8 changes...

[Gareth J]

I'm not sure i want everyone else to teach like I do!

FWIW, I teach the 1/4 back turn for safety reasons. Off and on feel the same when you lock them. 1/4 off feels differently than those two and I like that. What I don't like is a DM turning my air off as he's checking it. That's happened three times now and I have learned to get to the back of the boat while keeping the DM in front of me and away from my tank. Three breaths and I fall back into the water frustrating their attempts to assassinate me.

I had that in Thailand. Had my back to the DM after I completed my buddy check. There was a delay whilst we moved dive sites, in the in-between the DM turned my valve off.
Its the first time anyone ever touched my kit, its generally not an acceptable practice. Especially cylinders, regulators and valves.

 

[TMHeimer]

42 lbs? If I ever had to choose between 42 lbs of ditchable weight and a sex change operation...you could just go ahead and call me Crystal.

Yeah. Well, it's either 42 pounds or I can't dive here. Many people use that much in cold water, including instructors I've talked with (several at our own shop). A weight check is a weight check. One instructor I took PPV from a decade ago in North Fla. couldn't believe I needed that much--until he saw that I did. But that's a very old SB debate.
Only 20 pounds is ditchable quickly. The rest means removing my suspendered weight belt.

 

[tomfcrist]

I dive cold water too bud...even if you need that much there are ways to do it so that it’s part of the kit...light- 2lbs, doubles- 1 million pounds etc. I’m just saying I don’t want that much ditchable weight...because usually it has to go in the wrong place...ie not balanced.

 

[TMHeimer]

I dive cold water too bud...even if you need that much there are ways to do it so that it’s part of the kit...light- 2lbs, doubles- 1 million pounds etc. I’m just saying I don’t want that much ditchable weight...because usually it has to go in the wrong place...ie not balanced.

Yeah I can see that. I have found that my trim has been as good as I need it to be all these years--ei. horizontal swimming, etc. Still the same amount of weight of course, whether you have doubles or more lead. What were your problems using so much lead as opposed to making it part of your kit? Just curious.
I guess I stick with what I've got to avoid buying a double--and maybe lugging it around. But that's just me.

 

[Umuntu]

Is this really a basic, essential underwater skill.
When you have most of your ballast on your rig, like most modern divers do, it becomes much riskier and easily causes more problems than solves. I have always been wondering why it is included in the basic training?

Teach a balanced rig and a balanced body& wetsuit/Drysuit.

 

[tomfcrist]

What were your problems using so much lead as opposed to making it part of your kit? Just curious.

My biggest concern is loss of weights. If it can be deliberately ditched in 1 second, it can be inadvertently ditched as well. Most of my dives are in deco...that’s a bad day.

 

[TMHeimer]

My biggest concern is loss of weights. If it can be deliberately ditched in 1 second, it can be inadvertently ditched as well. Most of my dives are in deco...that’s a bad day.

I can see that for sure. I've lost 3 ten pound pocket weights (found 2....) over the years. Not a concern in 30 feet of water like most of my dives (ie., grab a rock), but quite a concern for you........

 

[rabe]

Random thoughts:
Snorkel: yes, but it depends on the dive location, site, condition, etc.
Weight bell: I don't use it anymore, but I think is important to learn how to use and how to dive with it. It is such a basic thing.

 

[Snoweman]

I think his anti quarter turn idea is flawed. If his reasoning is that somebody could easily close a cylinder and then open it only a quarter turn, couldn't they just as easily close it and forget it?

I was on a dive where the captain or mate turned on the air with a 1/4 turn back. The diver, not knowing this, turned it off with a 1/4 turn on. At 90' he had to go to his wife for her octo. My understanding is that the valves of the past could be damaged at wide open and not so any more.

Back inflate BCs tend to push you forward at the surface if you aren't experienced enough to get that worked out.

OMG..., First, I agree with you. To me, it's physics. What keeps you horizontal at depth is going to try to keep you horizontal at the surface. I got into a protracted battle with other posters about this and finally gave up. I will be curious if this starts a new war about how you can stay just as vertical at the surface with a wing as you can with a jacket BCD.

 

[TMHeimer]

Yeah I figured that's how the quarter turn thing was fatal. Too bad the crewman had to mess with someone's air, but I've read that does happen. Wouldn't happen with me. The one thing I'm dead sure of when boat diving is my air. I have to be since I rarely do boat dive. I turn it on and make sure nobody touches it. But I see your point -- another old topic about crew fiddling with divers' equipment figuring the diver is inexperienced and they don't want an accident.