AN/DP for a Sidemount Diver from a non-Sidemount Instructor

[rjack321]

I know from experience there are a fair many sidemount divers just over the border in BC. I would assume they come with instructors. It may be an easier trip than ProTec.

I know them, sometimes I dive with them. Most are not trimix trained and dive in the 20-120ft range on nitrox. They are almost all trained on SM in MX (with Natalie). The few that are OC trimix divers, do their deeper dives in backmounted doubles - right tool for the job here.

 

[MrBlenny]

I know from experience there are a fair many sidemount divers just over the border in BC. I would assume they come with instructors. It may be an easier trip than ProTec.

Hmmm...I'm pretty set on using ProTec for training, but I'm heading up the Horseshoe bay next month to dive, so I'll be sure to talk to the folks a Sea Dragon about who dives SM there; maybe I'll find some new buddies

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Hmmm...I pretty set on using ProTec for training, but I'm heading up the Horseshoe bay next month to dive, so I'll be sure to talk to the folks a Sea Dragon about who dives SM there; maybe I'll find some new buddies

Talk to John Nunes. He's one of Natalie's cave students, dives a Razor, teaches trimix if I'm not mistaken.

 

[MrBlenny]

You could leave a set of tanks at Hoodsport & Dive for fills and get them another weekend. Or Eight in Des Moines or Under watersports on Aurora Ave (north seattle) depending on what your plans happen to be. The reality is that once you start deco diving you need a lot more tanks - in part for different mixes, in part because you aren't going to get fills while you wait. So dropping off and picking up multiple sets of tanks is the new reality.

You could also convince your local shop to blend it for you - perhaps if you buy the supply bottle. Or what many of us do is end up with a compressor at home as it saves a ton of driving around in traffic.

I think TDI heliox allows up to 20% helium but I might be mistaken on that. Honestly its pretty skimpy on a wreck like the PB4Y at 148ft in 8ft vis (Lake Washington). You will struggle to find competent buddies willing to dive with someone on air even at 150ft. Extended range? Yea that isn't happening here anymore. I.e. nobody wants to have to watch over you like a hawk worried you're going to do something dumb and wack us both.

I'm already working on my cylinder collection, with two AL80's lined up in addition to the 117's (and yes, I realize I will end up with many, many more). I didn't realize that Hoodsport and Dive did helium, which is good to know as I drive by often heading to Sund Rock. In the end, I expect I will give in and buy a compressor, but one step at a time. Incidentally, what compressor do you have, and do you bank?

 

[rjack321]

I'm already working on my cylinder collection, with two AL80's lined up in addition to the 117's (and yes, I realize I will end up with many, many more). I didn't realize that Hoodsport and Dive did helium, which is good to know as I drive by often heading to Sund Rock. In the end, I expect I will give in and buy a compressor, but one step at a time. Incidentally, what compressor do you have, and do you bank?

Sund Rock would be a waste of helium lol
Gas Blending
$1.25/cf for helium is actually pretty damn competitive at the moment.

There are a couple of decent 130~160ft range sites in hood canal. Flag pole, Rosie's Ravine and Pulali Point. The wreck of the general and dalco wall are both doable with AN/DP+ helium. PB4Y, Harpoon, Valient, and Dawn in Lake WA. None of those would be air dives to me (each for different reasons)

I haven't done an OC trimix dive in 5+years, I am exclusively CCR beyond rec depths at this point, sorry. I do bank 32% but only for single OC tanks and the rare occasion when I refill a bailout bottle. I use standard gases which are all 32% topoffs (25/25, 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 12/65, and 10/70)

About the only thing the al80s are good for is rec dives and deco bottle IMO. 145cf of gas is not adequate at 150ft in Puget Sound or Lake WA. Most people I dive with use an 80 of 50% at your target cert level. SM 117s are fat and honesty annoying but maybe you'll like them. Most of my OC SM dives are on hp100s or lp85s, the 85s are the nicest SM tanks IMO but only if you shop is willing to actually fill them decently - which is rare around here.

 

[MrBlenny]

Sund Rock would be a waste of helium lol
Gas Blending
$1.25/cf for helium is actually pretty damn competitive at the moment.

