tylerdives
New
I'm aware of the thread "Boat Diving With Nobody at Surface;" however, I'm interested in hearing how those that do boat dive without surface support mitigate the risk (and frankly, I'm just trying to get to the minimum thread count to post gear for sale on the classifieds).
Personally, I dive off of a 16ft Zodiac and limit myself to only very good conditions (wind, waves, and current). I also carry a PLB as well as visual and audible signaling devices (giant SMB and whistle).
Most often, I am wreck diving somewhere that has a mooring (usually only one mooring per wreck around here). I tie in from a bow cleat and then also attach a (large) spool of 5/32 Dyneema to the bow eye (dampened with bungee), which I spool out on the way down, being careful to inspect the quality of the mooring line as well. Somewhere above the wreck, I attach a small weight to the Dyneema line and let the line out so the weight is directly underneath the boat (down wind/current). Then I tie the spool off to the wreck. On the way up, I just do everything in reverse, spooling up as I go. As I see it, the benefits are: - redundancy over the single mooring line, and drawbacks are: - potential entanglement hazard for other boats with lines between my boat and the wreck (which is very unlikely, and still the case with the single mooring line), and also potential for the spool to wrap around the mooring line in light/variable wind/current (I can always unwrap it as I ascend).
Less often, I am diving a medium distance from shore over rocky bottom. I drop an oversized anchor with a minimum of 7:1 scope, dive the anchor, and reposition as needed to secure it. Usually this means wedging it under a rock, between boulders, or tying the chain on to something.
My least frequently used and least favorite anchoring method is in sand. I am only over sand when I am very close to shore. I just put out a ton of scope.
Are any of my mitigation techniques liabilities than I haven't realized? What do you do?
Personally, I dive off of a 16ft Zodiac and limit myself to only very good conditions (wind, waves, and current). I also carry a PLB as well as visual and audible signaling devices (giant SMB and whistle).
Most often, I am wreck diving somewhere that has a mooring (usually only one mooring per wreck around here). I tie in from a bow cleat and then also attach a (large) spool of 5/32 Dyneema to the bow eye (dampened with bungee), which I spool out on the way down, being careful to inspect the quality of the mooring line as well. Somewhere above the wreck, I attach a small weight to the Dyneema line and let the line out so the weight is directly underneath the boat (down wind/current). Then I tie the spool off to the wreck. On the way up, I just do everything in reverse, spooling up as I go. As I see it, the benefits are: - redundancy over the single mooring line, and drawbacks are: - potential entanglement hazard for other boats with lines between my boat and the wreck (which is very unlikely, and still the case with the single mooring line), and also potential for the spool to wrap around the mooring line in light/variable wind/current (I can always unwrap it as I ascend).
Less often, I am diving a medium distance from shore over rocky bottom. I drop an oversized anchor with a minimum of 7:1 scope, dive the anchor, and reposition as needed to secure it. Usually this means wedging it under a rock, between boulders, or tying the chain on to something.
My least frequently used and least favorite anchoring method is in sand. I am only over sand when I am very close to shore. I just put out a ton of scope.
Are any of my mitigation techniques liabilities than I haven't realized? What do you do?