What's your entry look like?

I know everyone does things a little different but in the interest of getting ideas, could everyone post the sequence of events in their entry... like what you do outside the water, what you do at the surface with your face out of the water, what you do with a reg in your mouth and face under water, etc.

I've previously been trying to kit up comletely and giant stride with a negative entry, I know it's a more difficult way (a royal pain in the bum really) , but I am planning a couple of boat dives in the near future so that's what I've been working on.

I saw a video on youtube where a guy did an entry into rough surf where he put on mask, fins, bc, everything except tanks, then clipped only the tank neck leashes and did everything else well away from shore but at the surface

I'm leaning towards trying this sequence of events my next dive:

1. put on bc, mask snorkel, fins
2. clip both tank neck leashes
3. attach low pressure inflator
4. stick left hand (short hose) reg in my mouth
5. Hop into the water face down breathing from reg
6. clip bottom tank clips on waist d ring
7. route right hand long hose around neck and clip right reg to d ring
8. clip off bungies last
9. begin dive

(or would you do all of the above, but at step 5, get buoyant and do all of the clipping off and bungie clipping vertical with your face out of the water?)

What is your preferred sequence of events in your entry?


Thanks in advance,

Swampy

This is one of the things I like about sidemount: how easy it makes boat entries. Throw your tanks over the side on a clip line, and don them after your entry.

My steps are a little different because I dive a Z system, but it would be mostly the same for independent SM. You'd just have to do your hose routing in the water instead of before splashing.

- Don exposure suit half on. (Booties on if using wetsuit). Hang out half dressed as long as you like for dive briefing, etc.
- Hang tank(s) over the side on a clip-line.
- Up, over and zip your suit (wet or dry).
- Don Z harness.
- Route necklace, tuck and clip long hose.
- Connect inflators.
- Manually inflate trim device.
- Wrist stuff: compass, computer, GoPro.
- Smear no-fog on mask, don it.
- Gloves (wet or dry).
- Grab fins, walk to entry point.

- Splash! Entry of your choice. Without tanks, all of 'em are easy.

- Rinse mask. (If the boat doesn't have mask rinses at the entries.)
- Unclip tank from clip line
- Plug tank first stage into QC-6.
- Hip clips, then bungees.
- (Repeat last 3 steps for doubles.)
- Flow check, right to left.

- Dive!

This is the clip-line setup that helps make it so easy.



One thing I do like about diving the Z system is it simplifies the in-water steps. Very helpful if conditions are rough or you need to descend promptly to hit a specific feature, etc.

Swampy, thank you for asking this question! I have been struggling with shore entries in my sidemount setup. I've tried walking into the water with the tanks on (SUCKED, worse than backmounted doubles). I've tried taking the tanks to the water's edge, but if the water is moving, I'm afraid to leave the tanks IN the water, for fear I won't find them again. I have a friend who inflates a bag and clips it to his tanks when they're left in murky water, but that's quite a nuisance. I've also thought about using a float system like my Monterey friends do for their deco bottles.

I'll be very interested to see the answers.

Now for beach entries I just put the tanks as close to the water as possible before I kit up. I usually enter the water fully rigged, but I don't think it's ideal.

A trick an instructor recently showed me is to just clip the top stage bolt snaps to your hip/butt rings and do the entry un-rigged until you get past the surf. Then unclip and finish donning in deeper water. I'm eager to try this out myself.

For boat dives, I clip off my neck and tail clips, route my short hose and LPIs, then hop in and figure everything else out. This works well on positive and negative entries. For positive entries, I splash, grab the line (or chill, depending on current), and calmly square my stuff away. For negative entries, I ignore my long hose and tank trim until I get with my buddy team and start the descent properly. Once on descent, I bungee up and route my longhose. It's ALWAYS the last thing I put on because I don't want ANYTHING in the way of proper deployment.

