Diving an inflatable: Questions

[cmburch]

SpearBoard also has many discussions in the California section on inflatable usage, anchors, kelp diving, etc.

 

[ektess1]

2 stroke engines weigh less than 4 stroke engines. However, 4 stroke engines don't dump oil into the water like 2 strokes do. If you want to enjoy the ocean we have and want it to get healthier, stay away from 2 stroke engines.

 

[cmburch]

Be nicer to the environment. Stay away from combustion engines and fossil fuel, Get an Ocean Kayak from Craigslist. Great for SCUBA and freediving Monterey, Sonoma, Mendocino. And carry a plastic shopping bag to help clean up the beach or cliffs a little on the way back to the car after a dive.

 

[GradyDiver]

2 stroke engines weigh less than 4 stroke engines. However, 4 stroke engines don't dump oil into the water like 2 strokes do. If you want to enjoy the ocean we have and want it to get healthier, stay away from 2 stroke engines.

Four stroke are also quieter and don't have the thick exhaust of two strokes. I had an Evinrude 150HP VRO 2-stroke on my last boat and you could choke from the exhaust. If you can handle the additional cost and weight, four stroke is the way to go. It doesn't hurt that they're more reliable as well.

 

[Nemrod]

2 stroke engines weigh less than 4 stroke engines. However, 4 stroke engines don't dump oil into the water like 2 strokes do. If you want to enjoy the ocean we have and want it to get healthier, stay away from 2 stroke engines.

Well, the Evinrude ETec and Mercury Optimax are two and three star rated engines, they do not pollute any more than do the four strokes, the total environmental impact is the same, net for a year of useage. They are also extremely fuel efficient, more so than many four strokes and the ETecs are very quiet as are the Gen II Optis.

Thing is we are talking about a small--SMALL--inflatbale that will be required to be portable according to the OP by two to four people. A four stroke 25 horse is 50 percent heavier than the two stroke Yamaha or older Merc 25.

The environmental sensitivity I applaud, let's begin with no more spear fishing, no more energy consumption, no more air conditioning, scrap your car to the landfill (don't sell it), don't purchase Chinese products, don't buy groceries in plastic, don't buy any over packaged products (DVDs, CDs etc) and certainly no more dive gear which is replete with environmental stinkiosity being made from petrochemical plastics, composites and all sorts of bad chemicals that kill pretty little fishes and furry animals.

Environmentalism is a good thing but let's direct our efforts where it matters and counts where there is real impact rather than outlawing sunscreen and fiussing over a miniscule amount of oil from a tiny little 25 horse outboard. Like building restictions on condos, automobile guzzler taxes, mass consumption of portable fuels to make electricty and fertilzer runoff and beef production which itself has a huge negative enviromental impact. Yep, them burgers your woofing down have more impact that the guy with the 25 horse two stroke. When you spear a fish, push that 100 years into the future, you just killed generations of fish and limited the gene pool. That fish might have been the one with a benificial gene that could have made a difference for the species health. Don't bore me with false feel good and do nothing environmentalism.:no

N

 

[603doug]

Dive year round in new hampshire in my 18 ft rib. Been 20 miles offshore no problems. We also tend to go out when other stay home and I have to say she handled the seas great but after a couple of hrs of going airborne your glad to see the entrance of the river. Needed to have one 30 years ago when we were to stupid to fell the pain

 

[ebj]

I wouldn't be too concerned with buying a used inflatable as long as it is made of Hypalon. I picked up a 1987 Achilles 14ft off Craigslist earlier this year that has been great for lake diving. I'll leave it on the trailer for now and will deflate it and store it in the garage this winter.

 

[Nemrod]

ebj, that reminds me of my first inflatable so much and the trailer and everything, beautiful set up you have there. Hope you enjoy it. We would put ours in from the east end of Stewart Beach and head out to the first line of rigs, we even made it a few times. The ones you can see--if they are still there. Have not been to the Big H in years. Also, so good to see so many guys nowadays diving twin hose, good job.

N

 

[dannobee]

I'll take you out in my 10 footer sometime to see if you like it. It has transom mounted beach wheels and a 10 hp 2 stroker on the back. A transom mounted gas tank and a seat with storage underneath round out the thing. It has a "big boat" GPS/fishfinder combo unit (Lowrance LMS 336DF) on it that mounts to a RAM mount on the seat. Everything sets up in about 10-15 minutes. I have a 12v powered inflator that plugs into the cig lighter in my truck.

Mine rolls up and you could store it in a closet if need be. The floor is a one piece plywood thing, but there are roll up floors available. Mine was actually retrofitted to a plywood floor, and it makes for a stable platform.

Generally, you set up your gear on shore, then throw it in after the boat is in water. The boat will get too heavy if you try it any other way. You can gear up in the boat or throw your kit overboard with a tag line attached, then kit up in the water. I find the latter to be more comfortable.

Getting back into the boat is different than other boats. Clip the tag line to your kit, then doff your kit Take off your weight belt or weights, then toss them over the tube. Keep your fins on, then kick up into the boat, doing a half twist once you've cleared the tube. It's easier than it sounds (and is a LOT easier than a rope ladder, IMHO).

You won't need a very big anchor. Mine is a 4 lb collapsible grappling style with 6 ft of chain. 1/4" nylon rode, 200 ft long. This works very well in Monterey/Carmel and actually hooks HARD most of the time. I've never had the anchor slip (but I do check it on the descent).

Two people in it is ideal, three is definitely do-able, but it runs out of room before capacity (I think the rating is 1100 lbs or something). If you're thinking about a 4 person boat, you'll need something bigger, and generally those take a trailer and aren't practical to roll up and store.

 

[dannobee]

Here's a pic of mine. The anchor, manual pump, tag lines, kayak bilge pump, battery for the GPS (motorcycle battery in a little pelican case) all fit inside the storage unit under the seat. The PVC pipe is for the GPS antenna and doubles as the dive flag "pole."

Picasa Web Albums - dannobee - Point Lobos W...

Let me know if you're interested in diving sometime. I'd be more than happy to take you out to Point Lobos or somewhere else in Carmel.