solo safety drill?

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novadiver

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I make it a habit to do a safty drill before every dive. This practice insures I never enter the water with my gas off, gear that I can't reach, lights that don't work, BC and drtsuit hoses connected, Reels in place ect.

I'd like to know how other diver do there safety drills , so feel free to offer any advice so I can choose whats best and safest for me.

Thanks in advance, NOVA
 
I find I must do everything EXACTLY the same, every time. Al steps in the same order, all done just the same way.

Then, I recheck everything after it's ready. Then I recheck everything at the entry point. Then I recheck everything (including making sure I can reach all the valves and verify their position) as soon as I'm in the water, before I descend.

=Steve=
 
spthomas:
I find I must do everything EXACTLY the same, every time. Al steps in the same order, all done just the same way.

Then, I recheck everything after it's ready. Then I recheck everything at the entry point. Then I recheck everything (including making sure I can reach all the valves and verify their position) as soon as I'm in the water, before I descend.

=Steve=
Thanks steve. Do you count as you're gearing up, so if you come up lite you know you missed something?
 
More relevant than whether you can reach your valves, which you should always be able to do, is making sure your air is on, and that your B/C is partially inflated, before you go near the water. In addition, you should always have an alternate air source with you, whether your buddy's octo, or an independent system of your own.

I would not rely on being able to reach your valves in lieu of the above.
 
I take a pilots approach. I'm currently having a plastic slate printed that has a 21 step checklist that I run down before diving. Pilots may have flown thousands of hours, but even the old salts still perform a checklist out of a book. Best way to stay repetitive.

Even through it's taught in OW to do the check mentally, everyone always forgets something at some point.
 
As I have stated in an earlier post when this forum opened, I always plan each dive as solo (buddied up or actual solo) and go through a very ridgid mental and visual inspection of my gear and where everything is at and should be. I always without fail check to see if I can reach my reg bunjeed out of the way from entanglement hazard around my 13cf pony bottle. And always check to see if both of my knifes and shears are where their suppose to be (one leg, one shoulder, one waist). I always check both tanks to make sure that they are on and breathe off of them to make absolute sure. I have at least two visuals done on my tanks a year because of my nearly constant diving activities, and fills from so many different compressors, this gives me a little added assurance that my tanks do not have any contaminants in them. I inflate my bc a couple of times before every heading to the water to make sure that it is working properly. I check my shoulder light and my surge light to make sure that if I need them they will provide me with adequate light. If it's a night dive or I am going deep and know that I need my primary light they same check of it. As a general rule of thumb I just change the batteries with new ones right before every dive. Batteries are cheap compared to needing the light and it not be sufficient.
This is my basic and most primary gear up proccedure and has served me well for many dives.
 
I too take the check list approach. I beleive that the palest ink is better tyhan the best memory.

I have the checklist printed on Sunflower yellow paper and liminated (KINKOS for $2.00).

I use a grease pencil to amrk the checklist as I gear up and then I read the checklist as a final check before entry.

I then check all equipment position etc BEFORE I descend.
 
I may end up in the end adopting this written check list, seems like a very good ideal as was stated about the pilots check list.
 
novadiver:
I make it a habit to do a safty drill before every dive. This practice insures I never enter the water with my gas off, gear that I can't reach, lights that don't work, BC and drtsuit hoses connected, Reels in place ect.
I go head to toe and call out each piece of gear. As I move from piece to piece I check to see if it's working and/or in the proper place. My buddy does the same and echos things back as we go. I'm sure you could adapt this to solo diving by bringing a full length mirror with you.
 
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