Neat Little Tricks Are Good to Know

[SubMariner]

Don't make me post a pic of me in pantyhose!

Not very pretty. It was in the Poconos in the 70's, so I had an excuse.

:lol:

We were on a liveaboard in the Red Sea a few years back. Although we were diving dry, everyone else (except their onboard Dive Guide) was diving wet. One of the guys had so much trouble getting into his 5mm wetsuit that I gave him a pair of pantyhose I had stashed in my dive bag. Worked at treat!

However, it did become something of a running joke [no pun intended] amongst us. In fact, when they put together the video tape of the trip, the Dive Guide made a point of putting a pair of pantyhose in front of the camera before videoing this fellow gearing up. You can plainly hear everyone laughing & him saying "Panyhose? PANYTYHOSE? I don't know what you're talking about" then breaking down laughing.

Point is they work. But lycra tights work better because they last longer.

 

[Buoyant1]

You can trim your mo with shears underwater if your mask isn't sealing properly.

I carry a stick of sunscreen in my mask case, and rub it on my "mo" before diving...makes a nice seal! (chapstick works as well)

 

[Hatul]

I never liked donning my gear with (short) tanks sitting on the benches during boat dives. To get the tank higher on the bench so I can sit in front of it, I took 2 tank boots and bolted them together on the bottom. Ground them out with coarse sandpaper so they would slide off the tank easily. Together, they will get the tank(s) to a comfortable height and I pull them off before the dive and leave them on the boat. This is also good for going Hogarthian but still being able to store the tank/rig vertically.

This is an interesting idea for those who dive with two band BC as sometimes the lower band interferes with the tank stand.

Adam

 

[Jax]

Lots of good tricks here.

The only one I have that I haven't seen....

On deep dives, spend an extra minute at your 15 or 20 foot stop. If you often feel tired after a dive or two, the extra time breathing off that Nitrogen will leave you feeling better the rest of the day.

Best one I heard was to spend 1 minute at the half-way point from max dept to the surface, then do a regular safety stop.

 

[Tropicalwolf]

- I put some folded tissues in d crevices of my uw cam case to absorb some trickles of water that sometimes managed get in.

Actually, tampons work better in camera housings.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I needed something to put in the back of my truck to keep tanks from rolling around, and so I made my own "tank rack" from some foam "noodles" purchased from a swimming pool supply shop, and a bit of 1/4" nylon rope. Just cut the noodles in half, poke holes thru either end, thread the rope through making a "ladder" with the noodles as steps, and tie the ends of the rope together.

Cheap, light weight, works great.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

A trick I use is: Turn my air on, test my reg, inflate my BC, watch my SPG on final reg check. Not really a trick, just a routine I adhere to, to assure I have air before entering the water. I also have my rig setup so I can reach my valve.

Based on your post, I think I do something similar. After all my checks, and my buddy checks, I breathe 5-6 good breaths of my main reg. and watch the anolog gauge. If it stays put on 3000 pounds, I know I'm good.

You can try it topside sometime, maybe during a SIT time or pre-dive. Set your gear up and turn your gas on. Then turn it off. Breathe all the air out of the reg, and note how many breaths it takes to get to zero. At one or two breaths, you should see your gauge starting to drop. By 5, it should be out. So, if you breathe a few breaths off the reg before you enter, and your gauge stays put, your tank(s) are on.

As mentioned above about the OP, you can 'twist' a tank to reach the valve, but us double tank divers are out of luck.

Safe diving to you.

 

[Rhone Man]

- I put some folded tissues in d crevices of my uw cam case to absorb some trickles of water that sometimes managed get in.

I am going to officially b1tch about this tip. I tried this over the weekend, and being the dufus I am, the corner of the tissue crossed the o-ring seal and the camera flooding when I hit about 50 feet (sneakily it didn't flood when I checked it just under the surface because the pressure was insufficient).

Yes I know that it is really my fault, but I wish that I had never read the suggestion all the same.

 

[TimKy]

(sneakily it didn't flood when I checked it just under the surface because the pressure was insufficient).

I have always wondered about the boat crew asking me if I want to dunk my camera in the freshwater tank before a dive to check for leaks. I've always figured it would have to be a pretty major problem for it to show up in a few inches or feet of water. Luckily, I have never flooded my camera yet. Out of curiosity, does it usually happen quickly once it starts?

 

[Rhone Man]

Out of curiosity, does it usually happen quickly once it starts?

Hell yes. From 0 to about 40% full in a sideways glance.