There are a couple of decent 130~160ft range sites in hood canal. Flag pole, Rosie's Ravine and Pulali Point. The wreck of the general and dalco wall are both doable with AN/DP+ helium. PB4Y, Harpoon, Valient, and Dawn in Lake WA. None of those would be air dives to me (each for different reasons)

I haven't done an OC trimix dive in 5+years, I am exclusively CCR beyond rec depths at this point, sorry. I do bank 32% but only for single OC tanks and the rare occasion when I refill a bailout bottle. I use standard gases which are all 32% topoffs (25/25, 21/35, 18/45, 15/55, 12/65, and 10/70)

About the only thing the al80s are good for is rec dives and deco bottle IMO. 145cf of gas is not adequate at 150ft in Puget Sound or Lake WA. Most people I dive with use an 80 of 50% at your target cert level. SM 117s are fat and honesty annoying but maybe you'll like them. Most of my OC SM dives are on hp100s or lp85s, the 85s are the nicest SM tanks IMO but only if you shop is willing to actually fill them decently - which is rare around here.

Agree about helium at Sund--meant that I go by frequently and so could pick up for other dives

I'm familiar with Flag Pole and Pulali, but not Rosie's Ravine, I'll have to look it up.

And yes, the AL80s are for rec dives or stage bottles. I toyed with ordering 133's, but at 5' 9" I'm a bit too short for the big bottles... Ditto for 120's, and my shop doesn't do cave fills, so LP isn't worth the trouble.

As mentioned earlier, I'll most likely end up on a rebreather, but I need to earn my stripes first. I'm hoping to find a fellow photographer who's willing to do some shallower (~100fsw) deco dives, as photography is one of the driving reasons behind my interest in getting AN/DP. There are few things more annoying than a missed photo because of NDL concerns.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Agree about helium at Sund--meant that I go by frequently and so could pick up for other dives

I'm familiar with Flag Pole and Pulali, but not Rosie's Ravine, I'll have to look it up.

And yes, the AL80s are for rec dives or stage bottles. I toyed with ordering 133's, but at 5' 9" I'm a bit too short for the big bottles... Ditto for 120's, and my shop doesn't do cave fills, so LP isn't worth the trouble.

As mentioned earlier, I'll most likely end up on a rebreather, but I need to earn my stripes first. I'm hoping to find a fellow photographer who's willing to do some shallower (~100fsw) deco dives, as photography is one of the driving reasons behind my interest in getting AN/DP. There are few things more annoying than a missed photo because of NDL concerns.

Where are you located? While the wife and I just had a daughter, I'm hoping to spend some weekends at my family's beach house along the Hood Canal west of Belfair state park this winter and sneak over to the west side of the canal for some diving.

 

[rjack321]

And yes, the AL80s are for rec dives or stage bottles. I toyed with ordering 133's, but at 5' 9" I'm a bit too short for the big bottles... Ditto for 120's, and my shop doesn't do cave fills, so LP isn't worth the trouble.
.

I'm the same height as you.

Honestly you will do better here in backmount. Then you can just grab any random set of doubles and basically they work. Including 119s and 130s which are annoyingly fat in SM - and hang heavy. As doubles? no big deal. Diving SM something like 119s of nitrox off a boat will totally suck.

I have SMed 130s, they are fine with 18/45 or more in them. I can still do 2x 200ft on one fill though which is a bit silly to carry enough gas for 2 trimix dives. For recreation dives its like 2+hrs worth of gas and crazy heavy.

 

[MrBlenny]

Where are you located? While the wife and I just had a daughter, I'm hoping to spend some weekends at my family's beach house along the Hood Canal west of Belfair state park this winter and sneak over to the west side of the canal for some diving.

First off, congratulations on the new family member!

Second, diving with you would be great, but I want to clarify that I am taking my SM and Cave course with Protec this January, so I'm not quite tec certified yet I do presently dive BP/W with a single and pony, and manage my drysuit properly. I'm located near Vancouver WA.

 

[MrBlenny]

I'm the same height as you.

Honestly you will do better here in backmount. Then you can just grab any random set of doubles and basically they work. Including 119s and 130s which are annoyingly fat in SM - and hang heavy. As doubles? no big deal. Diving SM something like 119s of nitrox off a boat will totally suck.

I have SMed 130s, they are fine with 18/45 or more in them. I can still do 2x 200ft on one fill though which is a bit silly to carry enough gas for 2 trimix dives. For recreation dives its like 2+hrs worth of gas and crazy heavy.

It's definitely good to have options, and my present kit supports twinsets, so I could see going there at some point, especially if the boat captain dislikes SM. I rented 133's last weekend and kept whacking my head in a single configuration, which turned me off on the height, but I guess that would be less of an issue with a twinset as the isolator would be in that space instead, only further back? Also, thanks for all the input!