working as a solo

[mnydvr]

Hey ,

I own and operate a dive service in central jersey,regs say a top man and support diver are mandatory,I do mostly bottom cleaning and repairs,lets be real,anytime your more then 10ft. away from a partner,your diving solo,some may argue that even when your with a partner at arms length,your still really solo.The work that guys like myself do is inherintly dangerous,and there really is no cert or training for it unless you go to comm. school,which really does'nt apply.my point is this,every time you get in the water ,you ARE solo,it takes years of experience to know what to do in a jamb,not training.What school is gonna' teach you to change a 24" prop in "0" vis and not drop the keyway.I love what I do and I've checked with every certing agency in the country,the only response I got was legal mumbo about how agencie do not reccommned or condemn what we do.As a diver for over twenty years,I can honestly say,I feel safer alone,I am only responsible for ME and I don't have to worry about anyone elses saftey but mine.That may sound cold,but imagine,really think about how it would be,your at 110-120ft,on a deco dive, all of a sudden someone grabs at your bc, spins you around,you look at them and see pure,uncut panic,then they grab the reg out of YOUR mouth,no thanks,that ACTUALLY happened to me,I'd rather go solo.

Whats your thoughts............................

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Much of the commerical work I do is done solo, or at best with a surface support person. If we do have 2 divers in the water it is same a lake, same project situation but by no means a diver and support diver situation. In my experience with vehicle recoveries, raising boats, etc, it's usually low viz or zero viz and done mostly by feel and another diver would just be in the way. In most of the big lifts we do we will rig them so that the air is sent down from the surface to the bags through a manifold and hoses so that the diver is on the surface and out of the way when the lift occurs. Being solo does not preclude being smart about what you are doing.

There are no local restrictions here on solo commercial diving but there are often agency restrictions. For example the Corp of Engineers has some pretty detailed requirements for commerical divers doing work for them (but the USDA/Forest Service does not). The irony with the Corp of Engineers is that they will have all kinds of restricitions, equipment requirements, staff requirements, etc designed to keep you safe but then will ask you to do something stupid like inspect the intake screen on one tunnel on a hydro electric plant while the two 15' diameter tunnels adjacent to it are running wide open sucking something like 4500 cu ft per second each. Apparently getting hickyied to death on an intake screen or worse, getting sucked through the intake tunnel, wicket gates and turbine in a hydro electric plant is not prohibited by Corp regulations.

 

[aquakiwi]

Here in NZ Occupational Safety and Health would crucify you if any commercial work was done alone, even Media diving (their term for U/W photograhy and film work) requires support. Rampant over regulation but a little hard to police

 

[ArcticDiver]

As long as you have met all the legal safety requirements established by your State and Local Governments I'd say to press forward. Mind you I'm not a commercial diver. But I am familiar with the havoc the untethered, and uncaring government OSHA type can wreak on you if all the rules aren't followed.

NOTE: Before anyone gets out the horsewhip; please read what I typed. This does not pertain to the many hard working and conciencious folks who do their best to serve the public.

Of course I'm not so hung up on the need to have someone else around when I dive as some are.

 

[budgy]

At the end of the day, most of us have to do what is pragmatic, people who make rules for others don't have that problem.

 

[WVDiver]

I understand your view as I too do a lot of low or no vis. work in dangerous waters. Some dives are completely solo and the rest are as you say solo because if you are more than a few feet away from your partner you may as well be solo, afterall you can't see them or know if they are ok.

We have recently started using the Neptune II full face masks with built in comm. units to make things a little safer. We can communicate diver to diver and also to a topside base station. With a safety diver and bubble watcher topside ready to deploy on a moments notice it does seem to help with safety matters. At least it is reassuring to know someone has a chance to get you out if you become entangled or otherwise immobile.

Although we are still trying to work out some of the bugs with the comm. units I think it will be an asset in the long run.