Can YOU clear ropes and stuff off your props?

Clearing your own props

Just my penorth and only as a ‘get out of jail’…

A full set of SCUBA gear takes up too much space. Having a breathing air compressor on board presents a whole set of different issues which I won’t go into.

I’m an ex commercial diver and for what you are looking to do a pony cylinder should do the trick. The pony is a small, say 5l cylinder usually attached to the primary scuba cylinder for emergencies with it’s own, independent regulator (to breathe from) You can buy these separately but might need to adapt a back pack harness to fit it. You will need a couple of weights on a belt to get neutral buoyancy or you will, as someone else rightly pointed out use your air trying to stay under the surface (which is more difficult the closer you are to the surface if wearing a wetsuit – even worse in a dry suit)

Don’t ever hold your breath under water using scuba – breathe normally. Even from a couple of metres, holding your breath using compressed air and surfacing could cause serious injury.

For cutting rope etc away from a prop, a ‘Kitchen Devil’ type bread knife always seemed the best for me – hacksaw for carpet (yes carpet), thick netting etc. Just watch out for getting hit by the pitching boat. From the stern cleats, drop a weighted loop of line under the hull and use it to hang on to and brace yourself off the hull. Have a line from yourself to the boat so you don’t get separated from it, with a crew manning it. Before you go in, make sure you know how you are going to get out – and put the knife on a lanyard. If possible, bring the rope/whatever aboard to dispose of. This is all easier said than done btw!

I think the spare air product is expensive for what it is but bear in mind the pony cylinder will have to be tested every couple of years other wise you wont be able to get it filled.

I am not advocating using scuba gear without training – Ideally you should get proper training…

Patrick
 
I'm with Divemaster.

I'm PADI Open water qualified.

The kind of thing you're talking about, you don't need to worry about the "bends" (Decompression sickness) associated with long dives at moderate depths

BUT

there is a real and genuine risk of bursting your lungs even at 2-3m depth unless you keep breathing......

Now once you've done the course, or at least had some training, it becomes natural to do this, however at the start, breathing in and out under water isn't natural and most people at some point hold their breath....

There are good reasons why the training exists, please please at the very least go and see a dive school, and tell them what you'd like some training on - I am 99.999% sure that they won't laugh, and if they do - go to another school and they won't!
 
Many thanks to everyone for great advice.
I think some basic training would be a wise move.
Maybe during training the most suitable gear will become more clear but as someone said the full scale tank is probably too big and heavy to store and maintain for the (hopefully) rare use.
The powerdive equipment looks good but what happens if the power supply fails?

Thanks again to all.
 
we looked at the mini b set at the 2007 Southampton boat show. was a little concerned that a few dealers were selling them suggesting no training needed??
we decided last year to buy one for safety sake but only from a local dive shop. we both did the course and very useful it was. learning how to put on mask under water/ retrieving mouthpiece when knocked out of mouth etc?
i do not like diving at all but have had to use the mini b twice this year to clear nets/ropes caught on props! and no, a rope cutter would not have cut through 8 foot of net!
 
These http://www.aquasea.com.au/index.php?id=48 looked good at the show, 12v surface air supply, as a diver I'd suggest training would be a good idea, but this wold be good for boat work.

(some) Rope cutters aren't just there to cut rope free, which they will sometimes, they are also there to prevent damage to the drive train by preventing the build up of net into a solid molten lump which will pull the drive aft or force the P bracket forwards. Commercial vessels often end up with the gearbox pulled clean off the engine when running over their own nets.
 
David_J said:
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.
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Try Andark Diving. They do Helicopter Ditch training and they're at SIBS every year so they must be used to people who only want to go under the boat to clear nets, rope or just get back to the surface.
 
David_J said:
Many thanks to everyone for great advice.
I think some basic training would be a wise move.
Maybe during training the most suitable gear will become more clear but as someone said the full scale tank is probably too big and heavy to store and maintain for the (hopefully) rare use.
The powerdive equipment looks good but what happens if the power supply fails?

Thanks again to all.
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good sumery of what has been posted here,
Basic training courses are available from different institutes, Padi is well known..
the advantage of such a course is that you know what you can and can't do,
but you can do more then just clean the props,

you could release the anker when it's fouled,
you could help out friend boaters,
or when you really fancy the diving, you could eventually discover the underwaterlive.

the advantage of the powerdive or equivalent equipment is that you never have to fill a tank, but I would rather choose a small pony bottle (5l...8l) with a regulator
you have a little bit more freedom,

but I know that not all boaters fancy to put the head under water, nor like the hassle with the diving stuff :)
 
Piers said:
To protect your head underwater, use a crash helmet, but drill some holes in it to release trapped air!
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Or perhaps one of these :D:D:D:D

3LITEFRONT.jpg
 
flipper said:
I’m an ex commercial diver and for what you are looking to do a pony cylinder should do the trick. The pony is a small, say 5l cylinder usually attached to the primary scuba cylinder for emergencies with it’s own, independent regulator (to breathe from) You can buy these separately but might need to adapt a back pack harness to fit it. You will need a couple of weights on a belt to get neutral buoyancy or you will, as someone else rightly pointed out use your air trying to stay under the surface

Patrick
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So if you sourced the gear yourself and put together a back pack, do you have a rough idea of the cost?
 
doug748 said:
So if you sourced the gear yourself and put together a back pack, do you have a rough idea of the cost?
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If you buy a Mini B, it is already in a backpack and costs around £300. The important thing is that it contains a BCD. Some pony type setups don't and IMHO, it is not very safe going into the water with weighted diving kit but no BCD.
 
I assume this is to clear a prop? My prop was fouled with a Falmouth Harbour Commissioners mooring bouy pick up rope last week. Motered over a barely visable 1/2 submerged bouy and neatly shreaded the 1"dia pick up rope to small peices. The shaft rope cutter was opperational. Dived on the sterngear last Sunday holding breath.Used a dry suit and weight belt, mask and snorkle to a shaft depth of about 3 ft to cut the wound on remainder of the splices in the rope off the A bkt. Took about 10 mins. Those who think this type of diving is dangerous would you Kindly please reply.
 
Those who think this type of diving is dangerous would you Kindly please reply.
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I think I've already stated on here that I can swim/snorkle and duckdive to 6m....

I wanted to clean the hull of our boat the other week - just before the scuttlebut trip. I was offered a weight belt to help me stay under ... the problem with that is that if I had a problem I would not be able to get back to the surface easily/quickly. So, for ME it would be dangerous - especially as I've not swum with weight belts on before - Ok, I could release it quickly - but then I'd have to retrieve the belt from 6m+ of water ...
Had I really wanted to clean the hull I could've done it without a weight belt - and that wouldn't have been dangerous for me.
 
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