Is it a major hassle to transport your own tanks over to the Island on the Ferry? If I come this weekend, I'll have gear bags, luggage etc. and am considering bringing one of my tanks for shore dives on Sunday. I use HP Steel tanks otherwise I wouldn't bother. Lisa
Tanks on Catalina Express
- Thread starter LisaP
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mccabejc
Contributor
Other than having to lug your tanks from the car to the boat, then to wherever you're going when you get there, it's not much of a hassle. To me that's hassle enough to just rent when I get there.
Actually it seems to me like most divers lug their own tanks. The Catalina Express I take from Long Beach usually has a rack for tanks on the stern where you stow your dive gear. When you arrive at Avalon, you can go over to the Catalina Baggage and Storage (310-510-0766) office just past the ticket counter and they will take all your gear to either the Casino or wherever you want. Costs a few bucks per bag as I recall.
Actually it seems to me like most divers lug their own tanks. The Catalina Express I take from Long Beach usually has a rack for tanks on the stern where you stow your dive gear. When you arrive at Avalon, you can go over to the Catalina Baggage and Storage (310-510-0766) office just past the ticket counter and they will take all your gear to either the Casino or wherever you want. Costs a few bucks per bag as I recall.
We hauled one tank a piece onto the express. They have portable (ie not bolted down) tank holders in those large storage bins on the bow, but due to space and the vicinity of us diving at Casino Pt to the little fill station there we only needed one. You can rent from the fill station too, but i would worry that they might run out of tanks through the day if you got there on a later crossing. Dont know what other diving there is on the island or that you might want to do and if logistics make one-tanking a problem.
I've taken my steel tank across. I just put mine on one of those little luggage rollers, the kind that folds up. Then I don't have to carry it, I just roll it. When you give them your baggage, Catalina Express will ask you to take your weights out of your luggage. I just put my weights in a 'weight carry bag' and then use the bungies on the luggage roller to strap the weights against my tank.
sapphire
Contributor
You can rent AL80's, steel 72's and steel 63's? at Casino Point. A few things to remember, on the Catalina Express you can only make one trip to the boat, so you have to be able to drag/haul/tote everything you bring in that one trip. Also, on busier days, you might be waiting longer to have your personal tank filled, when if you are renting you can just swap an empty tank for a full one...
happy diving!
jennifer
happy diving!
jennifer
sapphire
Contributor
LisaP:
Now you see why, even though I love my HP100, I rent tanks when I take the ferry to Catalina!! I am not sure why they have that rule, but I have seen it enforced... it may be a security thing, like if you were to go in and out of a gate area in an airport, leaving bags on either side... more likely it is to prevent someone from getting in without paying...
I have seen many ingenious contraptions for hauling dive gear and luggage. Rolling tubs with a slot for a tank, upright carts with tanks bungeed in back, dive bag in front. You can use a two-wheeled cart, but not a 4-wheeled one...
If you have a rolling bag, and backpack, that may work. I have also seen people wearing their BC with their tank strapped in as a backpack, and rolling everything else.
Just some ideas...
jennifer
It's so the little boys who work there can look cool and authoritative in front of any girls who might be watching them. It's a stupid rule, and they enforce it strictly in Avalon, not so much on the mainland.LisaP:
I 2nd everything she said. I usually bring my own tank, using bungee cords and a fold up baggage carrier I got from Target. I leave my weights on the carrier as well. I like to take the 6:15 boat over, and the rental van isn't open until after I've completed my first dive.
If you use a rolling bag for all your other stuff, you can lug everything off the boat in or or two trips. I put all my clothes, etc. in a backpack and wear it while loading and unloading. I push the tank ahead of me while pulling the rolling bag behind me. Turning all the corners and going up a ramp takes a bit of getting used to, but it's otherwise fine. I just leave the tank strapped to the roller, and stuff weights behien the wheels to keep it from rolling on the boat trips.
If you use a rolling bag for all your other stuff, you can lug everything off the boat in or or two trips. I put all my clothes, etc. in a backpack and wear it while loading and unloading. I push the tank ahead of me while pulling the rolling bag behind me. Turning all the corners and going up a ramp takes a bit of getting used to, but it's otherwise fine. I just leave the tank strapped to the roller, and stuff weights behien the wheels to keep it from rolling on the boat trips.
Nay
Contributor
Something else to consider are the hours of op for the little truck at the point during the winter. I don't know what they are off hand but it might hamper some plans.
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