Kayak Diving Fri, Sat, Sun- who wants to join me?

[shoupart]

Hi,
I plan on doing some kayak diving this weekend, checking out some new spots... Would anybody like to join me? If you have your own boat, cool; if not, I'll bring my extra and let you use it for $30, and show you all the ropes. All you need to do is bring your own normal gear and be a proficient diver.

It's sooo much fun- you get to explore some really offbeat, untouched areas. Last Saturday I went to a place where I limited out on big lobsters in about 40 minutes! Those 7 bugs weighed about 20lbs alltogether- I'd never had such a great haul!

 

[Archangel]

Jason, good to see you on this master board. Im in, give me a call/email/IM, and lets bring our DS and you can teach me how to do this.

T

 

[Kevfin]

Hey Jason... check "VS" for my reply... maybe we can get a small group together.

 

[Codyjp]

i am interested for a sunday trip... let me know if there is still a spot. sounds like a good time.

 

[shoupart]

Hey Cody,
Sunday might work, but I only have one extra boat and I think Kevfin has first call on it.... Do you have your own kayak, by any chance?
If Sunday doesn't work out, I'm hitting the beaches as much as possible on the weekends, so we can always do in in the near future.

 

[shoupart]

By the way, you can always rent a kayak, too. Sport Chalet rents some for about $45 per day, but you'll need some ropes for tie-downs, and stuff like that. They'll need a little work to be dive-ready.

 

[Codyjp]

i don't own one but have seen a few at reasonable prices on craigs list. what in particular do you look for in a diveable kayak? otherwise i am ready to go if something doesn't work for sunday, or tomorrow morning... or thursday morning maybe.

 

[shoupart]

Basically, a sit on top kayak is best. What you need is some sort of well in the back to store your tank and b/c, and a place in the front to lash down everything else, or a bow hatch you can stow stuff into.

There's some boats that are specially designed for scuba diving purposes, but you can configure a lot of different kinds kayaks for diving. The size isn't too important as long as it can hold at least 300lbs (just figure the weight of you plus all your gear, which would be roughly 100lbs.
The principal rule is to tie EVERYTHING down, so when you're thinking about a boat, try and picture if you'll be able to stow the BC/tank unit, the bag with the rest of your gear, etc. If there's not a lot of hooks and stuff to clip things to, it's pretty easy to add cleats and ropes however you want them to be.

If you want me to check out whatever you find on Craigslist and give you my opinion on it, I'd be happy to do so. I believe there's a Tarpon 140 on sale there right now(which is perfect).

Also, I'm already booked for Thursday and Sunday morning... but could do it later in the week.

It's good to have a lot of extra eyelets and hooks and things to attach stuff onto.

 

[THelsley]

Hey shoupart,

How long have you been doing the kayak diving? I'm very interested in this and would like to learn.

Tom

 

[shoupart]

I've been doing it here and there since late 2004, but I've been ramping up and doing a lot more lately and getting serious about it.

It's quite simple- just a handful of basics and lots of energy is all you need
If you ever want to dive a site off PV (Malibu is better for beginning, by the way), PM me and I'll rent you my boat and teach you how to do it for $30.