Diving Doubles

[RavenC]

I have been frustrated that I do not have much time to explore the wrecks in the area. I eventually want to get Nitrox certified but I do not have access to Nitrox in the area so that won't help me here. How long can a tank sit with Nitrox in it?

I have considered diving doubles too but I am very small and I am concerned about diving doubles. First of all, my BP and wings with doubles would weigh almost as much as I do. I am concerned about being overweighted. Also, I have been considering dawning the gear. If I do take to diving doubles, I'm thinking that I need to practice and perfect gearing up in the water. Any suggests? R

[Dryglove]

RavenC once bubbled...

I have considered diving doubles too but I am very small and I am concerned about diving doubles. First of all, my BP and wings with doubles would weigh almost as much as I do. I am concerned about being overweighted. Also, I have been considering dawning the gear. If I do take to diving doubles, I'm thinking that I need to practice and perfect gearing up in the water. Any suggests? R

I was beach diving a while back and out of the surf emerged a very petite woman wearing double 104's. She was handling the gear better than the guys she was diving with. She was definitely a trooper as i know those double 104's are awfully heavy.:D

[O-ring]

RavenC once bubbled...
I have been frustrated that I do not have much time to explore the wrecks in the area. I eventually want to get Nitrox certified but I do not have access to Nitrox in the area so that won't help me here. How long can a tank sit with Nitrox in it?

I have considered diving doubles too but I am very small and I am concerned about diving doubles. First of all, my BP and wings with doubles would weigh almost as much as I do. I am concerned about being overweighted. Also, I have been considering dawning the gear. If I do take to diving doubles, I'm thinking that I need to practice and perfect gearing up in the water. Any suggests? R
Is it gas supply or NDL?

[RavenC]

A bit of both honestly.

I definately want longer bottom time at deeper depths.

[Doc Intrepid]

Heather will get you squared away.

Plus, you don't HAVE to dive double 104s. You can go with double LP 95s, double PST 80s, double 72s, whatever. The new PST E8-119s can be pumped up to pretty stout pressures, or not...as you desire. Check out the website here:
http://www.lloydbaileysscuba.com/PST%20E%20Series%20Tanks.htm

Note the varying amounts of air available at the different fill pressures on the far right end of the matrix. These tanks are pretty flexible (although their weight will obviously vary with fill pressure...)

For wreck penetration diving, though, doubles are something you may want to follow-up on.

Regards,

Doc

[O-ring]

RavenC once bubbled...
A bit of both honestly.

I definately want longer bottom time at deeper depths.
Then you are gonna have to go with bigger tanks, nitrox training (if you want to use it to push NDLs longer), and/or deco training.

[crazyc]

RavenC once bubbled...


I have considered diving doubles too but I am very small and I am concerned about diving doubles. First of all, my BP and wings with doubles would weigh almost as much as I do. I am concerned about being overweighted. Also, I have been considering dawning the gear. If I do take to diving doubles, I'm thinking that I need to practice and perfect gearing up in the water. Any suggests? R

RavenC,

A friend of mine came out here to dive with us a few months back. She is all but maybe 110 pounds soaking wet. I loaned her a set of double AL63's for which she was appreciative. I asked her what she dove back home in the PNW, and she said she dove double 104's. I gained a complete new respect for her that day!

I wouldn't get myself into a situation where I have to don and doff my gear in the water all the time. I started working out and strengthing my upper and lower body when I made the decision that I was going to start diving doubles. I didn't start diving doubles until I had a true need to for the diving I was doing. And like anything else, I had to plan and prepare for it, then train.

CrazyC

[RavenC]

Thanks for the encouragement. I think I will be looking into some deco training and pricing a new rig.

I love to exercise, I just haven't had much time lately. I guess it's time to make time for that. I finish my degree in seven classes (then I get to have a real life) and they shouldn't be too demanding on my schedule. I look forward to getting back into crosstraining again. I guess I will start "body" building again.
But I still have questions about being overweighted. How do I address that?
:) R

[O-ring]

RavenC once bubbled...
Thanks for the encouragement. I think I will be looking into some deco training and pricing a new rig.

I love to exercise, I just haven't had much time lately. I guess it's time to make time for that. I finish my degree in seven classes (then I get to have a real life) and they shouldn't be too demanding on my schedule. I look forward to getting back into crosstraining again. I guess I will start "body" building again.
But I still have questions about being overweighted. How do I address that?
:) R
For one, you can get an AL backplate. This should shave about 4lbs off your rig. You can also look for other ways to lighten up like replacing heavy old lights with smaller, less negative ones.

I'll respond to your PM with some other ideas..

[RavenC]

I'll wait to get your ideas. Thanks. R

[crazyc]

Basically I found I had to choose the right system for the environment and type of diving I am doing. I am fortunate enough that I have enough body mass (5 foot 11 inches 155-160 pounds) that with the variety of wetsuits I wear, at the moment I only need 1 backplate. However I change out systems and weight myself accordingly.

I was fortunate enough to be able to consult with those experienced in these systems before I ever made a purchase, so I didn't have to go back and buy something else later on. I found it easy to guestimate the range before I ever got in the water based on how much weight I required for my single tank setup. I knew I had more than enough range to play with to go with a SS BP instead of AL to start with.

I dive open ocean, 65-85F water temps, with a variety of wetsuits depending on water temp and dive duration. So a SS BP and double AL63's work for me and are easy to balance out with v-weight and ditchable weight. Of course I had to go through the initial weighting phase as with any new equipment. I also dive the Halcyon RB80 rebreather which is larger and heavier than my wonderful little 63's, but once again through checking my weighting and adjusting accordingly to the system I avoid being overweighted. With the RB I may have to eventually go to an aluminum BP in the warmer water months, but the jury is still out on that one.

So take a look at where you are diving, what exposure protection you are wearing, how much weight you currently use for singles, and you can start to draw a plan of attack.

At least that's what I did.

CrazyC