For shore dives (pool conditions, platform, shallow) I do everything in waist-deep water so I can stand if I need and get tank necks in the dry or kneel and let buoyancy do all the heavy lifting for me. I've not done a "shore" entry like Lynne is discussing....but I'm very different from Lynne in physique. I'm 6'6" and 250#. I'd strap my crap on and walk until I had to swim....I can get away with that. Not all body types are able to do that as easily. Just like getting out of the water on a boat dive. I grab the ladder and walk up it....no big deal, no planning, no hassle. SDS's buddy's trick is a pretty cool method of getting in a surf entry...depending on your tanks (not so much worthington steels, very much al80s).

As for SDS's boat-entry method, I'm very jealous. I don't get to dive water that clear or that flat off of a boat (unless you count one of Edd's pontoons....but I don't think most would) so it's not really an option for me.

I do how my instructor taught me, but modify it to suit my personal style and logic.

victorzamora:

I've not done a "shore" entry like Lynne is discussing....but I'm very different from Lynne in physique. I'm 6'6" and 250#. I'd strap my crap on and walk until I had to swim....I can get away with that. Not all body types are able to do that as easily.

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I agree with Vic: us bigger guys can just walk the whole rig right into the water, but smaller folks need a more clever strategy.

victorzamora:

SDS's buddy's trick is a pretty cool method of getting in a surf entry...depending on your tanks (not so much worthington steels, very much al80s).

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Agreed: this works nicely with AL80s, which more or less float themselves when you get in the water. Probably would be more awkward to do with steels. The low CG is great for when the surf's up.

victorzamora:

As for SDS's boat-entry method, I'm very jealous. I don't get to dive water that clear or that flat off of a boat (unless you count one of Edd's pontoons....but I don't think most would) so it's not really an option for me..

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Well Vic, it's not always as clear and calm as my photo. That was a particularly placid day at Goat Harbor. For rougher conditions, I'd probably go with a longer clipline, but I still prefer donning in the water over doing it on a heaving boat. Jumping in with tanks already on would be a last resort for me.

I get a lot of practice donning tanks off the clipline quickly. I've never timed myself, but I'm guessing I can get rigged in 60-90 seconds, which seems acceptable for all but the most demanding negative entries.

Now @bluemed on the other hand, he's a daring SOB:

SanDiegoSidemount:

Now for beach entries I just put the tanks as close to the water as possible before I kit up. I usually enter the water fully rigged, but I don't think it's ideal.

A trick an instructor recently showed me is to just clip the top stage bolt snaps to your hip/butt rings and do the entry un-rigged until you get past the surf. Then unclip and finish donning in deeper water. I'm eager to try this out myself.

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hmmm, I don't see why you couldn't do this in conjunction with a giant stride off a platform or boat ... the long hose would reach so you could even do it with a reg in your mouth... The only thing that pops into mind is to make sure you have some air in your bc because your LPI would not be hooked up.

while I'm talking about that, does disconnecting and reconnecting a low pressure inflator while submerged introduce a chance for water to get into your tank or first stage?

SWAMPY459:

hmmm, I don't see why you couldn't do this in conjunction with a giant stride off a platform or boat ... the long hose would reach so you could even do it with a reg in your mouth... The only thing that pops into mind is to make sure you have some air in your bc because your LPI would not be hooked up.

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It seems like you could hold the tanks by the valves when you hop -- a less daring version of what @bluemed is doing above -- but I don't have personal experience with this.

I would worry about jumping with the tanks loose and close to my body if they were only clipped by the top snaps to the waist/butt. Would they swing up on impact, and conk me in the head from both sides?

Claaaang... \o/

SWAMPY459:

while I'm talking about that, does disconnecting and reconnecting a low pressure inflator while submerged introduce a chance for water to get into your tank or first stage?

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This was one of my big concerns with the QC-6 connectors on the Z, and would also be a concern with making LP inflator connections in seawater regardless of your rig. I've discussed this a lot with AG and his shop man Jay.

I think the short answer is that modern second stages and LP connections are not significantly compromised by a little seawater (presuming regular servicing) and that it's pretty much impossible for the seawater to migrate backwards into the first stage if there's any pressure/flow at all in the system.

