Quick Question

I am doing my deco course this week and I will be doing it using SM. One thing I haven't found the answer to yet is when to change the lower bolt snap from the butt plate to a front D ring. Do I even remember that correctly> I seem to remember reading that we should move that bolt snap as the tank (AL80) transitions from negative to positive bouyancy. But, I'm not sure at what tank pressure that happens. Any pointers?

Thanks

Bert

First, your deco instructor should be an experienced sidemount diver and be able to assist you with this. If not, then you shouldn't be doing the course with that instructor.

Second, you should already have experience in sidemount to know when this is necessary before you dive it in a deco course. If you don't you are only doing yourself a disservice and wasting both your and your instructors time. Getting familiar with gear should not be done in a deco course.

Finally, if you're diving a system with a butt plate, usually there is no change in attachment point.

You will be able to feel when the butts of the aluminum tanks get floaty and adjust as necessary, depending on your harness. It's not a subtle thing.

Rob - Yes, my instructor is a certified SM instructor. I was just trying to get a bit of info before we get into the water so I don't look like a complete newbie. I wasn't even 100% sure that you are supposed to move the bolt snap, but I thought that I had read it on this board somewhere.

Ron - Thanks, I'll watch for it. I am wearing a Nomad so I have both a butt plate and front D rings.

Bert

Move them when they get floaty Its as simple as that...

I use a buttplate and have Drings to move the tank attachment down when using LP72s and AL80s.

Well, it turned out that I didn't feel the need to move the tank attachments. Yes, they did get floaty but I was comfortable with their position for the entire dive so I did not move them. Perhaps when I get a bit more experience with them, I might move the attachment but not at the moment.

On another note, I found the Dive Rite bungees to be unusable. When I tried them the tanks ended up so far back that I couldn't see my pressure gauges. On my second dive, I just used a bolt snap with a short lanyard around the neck of the tank and connected to a D ring on my BC. That worked much better. My pressure gauges were exactly where I wanted them and the tanks stayed right by my side without being too obtrusive.

Bert

The SPGs are supposed to be up against your shoulders. By not using them you are not positioning the cylinders properly next to your body. Rather they will hang too low and likely be angled from your body instead of parallel to it as they should be.

I checked with Edd and he sent me a few pictures showing how to use the bungees. I wasn't using them correctly but even when I did set them up properly, I found them to be quite awkward and difficult to use. I did use the bungee for my left tank, which I donned prior to entering the water, but I found that trying to get the bungee around the right tank while submerged was just too much effort so I used the bolt snap on it.

I willl have to spend some time in a pool with the bungees to see if they are something I can use or not. I do find that the bolt snap with a short (3" - 4") lanyard does everything I need anyway. The tanks are exactly where I want them and I can easily doff and don them. Not to mention that I have to have a bolt snap on the right tank anyway because we stage that tank on a line off the side of the boat so the bolt snap keeps the tank on the line.

Bert