Advanced Hand Signaling

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

FireInMyBones

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
973
Reaction score
22
Location
Greenville, SC
# of dives
100 - 199
I am curious. I have not taken a GUE or UTD course...yet (unless you count the UTD online Ratio Deco Class). I am sure many of these would be covered in the training.

What hand signals are used to convey Ratio Deco information on a changed plan (not that I like the idea of changing my plan, but things happen)?

Are there other hand signals that are not covered in most other agency classes that someone may be able to help me with?
 
Last edited:
"deco" = a closed fist with your pinky sticking up (I think it's "D" in ASL, but I'm not sure)

Then signal a time.


With my primary buddy, when we hit the upline (if applicable), we thumb and then signal "level up to the first deep stop depth." Once there, we signal what we think the total deco obligation should be ("deco, 30" for example). If we disagree, we have a number of deep stops to get things sorted out.

We've worked out that "deco" + "level off" = average depth, i.e. the level for which deco is computed.

So if I think we did 150 for 30, and he thinks we did 160 for 30, I'd say "deco level 150, 30", and he'd say "deco level 160, 30." We'd probably just do 35 minutes of deco unless I was dead certain, could convince him we were shallower, and had a pressing reason to get out quickly.

For things you can't work out with hand signals, write it out.



Check out NACD's book Hand Signals for Cave Diving (which looks to now be published under the name Hand Signals for Scuba Diving).
 
Please excuse a new diver asking (and I know this is an old thread), but I have a question about the "deco" signal that my instructor (recreational diving) couldn't answer. Maybe it's a silly question, but here goes . . .


Does anyone know if there's a reason why the pinky finger (ASL "I" I'm told) is the deco signal? Or who started that? Or can anyone suggest a source to search?


Thanks a lot, and Happy Christmas!
dory
 
Please excuse a new diver asking (and I know this is an old thread), but I have a question about the "deco" signal that my instructor (recreational diving) couldn't answer. Maybe it's a silly question, but here goes . . .


Does anyone know if there's a reason why the pinky finger (ASL "I" I'm told) is the deco signal? Or who started that? Or can anyone suggest a source to search?


Thanks a lot, and Happy Christmas!
dory

Because when looked at end on it looks like "d"

HTH
John
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

Back
Top Bottom