boat diving sidemount ... things I learned ...

I just spent three days diving The Peace in the Channel Islands using my Nomad XT and a pair of HP100 steel cylinders. One nice thing about doing 10 dives over three days is that you get lots of time to experiment and learn. Among the things I learned ...

Good stuff ...

- giant striding with your tanks on is no problem ... even from the bow, which is eight feet off the water
- sidemounting in a kelp forest is easier than in backmount ... less chance of getting entangled ... and on the one time that I did, it was easy getting untangled
- inverting for that nudibranch shot takes less effort than in backmount
- solo diving in sidemount is downright blissful

Not-so-good stuff ...

- getting into sidemount tanks on a pitching boat is more challenging than sliding into a BP/W
- boat exitways are not made for sidemount ... I had to learn how to giant stride sideways without getting my fins caught in the doorway ... which is definitely a challenge when you're also hauling a scooter
- getting out of the tanks on the swim step is a PITA ... I found it easier to just go up the ladder with my tanks on and disconnect everything at my station
- you can't sit down in a buttplate ... which means that once you're in your gear, you better have a clear path to the exit
- stowing a scooter by pushing it off to the side is a bad idea ... the harness finds creative ways to get entangled around your tank ... stowing between your legs works much better

My overall assessment is that sidemounting off a boat is a bit more physical labor than backmounting ... but the payoff in the water makes it worth the effort ....

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob, did you have any issues with flotation on the surface?

ffdiver:

Bob, did you have any issues with flotation on the surface?

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None whatsoever ... nor with surface swimming that one time my buddy and I surfaced a long way from the boat and I had opted not to bring the scooter.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

ffdiver:

Bob, did you have any issues with flotation on the surface?

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Strnge question... Mind explaining


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Bob, equipment lines are your friend


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Doppler:

Bob, equipment lines are your friend


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For sure ... my camera was coming down on one, on those dives where I took a camera. In typical Channel Islands conditions, I don't want to futz with clipping/unclipping tanks in-water any more than I have to. On those dives where I felt a scooter was needed, I wanted it in my hands and ready to operate as soon as my fins hit the water ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

The buttplate will soften up over time and you'll be able to sit on it

SuPrBuGmAn:

The buttplate will soften up over time and you'll be able to sit on it

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I've broken the same reel 3 times because I sat on it, and two of those times were in sidemount.

NWGratefulDiver:

- stowing a scooter by pushing it off to the side is a bad idea ... the harness finds creative ways to get entangled around your tank ... stowing between your legs works much better

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I have a tow clip on the front of my scooter. Sometimes I'll pull the clip and clip it to one of my shoulder d-rings so the scooter doesn't get entangled around one of the cylinders. Been there, done that, not fun!

Dive-aholic:

I have a tow clip on the front of my scooter. Sometimes I'll pull the clip and clip it to one of my shoulder d-rings so the scooter doesn't get entangled around one of the cylinders. Been there, done that, not fun!

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Yup ... me too ... and then I'd push the scooter off to the right, like I usually do. In backmount it rides there like a stage bottle. In sidemount ... at least for me ... the harness was finding creative ways to get trapped behind my right cylinder. In the past I've preferred that arrangement to between the legs, because it doesn't interfere with my fins when I kick. But that's just gonna be something I have to learn to deal with ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)