Diving without BCD?

[toddjconklin]

Hey all,

Can you dive without a BC - is it OK/do-able or is it suicide?

I guess this is mostly for the guys who've been diving since the 70s (if they're on the interwebs?). As a bit of background, I'm 40, and just got into diving. I've always loved it but was unable (certified) until now due to previous medical condition. My father is 65, and has not dove for a long time, but wants to get back into it with me. I would love that to happen but funds are very limited for both of us.

He has some vintage gear that could be serviced OK - Conshelf XI and Calipso ?? regs. Tanks are out of spec (all gear is circa 1970s) but not too much to hire.

He doesn't have a BC. He never has - I don't believe they were invented back then. He just has a bracket with straps that holds the tank to your back. As far as he's concerned it's all he needs and all he uses. But I'm a little nervous of diving with him if there's no way to get him to the surface. So is it a really bad idea, or is it OK?

(For context, my dad also reckons the dive is over when you can't suck air any more LOL).

Thanks!

 

[Vitesse2l]

Back in the 70's your Dad also had age, fitness and current experience on his side!

It would be great for you guys to dive together. Possibly better to get a refresher course first?

Your Dad sounds like a strong character. My own experience (and my fault) is that can lead to poor decisions between family dive buddies. Whatever, I hope you have fun!

 

[Altamira]

Yes, you can dive without a bcd, it is doable, and not suicidal. Having said that, my question would be why would you want to? I learned to dive in 1965 without a bcd or cert, and last dove without a bcd or cert in 1974. After a 35 year diversion from diving, I re-entered the underwater world with a PADI cert and new gear. Could I still dive without a bcd as in the "old days?" Yes, I could, but I would not because, in my opinion, the bcd not only makes diving a lot easier, but allows for more precise buoyancy control, and is a definite improvement in safety. Diving is not an inexpensive sport, but with the helpful advice from many SB members, I am sure you can find some very nice used gear to fit a limited budget. Good luck and have fun diving with your dad.

 

[herman]

I often dive with no BC and even when I do, it's almost always just to make the dive op happy, it is never used except as a float if I have to wait for a boat on the surface. I always wear on a boat dive but it's for a surface floatation, not buoyancy control. That said, no BC diving does take proper weighting and some skill, neither of which most modern divers have. Back in the day, your dad most likely had the training and had worked on his skills, to a large extent those are gone.....that said, he also does not know how to use a BC. This brings on the possibility of a runaway accent.

As for getting him back to the surface, why can't you? Properly weighted for no BC diving, you should be weighted such that you are neutral with half a tank or about 2 lbs (1kg) heavy at the beginning and 2 (1kg) light at the end. That amount is easy to swim up or use your BC or have him drop his weights, again training.

I would take him to a shallow dive, like a pool or a could meter deep beach and let him got some bottom time to regain the skill, it's a lot like riding a bike, it comes back fast and it's a good place to get properly weighted and see how it goes.

To answer the question, "why would you want to/",. the freedom and increased efficiency is remarkable. It's much closer to being the "manfish" that Jacques Cousteau described rather than the swimming tree that todays diver looks like.

 

[Midwesterndvr]

It’s doable, there’s vintage gear divers on YouTube it seems like back in those days divers had excellent buoyancy skills.

 

[doctormike]

The primary purpose of a BCD is not to get the diver to the surface, it's to compensate for the loss of buoyancy due to compression of the exposure suit at depth, and of the extra weight of the gas that is used during the dive. If the diver can swim up that extra weight, or stay neutral at depth despite that extra negative ballast over perfect weighting, then I guess you don't need a BCD during the dive. It sure makes it easier, but like many things that were done before gear advances, certainly doable if for some reason you want to do it. I guess it's more freeing or something? Not sure why a small deflated wing would make such a difference, but I don't do it so I don't know...

But that's not why I would absolutely not dive with your 65 year old dad and no BCD. What are you going to do on the surface if he has any sort of problem, especially something medical (related to diving or not)? If he (or you) can't achieve positive buoyancy, that's a serious safety risk. There are plenty of fatalities of divers who initially made it to the surface.

As far as Internet posts about how people have been diving safely for years with no BCD, google survivor bias.

 

[Neilwood]

As the folks above have said, no BCD diving is possible. That relies on weighting being spot on (there is far less room for error) and well practised skills.

As your dad is an older person and certified a lot of years ago, a lot of the skills he learned are no longer taught due to advances in gear and thinking:
1) He would have learned buddy breathing which has been replaced by using an octo.
2) He probably used a J lever which allowed a reserve to be used at the end of the dive as they didn't have SPG's. No need for that now as there is no excuse for not monitoring your gas
3) Wetsuits have changed significantly which change buoyancy characteristics
4) Divers back then tended to be finning almost constantly (if you watch footage of them) and tended to worry less about hitting the bottom (Pete "The Chairman" tells of his fins being sold as strong enough to withstand the reef)

For those reasons, I would suggest that your dad either recertify or at the very minimum do a refresher with an instructor. If not, you both may have completely differing expectations should trouble arise. You sound like a relatively inexperienced diver so I wonder if you have the skills to keep you both out of trouble and react to it (especially with someone that was trained in a completely different way)

Gear wise, a used BCD (in workable condition) can be obtained for relatively little money - it might not look great (faded and worn) but with a bit of testing (does the BCD hold air and does the inflator inflate and deflate the BCD properly) and attention (do the hoses look worn/damaged or are they ok?) there is no reason for it to cost a lot of money.

If after the refresher and a bit of diving he decides to go back to no BCD diving then he can do so. I have no doubt that with the right skills and equipment that it would be a very nice way to dive without all the encumbrance we have now.

 

[DanSinks]

When I first started diving years ago, my buddy could not afford a BCD, but since we were diving from shore and going after lobsters, we were on the bottom, so didn't really need a BCD because we wanted to be heavy. We were in a northern climate there was no delicate coral reef so resting on the bottom was ok.

If you can't afford a BCD then you probably can't afford a refresher course that has been recommended, and you probably can't afford a dive charter boat so you would be diving from shore.

Being old and out of shape(like me), not having recent experience and proper equipment are all disadvantages, but I suspect you will not let that stop you. Take it slow and be cautious.
And have fun!

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

This photo was taken a few weeks ago. Oops, looks like we all forgot our BCs. We still dove our little hearts out. Granted, the group does have a tad bit of experience and excellent buoyancy skills one and all. Mark

 

[DanSinks]

This photo was taken a few weeks ago. Oops, looks like we all forgot our BCs. We still dove our little hearts out. Granted, the group does have a tad bit of experience and excellent buoyancy skills one and all. Mark

Hey is that Alec Pierce in that photo? Where is his suit?