Dive gear onboard

Obviously not familiar with thread drift - the OP asked a simple question ...
Others came back with other suggestions which you ridiculed ...

Now you're having a go at me ...

Camera on a pole - you betcha I'll use that before entering the water ... either record and watch back or wifi if that works. Others have cabled cameras with LED lights - sounds ideal ..
And if I can cut the line without getting wet then even better ...

There is no one solution - just good methodology. Better than mythology I find ... ;)
 
Me having a go at you?

What, as in your original 'Jeeze give it a rest' ?

I think we've drifted into pots and kettles now :)
 
You need less weight in your dive belt or more air in your BCD :)
 
For anyone diving around the stern of a yacht in a swell may I suggest you buy a caving/canoeist helmet.

About 6 years ago, I read of a very sad story of a cruising family (hubby, wife and two children) with a rope round the prop. He went over the side to clear the rope which was completed successfully but as he surfaced, the stern of the yacht came down on the swell and smashed his head and killed him.

I cannot stress this enough and it was eluded to in message #19.

ean_p said:
. . . . . until a couple of years ago I dived the wrecks of the North sea for more than 15 years for pleasure....... i wouldn't look forward to going under the stern of a small boat in any kind of sea to do a job of work!.... easy peasy in nice flat warm water....not the same game at all in as little as 1/2 to a meter of chop
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A boat with a swim platform would be probably more dangerous.

Please, please under these situations, a caving helmet is a must. It can also be used when going aloft as the mast and your head is not a good match when being slammed together in a swell and could also stop an ear being torn by a shroud ! :O

If you think I am joking about these situations, you have obviously not been to sea.



.
 
Fantastic reading almost as good as Rocna thread!

Anyway, back to the OP.

I'd get some training BSAC or PADI, both do basic courses (normally a week) and are similar priced, before you entertain going with any gear. I've looked the Hooka system and to be honest I wouldn't use without any training, you still need to know what is going on around you and be aware of the dangers. Cost wise I found it cheaper to do the PADI open water course, buy a 15 ltr tank, regulator & BCD rather than buy a Hooka and get shipped from the US. I already had the rest of the kit on board. A popular option in the Caribbean is to have a large dive tank, regulator and a 15m hose to the demand valve - best of both worlds.

Do you need to go over, take pictures or fight something off with a big stick? I don't know, it all depends on you and the situation. So arguing for or against it is irelevent isn't it; you are not there, and you don't know what needs to done.

I would say staying onboard/in the dinghy is better than getting wet, but when needs must you go in.

The few times I've got a rope around the prop (and a Kayak once!) I've had to over to sort it out. No need for a camera as if we sit in our dingy we can see the prop and the whole under side of the hull. And I'm not convinced a knife on a stick would cut free and unwrap a small (semi welded) nylon rope from the blades, etc; it didn't in my case.

Edit.

Never thought about a caving helmet, good idea that!
 
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nigelmercier said:
I am looking into the possibility of an on-board 12V pump to provide air for inspection and maintenance purposes. These are commercially available, but very expensive. I figure that for work up to 2m one could get away with just a cheap air pump, a long hose and a (possibly modified or adjusted) stage 2 regulator. Has anyone else tried this?
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Small 240v OIL-LESS compressor running of either the inverter or onboard genny, air drier/filter, long (20m) hose to manifold, from manifold three outlets - one for suit inflation, one for Jacket inflation and one feeding a 2nd stage regulator. The small compressor (like one of these http://www.sipuk.co.uk/tools/info_SIP05295.html) maintains 90psi and delivers more than enough air for working under the hull or even freeing off a jammed anchor.
If space is a problem one could go for one of these http://www.sipuk.co.uk/tools/info_SIP05291.html
 
mjcoon said:
I'd love to know if the extending pruner I bought for the garden would chop up something around a prop, reaching from a dinghy. It has a hook-shape on the end so you would know if you had found a stringy bit...

Mike.
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The yacht I mentioned that had RNLI assistance had put out a PanPan and as I was the nearest vessel I stood by ready to pull it clear of The Shingles if necessary. It's anchor was only just holding.

When the RNLI boat arrived they deployed something that looked like a pruner but after 10 or so minutes they gave up sawing and just cut the boat free.

Nice to note that they attached another buoy to the line in the water, guess someone thought ahead.
 
prv said:
I used to dive regularly, though not for about ten years now. Certainly at that time I never had to show anyone my little blue book to get a bottle filled. The bottle had to be "in test" of course.



I may be misremembering this, but I have a feeling aluminium tanks are actually heavier than steel ones, because they need to use more metal for the same strength.

Pete
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As of last year, no problem in getting my cylinder filled and tested, and I have not completed my BSAC course ( dont fancy the cold open water bit - wimp!)

