SE Florida for timid beginner, early March

[Schwob]

Flag info here...Florida Boating Regulations
Go big or go home. Boaters are ignorant of this for the most part.
I diy'ed mine. It's 42" above waterline. I always use it. I solo a lot so there is that, but will use it in groups as well that already have couple buoys. The more the better, plus if I stay longer etc, I still have one.
You can rent one at Gold Coast Scuba on Commercial in LBTS

Thanks & thanks for the link (sizes and all there)., aparrently minimum of 12x12" if diver or snorkler towed and 20x24" if on a boat... and it looks like one per buddy pair will do (stay within 100' of flag).

Whoa, 42" above waterline... You tow a bigger float or have some serious counter weighting going on.

The rinky dink inflatable diver down flag toy I have looks in comparison just like, well, a toy. (so badly so I may not even bring it and get something "real". I agree, better visible is better visible... except for those idiots looking for PWC slalom buoys...

 

[Ghetto Diver]

Don't get me started with the jethole crowd.
No heavy counter weight needed....when towed and you are under it, it is upright. Like the really tall ones some of the FLL charters use. It definitely dances around which is what I want

I go as far as 3rd reef sometimes.....this is the boat version of I95

 

[Schwob]

I go as far as 3rd reef sometimes.....this is the boat version of I95

Yeah, but of course it would make sense to just not surface on I95...
...
I never really understood the flag rules for when deeper than 30', but there is a lot of shallow area in FL, so overall I can see why it became a flag rule and not a "deploy thy SMB prior to surfacing" rule.

Your build looks straight forward to me. Styrofoam float, fiberglass pole, PVC pipe with weight, flag high up... and maybe a take apart compression fitting or such above the float?

Edit: Good point about the "dancing".

 

[Ghetto Diver]

This has had several evolutions
Take apart is below the float (I drive a clown car...too big to fit inside) My first one was torn apart by snorkelers and I reused the bottom portion (the top part floated away). Keep it light above the float...I used a fiberglass rod from a driveway reflector from Lowes. Use the dense foam, not the more common soft kind. I am a hotglue nut....foam is glued to pvc as well as the rod to pvc.
Had some lady make snide remarks about my flag....I told her never......EVER....mock a mans flag pole and dove on.

 

[scubadada]

Consider using Jupiter Dive Center in Jupiter or Narcosis in West Palm, both put a DM in the water with a flag. You can ascend with the DM or on your own SMB. In Boynton Beach, you have your own flag or go with another group.

 

[Ghetto Diver]

^Jupiter and timid don't mix

 

[bladder]

I am in the process of scheduling a Keys diving trip and a Boynton Beach diving trip, the latter in early March. I was shocked to find the prices in the Keys to be so expensive, admittedly I hadn't been there in years but you can expect to pay upwards of $250 per nite for anything decent in either place. After reading a lot of reviews about places in Boyton and West/North Palm beach there seems to be a definite line between low end hotels that people actually live in, with a heavy presence of law enforcement for around $100-$120 per night and a decent 4-5 star hotel in a nicer area for double that.

Hey if you're going diving the weekend of March 9th I can give you more info about our planned trip, you could join us. We're doing a day in Boynton and another in North Palm beach, doing mostly wrecks.

If you see my other thread, I have an issue with Dive Ops who will cancel last minute if they don't have enough divers. I found one in Boynton and one in North Palm who won't do that.

 

[Schwob]

I am in the process of scheduling a Keys diving trip and a Boynton Beach diving trip, the latter in early March. I was shocked to find the prices in the Keys to be so expensive, admittedly I hadn't been there in years but you can expect to pay upwards of $250 per nite for anything decent in either place. After reading a lot of reviews about places in Boyton and West/North Palm beach there seems to be a definite line between low end hotels that people actually live in, with a heavy presence of law enforcement for around $100-$120 per night and a decent 4-5 star hotel in a nicer area for double that.

Hey if you're going diving the weekend of March 9th I can give you more info about our planned trip, you could join us. We're doing a day in Boynton and another in North Palm beach, doing mostly wrecks.

If you see my other thread, I have an issue with Dive Ops who will cancel last minute if they don't have enough divers. I found one in Boynton and one in North Palm who won't do that.

Seen the other thread. And we will be either thereabout or near Key Largo that weekend. But boat diving wrecks... unless less fairly shallow (certainly 60' to the sand or quite less) is not my wife's cup of tea just yet... but I might be up to it... the other half of the day, the half she does'nt dive...
So, I appreciate the offer and sure will look at your info if you PM it.

 

[bladder]

I've found that afternoon diving in the Keys is somewhat spotty. Some Ops don't go out at all, others do, especially the larger Ops such as Rainbow Reef and Ocean Divers but they book up because the smaller guys aren't running trips, but even those Ops tend to do reefs in the afternoon not wrecks. It's something you really need to research and plan ahead for.

Now it's been a while since I've dived in the Keys but I used to go all the time, if anything the problem is going to be worse because there are less shops than there used to be. It's rather shocking to go back to my old notes and call dive shops or try to visit their websites and find them gone.

 

[Flotsam]

I agree with holding off on Jupiter until she feels more confident. My husband's just a few dives into picking up diving again, and found the "dive dive dive" rush to enter the water, and submerging asap, pretty stressful. And the current can make the challenging to newer divers... We did the Okinawa, Copenhagen, and reefs off Pompano in Dec, and those worked better for him

That said, the water at Blue Heron and off Jupiter was warmer this weekend than I expected, I would have been ok in my 5mm (75-76F). So check the temps right before your trip to see which suits you need