What's with sidemount?

[coldwatercanada]

seems crazy to sling your bottom mix and back mount your deco gas. How do you see what you are about to switch to ? Are the MOD markings on the 2nd stage ? Seems confusing ... Am i missing something ?

Remeber your talking to someone that doesnt know much and is just learning but how i was explained was you Sling 2 bottem gas then have your first 2 smaller deco-gasses slung then have your big 40% mix(I think is what they where talking about) on your back???? Does that make more sense??? I honestly am not sure

 

[coldwatercanada]

ask me again this time next year ha ha

 

[Wookie]

Remeber your talking to someone that doesnt know much and is just learning but how i was explained was you Sling 2 bottem gas then have your first 2 smaller deco-gasses slung then have your big 40% mix(I think is what they where talking about) on your back???? Does that make more sense??? I honestly am not sure

I understand it, and I've seen it, but what it seems to be is relatively poor gas planning to me. I plan my dives based on what I can carry, I don't carry gas to make a certain dive. If I'm making a 300 foot open circuit dive, I cut my bottom time accordingly so I can deco on 2 gasses. I don't carry extra gas so I can make a 20 minute bottom time. Maybe I do it all wrong, but I am comfortable in my setup and don't want to change it just to extend my dive time. If I feel I need more dive time, I'll carry bigger cylinders (switch 120's out for my 100's, and carry 80's for deco instead of 40's), but I won't hang more cylinders off of me. I had to do that during my trimix training and found it quite unacceptable for me.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

And, I don't try to be the boat for everyone. We participate in high energy diving a long way from any help. Although we don't enjoy a perfect safety record, we do everything in our power to bring everyone back to the dock in the same condition they left the dock. Sometimes that means catering to the LCD diver rather than the guy who is "Special". Special without proof doesn't cut it with the insurance company, and since the greatest liability is theirs, I tend to follow their rules. One of their rules is "no solo diving without a card", and the other is "no solo tech diving", including recreational rebreathers.

...

So, unless you have a bug in your butt about the card, and many do, go get the card. It's not like you can't find someone to accept your experience and sign you off. Or, find a dive boat that isn't concerned about their insurance company and whether they are covered or not. It's your choice. Make one that makes you happy. That's what I did.

Well, I do appreciate a straight answer. And I can appreciate that you need to protect your business.

But I think what you descibe may be more a difference between east and west coast diving mentality than it is an insurance issue.

I suppose if it ever got to the point where it became an issue I could always get another card ... I already own a drawer full of 'em, after all ... one more won't make much of a difference. But so far it's not been an issue ... I've yet to board a boat out here that has an issue with me solo diving if I so choose. That spans quite a few boats from the north tip of Vancouver Island all the way down to the Channel Islands. Some of those ... particularly in places like Port Hardy, Nootka Sound, and Sechelt Inlet, are in pretty remote locations.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Wookie]

Well, I do appreciate a straight answer. And I can appreciate that you need to protect your business.

But I think what you descibe may be more a difference between east and west coast diving mentality than it is an insurance issue.

I suppose if it ever got to the point where it became an issue I could always get another card ... I already own a drawer full of 'em, after all ... one more won't make much of a difference. But so far it's not been an issue ... I've yet to board a boat out here that has an issue with me solo diving if I so choose. That spans quite a few boats from the north tip of Vancouver Island all the way down to the Channel Islands. Some of those ... particularly in places like Port Hardy, Nootka Sound, and Sechelt Inlet, are in pretty remote locations.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

And it is interesting that my insurer, who was a west coast liveaboard owner and Captain for much of his life had this conversation a few times. He had to drop many of his west coast clients for the exact reason we are discussing. They refused to help protect him, and since most dive boats are actually in an insurance pool, rather than just buying insurance like you do for your car, he felt it was better to drop them rather than try to manage their rates differently than everyone elses. Short answer is, most west coast liveaboards have Hull and P&I (Liability and Collision), but no in-water liability (Comprehensive). That means that the divemasters and charterers are picking up much of the in-water liability on their individual policies. My in-water policy is also my contractors general liability policy, which I must have to operate in a National Park, to work for NOAA, to work for USGS, FWC, University of Miami, etc. etc. Since those federal contracts are my real bread and butter, which allows me to do the fun trips like the deep technical wrecks, I protect that policy at all costs.

 

[coldwatercanada]

Again I dont know, these guys do very highly planned dives sometimes with an hour-two hour plus deco so id assume there doing 10plus minute bottem times??

 

[Dive-aholic]

We do not limit gear configuration on tech dives in any way, but we look at homebuilt/heavily modified rebreathers with a very close eye. We do not allow full sized doubles on any recreational dive trip, purely as a matter of space. I would have no problem with a diver bringing small diameter doubles (40's, 43's) and diving them sidemount, or diving an 80/100/whatever sidemount with a counter balance or not, and I have no issue with monkey diving. As Bob said, we look at sidemount divers very carefully, but only because it seems like the wrong tool for the job when diving 40-80 foot deep coral reefs.

I ask because I'm trying to get my head wrapped around sidemount for recreational divers. It seems we are going to see this configuration more and more, so I want the crew to be ready for it. It means I will have to go out and buy a bunch of 40's for rentals, and figure out a way to secure them on the boat. It's gonna make surface intervals longer, which means less diving for all because it takes longer to fill 2 tanks than one. Not for the air compressor, but for hooking up the whips and actually filling them. If it were a passing fad, I wouldn't bother with it. If it's something I have to cater to, I need to configure the boat a little differently.

A few months ago my wife and I took a trip to Aruba and did a couple of days of diving. While we probably could have done our dives with 2 sidemount tanks we didn't. We chose to single tank sidemount. It was easier and worked out well. We were not lopsided at all. There's really no reason to two tank sidemount dive on a reef or outside a wreck that's less than 80' deep. A single tank is fine. And it's quite easy to do it.

 

[Spazzy]

David Bowie - Fashion - YouTube

 

[Mike2Fst]

Great response Bob, I'm with you 100%. Now I'm waiting to see if anyone gets worked up over and then begins promoting or down grading the toilette paper being routed over the top or under. What are the orthopedic benefits of each, is over the top a fad and do I need a c-card to route my toilette paper over the top? Really folks!? Capt Wasson, how is the toilette paper mounted in the dispensers on your boat?

 

[Dive-aholic]

If you have ever been on Frank's boat you would know it doesn't matter how the toilet paper is mounted. What matters is how much you use and where it goes...