Kayak diving...

[pjones]

I saw this on youtube once. let me see... here, check this out:
YouTube - Kayak Scuba Diving : Kayak Scuba Diving Water Gear Up
and this one too...
YouTube - Kayak Scuba Diving : Removing Kayak Scuba Diving Gear

Hope that helps

 

[Nemrod]

Those two videos are interesting. I like the way he leaves that forward hatch open, especially in the recovery. Good way to turn your yak into a submarine. I don't do it that way at all. I don my gear overhead. I stow it in the rear well, I turn my body around facing the rear, facing the gear. I have my legs straddle the yak, fins on, and then I lean over and take my tank, arms through the shoulder loops, up and over, an overhead don. For re-entry, I hang my rig on a tag line, slither aboard kicking like Hades, flip around to face the rear, lift my gear aboard, flip around forward, remove my fins and mask and either stick them under a bungee on the forward deck or in calm conditions open the hatch and stow them away. Of course, I use my yak in warm water, I can see that a dry suit or other such requirements would change my methods.

N

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I kayak dive off the Northern Californoa coast regularly. I use an Ocean Kayak Scrambler XT.
Here's what I do:
First off, I NEVER open any hatches on my kayak when I'm out in the ocean and scuba diving off it. Freediving yes maybe in a calm cove but never with scuba gear.

Everything is clipped off on top.
I lay my BC in the tank well and it's strapped down. I lay my weight belt right in front of where I sit underneath where my legs go up and I have it buckled around the seat back support strap. My fins and gloves etc, are up front on top clipped off to a ring I have installed. If I roll the kayak nothing will be lost while underway.

When I get to where I want to dive I sit up and straddle the kayak and scooch my way up to the bow and drop the anchor and clip off the spool onto the front T handle on a string. Then I scooch back a bit and put my fins on. Then I scooch back to the seat and undo the weight belt from it's spot. I lay down by sliding foreward and raise my butt up and put on my weight belt. After that I can get in the water with fins and weightbelt. I reach for my mask which is generally clipped off by one of the BC hold down straps. I undo both those straps and pull my BC off the back and put it on.
Go diving.
Come back and put everything back in reverse order.
To get on the kayak the only thing I leave on are my fins for traction to get back up. Keep your center of gravity low and pull yourself on your belly back up on the kayak without rolling it over then pivot your self around and flip back over so you land back in the seat right side up.
It's easy once you practice it a few times..

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

In a kayak, put on your fins and facemask, fill your bc, dump it overboard, and hit the water. Getting your gear on will be a pain initially, but it can be done - float it tank-up and swim up under it. In this exercise integrated weights are far safer than a weight belt as the weight belt will have to be put on before you hit the water (without your bc), making you dangerously overweighted (in a cold water scenario) - you will have to be careful by hanging onto the kayak or make sure your drysuit is over-inflated. If there are any problems, dump your weight belt and buy another one later.

Is there no other way to do it but this

If the paddling time is over 20 minutes I'm not wearing my wet suit. I nearly always get into nearly every piece of gear in the water. Some times mask and fins first for freediving to tie up the 'yak. Dragging the gear over the side from the water is my preferred method. I have a number of friends who like to float on top getting into their BC's.

"integrated weights are far safer"

You don't see that in print too often! Doesn't every first certification class teach you how to put your weights on floating while wearing everything else; I for one can still do it.

"If there are any problems, dump your weight belt and buy another one later."

That's a gem.

 

[racedude1984]

very intersting posts. The videos are very nice and getting an idea of how it's done.

Do you have to float a dive flag outside the boat or can your flag be in the boat like int he video?

 

[Lobstah Slayah]

very intersting posts. The videos are very nice and getting an idea of how it's done.

Do you have to float a dive flag outside the boat or can your flag be in the boat like int he video?

The flag can be on a float or in the boat. Just be aware of the regulations that if the flag is flown from a boat it must be larger.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Post-script inspired by the "wit" of halemano: Putting on your weight belt first, in the kayak, is not necessarily a great idea. However, not having the benefit of diving Hawaii regularly, I am a cold water diver and find it very challenging to don 30 lbs of weight while floating in the water with all of my other gear on, wearing three-finger gloves or drygloves. I am sure that donning an 8 lb belt would be easy as pie.

Most cold water divers who dice it up with warm water divers expound on the benefits of back plates and steel tanks.

I am not a big fan of SB's Polls but I would enjoy looking at poll results from all the cold water kayak divers who dive WI with 30 or so lbs. Not sure on the wording...

Maybe a better cold water diver poll would be "How difficult was weight R&R in your OW Class?"

Well, the OP is in Florida but his BC is integrated. Some integrated owners don't use integrated weights. When I dive at work I use my SeaQuest Balance, which if you look it up is listed as WI, but I cut the weight pockets off. I also use steel tanks at work, so with two 3's in the trim pockets my belt is only 4 lbs for me (up to 6 lbs more for them).

My kayak diving is not at work so I use my SeaQuest Spectrum 2 ADV, which is not WI and has no trim pockets depressed. Usually using an aluminum tank, my belt is 14-16 lbs; still easy as pie.

One point of my "wit" was to point out that your post had that "this is the only way to do it" tone. There are many ways to do most everything, even in your own neighborhood.

​

 

[Crush]

One point of my "wit" was to point out that your post had that "this is the only way to do it" tone. There are many ways to do most everything, even in your own neighborhood.

halemano, perhaps my original post lacks clarity. However, having re-read it several times, the one line in my post which is most glaring (in terms of your assertion that my "post had that 'this is the only way to do it' tone") to me is:

Speaking from how kayak diving is taught by NAUI at one shop in Alberta...

To extrapolate from NAUI training at one dive shop to the whole world is quite a leap, halemano. Perhaps the problem is not with the tone of my original post, but with one individual's unreasonable interpretation of that post?

Hope your weather is nicer than ours right now.