Yes the ally tanks are a similar weight.
 
jamie N said:
Why put a man underwater at all? It'll be far cheaper to get a small underwater camera on a 'stick' and inspect anything on the boat that way. There are many different ways of recording it, many small camera's can have a waterproof housing to -10m. If you needed to cut net or line off of the prop, then put a cutter onto this stick and do it like that. Cheaper and safer.
I'm biased of course as I'm an ROV pilot anyway....:)
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I think, I'd be happier to just jump off the back and have a look for myself (sheltered water obviously).
ROV is fine for deepwater work (I work with them doing wellheads and trees) but a bit of overkill in 2 metres, when I just want to scrub some fouling, check anodes or check my prop. I know you aren't suggesting someone puts an ROV spread on their boat ;)
Saying that, your suggestion of a small camera in a waterproof housing is food for thought
 
nigelmercier said:
The problem with commercial units is that they are intended for much deeper dives, and are therefore expensive. I'm looking at the type of 12V pumps used to fill inflatables.
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See post #68 above. Not 12v though. BTW one does need a receiver on the compressor to balance the demand or use a hard hat on free flow.........
A friend has a industrial 12v compressors fitted in his service / recovery vans used to drive air tools etc - nice beefy units though compact. They deliver sufficient air at 90psi (3~4 CFMD - D=Delivered, not swept volume), are mounted on a small receiver maybe (10L) but they do draw a lot of current. The blower type as used to blow up tenders etc will not have sufficient pressure to operate even a modified 2nd stage nor deliver a sufficient volume of air
 
cliff said:
BTW one does need a receiver on the compressor to balance the demand
Click to expand...

The Air Line ones linked upthread seem to use the 60 feet of hose as a substitute for a receiver.

My worry with using compressors not made for diving is how clean the air they produce is. I know some of them say "oil-less" but is that "no oil" compared to the usual oily supply used in garages, or genuinely not a single particle of oil or grease? My memory from diving over ten years ago is that you can't necessarily feel or taste a small amount of oil in breathing air, but it can still make you ill. Of course it's worse with increasing depth as you take in more molecules of air (plus any oil) for each breath, and we're only talking about two metres or so for keel-scrubbing and prop-clearing.

Pete
 
Not going to get drawn into various opinions but would make the following comments.

Diving is dangerous , at parkstone, poole we regularly see Air sea rescue landing on the local turks lane grass area to pass a casualty diver to the ambulance. If you are going to do some scuba diving, or any diving, get some training. I did a days pleasure dive on holiday and was happy to buy the equyipment and would have used it if necessary but as soon as i could i did the PADDY course.

Secondly diving is not for everyone! While the depth under a boat is not deep you can get things snagged on rope cutters etc so I think a careful, thorough person that is not nervous is best suited. If you do the course you may find it impossible to complete due to ear pressure equalisation problems - this should not be a problem if just going under a boat but could be if you go too deep because you have not let enough air into your buoyancy jacket to give you neutral buoyancy.

On all the ocassions when I have freed the prop it has been a complete pig of a job with welded nylon ropes, or tightly twisted polythene sheets or fishing nets. The fishing net was the only one I managed to free just with a knife for the rest I had to also use pointed pliers, screwdrivers (to lever the debris out) and a sharp serrated diving knife (cheapest is best! expensive birthday present diving knife is still under the pontoon in St Peter Port outer harbour! - I could not find it in the silt/sand!!). IMHO none of my experiences of freeing a prop could have been achieved with short free air dives or from the surface.

In addition to a sharp divers knife (or kitchen devil) I was also advised to keep 1 small sharp serrated divers knife on chest of BJ. This is in case yiou get wrapped by rope/fishing net and end up with very limited arm movement.

I now only dive to free the prop in the UK but did the advanced diving course in the red sea one year for a holiday. Exactly 1 year later a shark started eating 3 people in the same spot (1 died) ! Conclusion - what a difference a year makes!!

Happy sailing!
 
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prv said:
The Air Line ones linked upthread seem to use the 60 feet of hose as a substitute for a receiver.

My worry with using compressors not made for diving is how clean the air they produce is. I know some of them say "oil-less" but is that "no oil" compared to the usual oily supply used in garages, or genuinely not a single particle of oil or grease? My memory from diving over ten years ago is that you can't necessarily feel or taste a small amount of oil in breathing air, but it can still make you ill. Of course it's worse with increasing depth as you take in more molecules of air (plus any oil) for each breath, and we're only talking about two metres or so for keel-scrubbing and prop-clearing.

Pete
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Note in post #68 I mention using a filter in addition to an "oil-less" (oil free) compressor.
The one I have is totally oil free (open sump / crank case) with teflon lined cylinder and teflon sealing rings. Crank and gudgeon pin bearings are greased and sealed (Rubber seals).

Even diving air compressors are wet sump but rely on the filtration system to remove impurities such as oil, dust and water.

From over 40 years diving trust me one soon knows if one has had a bad fill - the trick is to realise the air is "bad" and abort the dive and not ignore the taste / feeling. - One problem is if the air is severely contaminated - one maynot have time to realsie something is wrong and abort the dive before one passes out or goes into convulsions. They small portable diesel or petrol engined compressors were prone to giving "bad" air - not the fault of the compressor but rather the fault of the operator not ensuring the air intake was well up wind from the engine exhaust and preferrably 10~15 ft above ground level.
 
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