SWAMPY459:

does disconnecting and reconnecting a low pressure inflator while submerged introduce a chance for water to get into your tank or first stage?

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No, no risk at all! Those are build for exactly that purpose.
A drop of water might enter a drysuit or wing at that point, but will never in the other direction against airflow - virtually impossible.

SanDiegoSidemount:

Would they swing up on impact, and conk me in the head from both sides?

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This took some time for me to realize too, but:
Dropping cylinders into water, even buoyant ones, is like dropping stones into the water.
They do not turn, shift position or anything, they just break the water pull the diver below the surface and balance out as soon as the divers buoyancy stops the descend.

SanDiegoSidemount:

us bigger guys can just walk the whole rig right into the water, but smaller folks need a more clever strategy.

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I am very slightly build and consider myself not to be in 'good shape'.
I still prefer putting on cylinders first most of the time. On normal dives at home I mostly use small and light tanks (8 liter steel, or 7liter aluminum), but on vacation it also works flawlessly with 80cft aluminum and even larger ones.

For me clipping into the front d-rings solves most problems.
Easy to walk against moving water, better when sitting on a zodiac, or entering one, good for downward stairs and helps when leaving the water on fin-ladders.
Jumping in with the valves in the hands I knocked one tank on the edge once and dropped it and in pain also the other one (the 7 liter alu both dropped to the bottom 5 meters below like stones), so I stopped doing that and mostly enter the water with at least the left one fully mounted and hoses attached.

I like to jump in hand-carrying the fins, putting them on in the water before pulling in the cylinders if the drop is low enough or throwing one or both in first on the very high ones.

In any other situation I use this entry routine:
- put on dry-suit, harness, put on gloves, pull up hood(s)

- clip in bottom boltsnap on left cylinder into forward hip d-ring
- put bungee on tank valve hand-knop (not completely around valve)
- connect dry suit inflator
- wrap hose around neck

- put on mask
- put on neck-bungee of left tank second stage
- drop mask to the neck (spitting in mask and rubbing around in it)

- clip in bottom boltsnap on right cylinder into forward hip d-ring
- put bungee on tank valve hand-knop (again not completely around valve)
- connect wing inflator
- wrap longhose around neck and either clip break-away to right shoulder d-ring, or just leave it draped over the shoulder

- grap fins (and clip them to a shoulder d-ring)
- pull up mask and put long hose regulator in mouth
- (because of the dry-suit, I do not infalte at all)
- enter water (jumping, walking, robbing, dancing... - your choice)
- put on fins if not done already and move fin holder clip to butt B-ring
- rinse out mask

- go to horizontal position and start descend
- reclip both tanks simultaneously to backward d-rings
- rewarp bungees around valves and extensions

- dive

For my next trip I want to try out SanDiegoSidemount's excellent clip-line with a boltnap as weight-replacement on the end on all entrys outside current and with shallow waves (thanks for posting that a few weeks ago, by the way).

disclaimer:
I do think everyone has to find his own best routine there. But it's still fun to compare ideas.

If I'm on a boat where I have room to walk around and can walk to a platform and giant stride in then I place the cylinders on the bench, one on each side. I clip them in place, bungee around the valves, hoses where they belong. Fins come on and I walk to the platform and jump in. I've done this with 108s, 2 AL40 deco cylinders, and my SS Magnus with no issues.

In a boat where I have to climb over it to get in the water I either hang the cylinders from an equipment line or have the crew hand the cylinders down to me one at a time. On thing to keep in mind about gear lines, especially for steel cylinders is to tie knots about 4-6' apart from each other. This way you can lift one cylinder out at a time while the other cylinders are still hanging in the water and much lighter.

For shore entries I walk the tanks to the water one at a time. Once ready to get in the water I'll clip the neck leashes to my waist d-rings and hold the valves until I get in water deep enough to offset the weight of the cylinders. Then I'll let the cylinders float along with me until I'm deep enough to raise them up to my chest d-rings and put them in place.

All of these methods take practice. I wouldn't recommend going out on a boat and trying these things for the first time there because you will likely hold up things and get a shorter dive.