Solo scootering?

[LeadTurn_SD]

Just curious if any folks here had done solo scootering, and what their thoughts were on gas planning, handling a scooter failure without a buddy to tow you back, etc.

This is purely out of curiosity; I've never had the opportunity to try a scooter, and I am very unlikely to own one in the near future (but if I ever win the Lottery.... ).

Best wishes.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have ... but not in an overhead environment.

I solo scooter the same way I solo dive ... always carry a redundant air source, plan my dive conservatively, and give some thought to what CAN go wrong, and what I'd do about it if it did.

Mostly if I am scootering alone I'm not going anyplace I wouldn't be able to surface swim back to shore from ... even if it'd be a long slog to shore. My last solo scooter dive was in Burrows Pass, at a dive site called Skyline. On that dive I was using it as "insurance" against current, since the currents there can be wicked and not always predictable. Turned out I needed it, and was barely able to make headway against the current even with the scoot. Had it died, I'd have gone upslope into very shallow water to get out of the worst of the current and probably pull-n-glided my way back to the dive site entry.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[marchand]

When I scooter solo I at the least want enough reserve gas to swim out and have a regulator fail. If the scooter fails I'll leave it clipped to the line and come back for it later.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I've been lucky enough to work for three resort operators, at 4 neighboring resorts. Each operator had/has 4-5 operational scooters, and due to leading scooter dives on a regular basis, I knew which scooters and batteries were the most dependable (or the fastest ).

At all 4 locations I regularly took off on solo scooter dives, mostly slow afternoons, but a few slow mornings and mid-days too. Operator #2 had 100 cft's at both locations and #3 has a couple lp 95's that sometimes have 3000 psi. :shocked2:

All I can say is since I know I can get tourists to the St. Anthony in 13 minutes and it is ~400 yards off shore, a half hour straight out is over a half a mile off shore. Well I guess I could also say that there are some overhangs on the off-shore side of the deep reef more than a half mile off Wailea beach that are at 125 fsw.

Here is my math on the risk;

dead scooter half mile off shore - head to shore ascending to SS depth, swim back towards shore @ 15' towing scooter until low on air, surface swim the rest of the way; current might mean I land in Makena but I will make it to land.

catastrophic gas situation half mile off shore and 125' down - scooter powered ascent no faster than 60 fps, then backside surface superman-ing to shore.

I have ended up with a very weak scooter at the St. Anthony, and two guests. I kicked the weak scooter to shore but could not maintain course due to current, so we hit shore 1/4 mile south of my target; had to comp that trip. :depressed:

When this octo grabbed my reg at 80 fsw, more than 500 yds off shore, that's the only time I had second thoughts.

80 ft Octo - halemano's Photos- powered by SmugMug





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[Dive-aholic]

I solo scooter on a regular basis, but it's all in caves. I scooter to get places and usually drop the scooter and swim beyond to explore new-to-me passage. One thing I have done is scooter back to a known point. turn the dive and swim out on a stage bottle pushing the scooter in front of me just to confirm I can swim out from that penetration point on a stage. When I solo scooter I always take a buddy bottle with me for that purpose.

 

[DennisS]

I tow a large boogie board as a surface float. If the scooter floods I can float it back by attaching it underneath the board (in theory), never tried.

 

[kanonfodr]

Halemano,

So lemme get this straight: You were solo scootering, 500 yards in and 80 feet down when a Giant Octopus decides he wants to play Tug of War with your appendages. Of all the things that could have ran through your mind, the greatest one was "This is Kodak Moment for sure!!!"

I for one am honored to be in your electronic presence. Do you carry a wheel barrow with you underwater as well??

Peace,
Greg

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Thanks very much the replies so far.

Halemano: Cool pics!

Question:

Have any of you measured your scooter's cruising speed vs your personal swimming speed? Or is that overkill, and do you instead use more of a "guesstimate" and just not push the envelope as far as range goes?

From an open water, shore dive perspective:

Having never scootered, I'm guessing "run time" becomes a critical thing to monitor (beyond the usual need to monitor bottom time); for example if I knew my typical easy cruising swim speed across the reef is 50'/min, but the scooter "cruises" at >100'/min, I'd need to carefully consider any "out and back" reef exploration that could leave me twice as far as normal from the exit point if the scooter died at the turn point...

Best wishes.

 

[DennisS]

The first time I used my scooter I just zipped right on past where I usually stop and dive (first reef line). I covered a lot of sand bottom without seeing anything interesting so I surfaced. I was amazed how far offshore I was. It gave me a new respect for the scooter and I realized how easy it was to get in trouble. I was on the throttle maybe 10-15 minutes.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Thanks very much the replies so far.

Question:

Have any of you measured your scooter's cruising speed vs your personal swimming speed? Or is that overkill, and do you instead use more of a "guesstimate" and just not push the envelope as far as range goes?

In a cave where there are line arrows every 100', this is easy. My usual swimming speed is 50 fpm. I can swim faster, but that also increases my gas consumption rate. Depending on the scooter I'm using, I can do anywhere from 100 fpm to 200 fpm against flow.