Bolt snap stuck with sand

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Frontpointer1000

Contributor
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Location
Utah
# of dives
100 - 199
Solo dive yesterday at La Jolla Cove. Vis around 1-5 feet until deeper and further out, then about 10 ft vis. Surge was pretty bad. Lots of sand and particulate matter (at one point vis was essentially zero).

The bottom bolt snap on my slung alum 40 cf cylinder got jammed with sand and would not open. Not an issue for this dive except At the end of the dive while attempting to unsling it- I was unable to do so and had to remove bp/w then bang out sand and wash it before removing cylinder.

I’ve never encountered this before. Had I been underwater and attempting to change cylinders or trade cylinders this would have been more disconcerting. How have others dealt with this?
 
Avoid metal connections.. include a cord or something you can cut off in an emergency or for convenience. "No metal to metal connections" makes the gear more susceptible to wear and failure, but it is probably a worthwhile trade off. It is one of those guidelines that I try to adhere to.
 
Had a similar experience trying to get a dive knife out of knife holder. The design allowed sand to enter the holder where the release mechanism had to bend in order to work. I modified the holder with some silicon rubber to prevent sand ingress. Switched to a different type dive knife later.
 
How is your cylinder rigged up? If it is with a nylon strap with a snap at the end running under clamps to the top, you could always cut the strap to free it.
 
How is your cylinder rigged up? If it is with a nylon strap with a snap at the end running under clamps to the top, you could always cut the strap to free it.

Yes. Two nylon straps -one on each end.
This is s good idea.
 
Avoid metal connections.. include a cord or something you can cut off in an emergency or for convenience. "No metal to metal connections" makes the gear more susceptible to wear and failure, but it is probably a worthwhile trade off. It is one of those guidelines that I try to adhere to.


It was the bolt snap mechanism that was encumbered with sand.

I do like the idea of cutting the nylon cord which are used to connect the bolt snaps to the cylinder. The bolt snaps then attach to the back plate and wing via metal rings.
 
Panicked, and in a frantic fit of terror, I unsheathed my stumpy steak knife
and in the zero visibility, thrust and slashed in the shape of a Z for zoanthid
and freed my bottle from its bounds then reclipped with spare double enders
on what remained of the mangled rigging 'cord-webbing' and continued diving.
Solo.
 
I'm wondering about the quality of the bolt snap? Is it a good marine grade quality and also one that opens and closes smoothly? They're not all equal.

Definitely avoid metal-to-metal connections. A very thin cave line, even from your thumb spool, works very well and can be cut if needed.
 
6C428D76-74BC-4E44-9FBE-4025856F7F9F.png
An old pic but you can see how it is rigged. The cylinder with the bolt snap that gave me problems is the one on the left. There is no metal on metal.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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