Securing your SPG

[chipwd]

FWIW


my avatar is a picture of myself, a dive buddy DM and his 16 yr old son before a dive off Fork Island on Lake George from last Oct.

 

[divedadepths]

Good plan!

Most of the local dive shops run trips on the Lake to see/dive different things and there are also a couple of independant operators that will take you anywhere (for a price) for dives there.

The best is if you or friends have a boat to get there by yourselves. I strongly
suggest diving with more experienced divers. You can make every dive a fun learning experience.

Yea i was planing on going on some dives with an operator with my uncle, who is also fairly inexpirenced. Which LDS do you use. I have been going to one, which will remain nameless, which recentely screwed me so i think there is a change in the future. I also want to go with an operator to possibly meet some new potiential buddes, as i only know my uncle and friends from shcool, who are not very expirenced. Once i have a buddy, my family and my grandparents have a house in NW bay and own some boats with potiential diving capabalaties (SP?). Thanks.

 

[chipwd]

I suggest talking to all the local dive shops, especially the one that you certified with. They all offer local dive trips.

What about the other members of your dive class? Aren't they local too?

Mark Mason of Diamond Divers runs charters out of Norwals right near you. PM me for the phone number. He is a SI and very knowledgeable about the lake.

 

[Soggy]

Nice!

My wife and I had our wedding on the Lac du Sacrement. It was a fun time!

We're getting married at Sacred Heart on Mohican St and our reception is at the Georgian. funfun!

 

[chipwd]

weddings = $$$$$$$

Enjoy it! The mountains and Lake make a beautiful background.

 

[Web Monkey]

Retractors are bad news. The foul and are an entanglement hazzard. The simplest way to secure your SPG is with a bolt snap tied to it with nylon line and then clipped off to your hip area.

Retractors really aren't all that evil. A properly mounted retractor really isn't much more of an entanglement hazzard than the hose for the SPG, expecially since it's almost always retracted where it poses no entanglement hazard.

I see you are diving in Lake George. What's that like? I'm probably moving out that way next year as it is where my fiancee is from.

There are a bunch of cool wrecks in the lake, but It's hard to find dive ops. It's "drysuit weather" pretty much all year below the thermocline, and viz ranges from "can't see anything" to 30 or 40' depending on the weather. If it's like the other lakes in the area, viz will be spectacular in the middle of the winter, although I've never been there at that time of year.

Also, Lake Champlaign isn't too far away, and it's loaded with cool wrecks (horse-powered ferry, various cargo boats, ferries and military vessels, and does have dive ops.

Terry

 

[nuke]

Retractors are bad news. The foul and are an entanglement hazzard. The simplest way to secure your SPG is with a bolt snap tied to it with nylon line and then clipped off to your hip area.

Here's how to tie the snap to a light, but it's similar tying it to the SPG.

http://www.diveriteexpress.com/library/boltsnap.shtml

I'll agree with Soggy on the bolt snap (either stainless steel or brass) but I attached mine with a tie wrap, sometimes called a zip tie.

 

[Web Monkey]

I'll agree with Soggy on the bolt snap (either stainless steel or brass) but I attached mine with a tie wrap, sometimes called a zip tie.

That probably depends on what you're diving with.

If you have a BP where the D-Ring is in a known location every time, a snap is easy.

If you have jacket-style BC, the d-ring moves around as the jacket is inflated/deflated and as it slides around on your body. Additionally, the D-rings on jacket BCs are typically attached with fabric loops that allow the ring to flip 180 degrees. All this makes it difficult to find/clip/unclip a boltsnap with one hand.

Terry

 

[Soggy]

Retractors really aren't all that evil. A properly mounted retractor really isn't much more of an entanglement hazzard than the hose for the SPG, expecially since it's almost always retracted where it poses no entanglement hazard.

...until something gets caught on the thing attached to the retractor. Now you don't notice the thing that is entangled until you have a piece of wire also extended and tangled up. They are really awful.

Also, Lake Champlaign isn't too far away, and it's loaded with cool wrecks (horse-powered ferry, various cargo boats, ferries and military vessels, and does have dive ops.

Yeah, I grew up in Williston, VT and have dived the Horse Ferry, the OJ Walker, and the wall at Thompson's Point. Decent lake diving.

 

[piikki]

Haven't dove the Radeau yet, I plan on it this summer. There is also a small fleet of bateaus in 40 - 45 ft that is north of Million Dollar beach along the eastern shore. I think it is only accessible by boat as all the shore along there is private property.

Off Hearthstone there are quite a few underwater attractions; a small plane, a boat, underwater pvc diamond shaped swim-throughs, and I think a car,too. All 20 - 40 ft deep.

Off Diamond Island is an area known as the Classroom. There are a couple boats there in 20 -25 ft. Both here and Hearthstone are commonly used for OW classes and well within newly certified diver's limits.

Actually, most of the better diving in the Lake is less than 60' deep, at least in my opinion.

We've done lot of 80' - 100' dives but the water is cold and dark below 70'. But then again, the water is always cold especially below the thermocline.

The bateaux are accessible from shore by paying to the women's retreat for access - they prefer the customers to be women though I would have to say that it's not much of a dive. The remaining planks are in about 12-25ft of water, and you have to watch it when Minnehaha comes around... real close. (Minnehaha=tourist steamer).

Operator who took us to Radeau had had something go wrong nearly every trip he'd gone to the wreck with new visitors, so make sure you are ready. It's not a hard dive by all means but people tend to get weird there. They talk about Radeau curse. Nearly every time it was someone freaking out and/or having gear malfunction in the dark and the second thermocline. We had gorgeous first visit, cold but 40ft of viz and did not add to the freak out list

And yes, bolt snap and caveline for SPG.