took us to 18m and explained the dangers. If you are doing a lot of diving in a day, you do the deeper ones first and then subsequent dives to shallower depths. And, again from memory, you spend considerably longer at the shallower depths than the deeper ones - its all cumulative. But all this is well below the 1.5m that you need to go to get under the boat.

Maybe an expert will confirm or rubbish my comments.

 

[Divemaster1]

Ok guys ... something to think about....

Let us just say that your lungs can keep 5 L of air when topped up (deep intake)... At 10 M depth, that is still the same, but as the partial pressures around you, this equates to 2x this (10L) on the surface.... holding your breath when ascending is therefore not good as your lungs cannot expand beyond its max capacity ... you'll burst them..

Even ascending from 1M depth, the air expansion is more than your lungs can take ..., so please do be careful if you don't know what you're doing ...

Anyway, enough about that boring stuff .... did you know that a scuba tank needs to be pressure tested at regular intervals ... (seem to recall hydrostatic testing every 5 years and visual every 2.5).... so if you're buying second hand kit, make sure they are tested, unless ou fancy having a unstable container holding 200 bar (that is nearly 3000psi) onboard.