My AN/DP/Helitrox course

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OC deco not CCR bailout right?
Only bringing O2 with a 90min obligation?
How much 50% do you have leftover in a pinch?

OC with two deco gases, three if its a hypoxic dive. I typically use about the same volume of 50% and 100% with my current GF settings. I rarely do single deco gas dives. I believe it's safer to cleanout on O2, and 20' is way to far from the bottom for contingency on most dives. I also don't like pushing gas volume to the planned limits. I use higher SAC than I expect in planning and I like to exit with halves in my back gas.

Personally I'm glad my instructor taught two deco gases in my 50m class. This allowed me to gain experience with switching on successive dives before going into Trimix where we needed to be proficient with 4 deco/travel/stage bottles. As discussed above, you also have more gas volume on board if SHTF.
 
I know what I need to do workout wise and I’m doing it. I tried diving the doubles off a different boat (than my usual one) last spring. Not successful getting them up the ladder, but I later realized that ladder is awful. I know a number of other people who hate it. So bad I won’t dive off that boat again. So I’m much more confident I’ll be able to get doubles up the ladder on my usual boat. The bike time has made the difference. Last year I wouldn’t have gotten doubles up the pool ladder.
 
I know what I need to do workout wise and I’m doing it. I tried diving the doubles off a different boat (than my usual one) last spring. Not successful getting them up the ladder, but I later realized that ladder is awful. I know a number of other people who hate it. So bad I won’t dive off that boat again. So I’m much more confident I’ll be able to get doubles up the ladder on my usual boat. The bike time has made the difference. Last year I wouldn’t have gotten doubles up the pool ladder.

I'm impressed that you are putting the work in to improve both your fitness and physical strength to handle the kit.

One point of caution.
When I first started diving, there was a serious macho attitude. If you couldn't carry the kit you shouldn't be diving in it. That included getting back on board. Climbing up the ladder on to a converted trawler (6ft +, on a rolling boat).
As we got better educated, our attitudes have changed. When we where using ladders, we started to put a line in the water. allowing us to offload the stages. In rare cases, we would offload the twinset too.
Now, most boats have lifts. So there is no ladder climbing. Exiting the lift, you walk no more than 3 or four steps, and hold the rail whilst the stages are removed. Then are assisted back to the bench.
The big push was to reduce work and strain directly after the dive to reduce the risk of induced DCI.
The better skippers where keen on this as well. Now, the vast majority of UK boats are equipped with lifts.

If you are working hard and straining after the dive, consideration should be made to how this can be avoided.
Use two people to recover and move heavy kit. Getting fit and physically stronger are all great positives ( I should take a page out of your book).

Safe diving.

Gareth

Even the bigger boats have diver lifts.
 
No lifts here. We at least have fin on ladders. I need a few pulls on the manifold. Crew is always willing to help that way. I have been told that for my local boat doffing on the ladder and one of the crew pulling doubles up is NOT an option. If a dive buddy offered to pull them up, well, that’s something totally different. Passing up deco bottle is kosher if conditions permit.

Someone mentioned swell. Haha. We can get nasty chop here on the Great Lakes. Distance between waves is less than on the ocean, so yi often have very little recovery time.
 
No lifts here. We at least have fin on ladders. I need a few pulls on the manifold. Crew is always willing to help that way. I have been told that for my local boat doffing on the ladder and one of the crew pulling doubles up is NOT an option. If a dive buddy offered to pull them up, well, that’s something totally different. Passing up deco bottle is kosher if conditions permit.

Someone mentioned swell. Haha. We can get nasty chop here on the Great Lakes. Distance between waves is less than on the ocean, so yi often have very little recovery time.

We would put our own lines in the water and do the kit recovery ourselves. A few of the boats had a block and tackle arrangement which made things even easier. We wouldn't expect the crew to pull a set of twins back on board.
Even 'recreationally' we've had divers remove a set in the water due to back or mobility issues.
Removing kit in the water is not a new issue, its standard practice if you are diving from RHIB's.
The biggest safety issue is to ensure none of the lines can get picked up by the propellor.
(I don't like to hand up stages, I much prefer to clip them into the recovery line. I've seen to many disappear below the surface. Or have them removed once back on board.)

Economic pressure over the last 10 years has had an impact on the number of boats available.
The interesting thing is that the boats that have adapted to the change in diving culture, are the ones that have survived.
You are hard-pressed to find a hardboat in the UK that doesn't have a diver lift. The vast majority of the bigger boats, despite the logistic issues with fitting lifts, now have lifts.
It's not a new phenomena, when I started, boats that carried oxygen where a rarity. We took our own, we still do. Its been many years since you could (or should I say would), get on a boat that didn't have O2.

A couple of additional benefits of diver lifts have been the ability to pick divers up in more adverse conditions.
The biggest secondary benefit is how much easier it is to recover an injured diver. Just swim them on to the lift.
 
Sometimes boats have a line here. Sometimes not.

There’s no way I’d be able to pull my doubles up myself from the water on a line. I need help moving them on land when they’re not on my back. But I’ve found the guys are always willing to help when I ask.
 
Sometimes boats have a line here. Sometimes not.

There’s no way I’d be able to pull my doubles up myself from the water on a line. I need help moving them on land when they’re not on my back. But I’ve found the guys are always willing to help when I ask.

I mainly dive with my club.
Loading and unloading the boat is done as a group. Its quicker and more efficient. If you don't pull your weight people are not happy.
That said. There is an unsaid rule.
People carry their own twinsets (doubles) or rebreathers on and off the boat.

However. We look after our team. So occasionally you will see one of the bigger/ younger/ fitter lads carry a twinset up for one of the smaller / older in the group.

We work as a team. Loading, unloading, kit recover etc is all shared. There are normally a few trolleys if we have to move kit any distance.
 
I mainly dive with my club.
Loading and unloading the boat is done as a group. Its quicker and more efficient. If you don't pull your weight people are not happy.
That said. There is an unsaid rule.
People carry their own twinsets (doubles) or rebreathers on and off the boat.

However. We look after our team. So occasionally you will see one of the bigger/ younger/ fitter lads carry a twinset up for one of the smaller / older in the group.

We work as a team. Loading, unloading, kit recover etc is all shared. There are normally a few trolleys if we have to move kit any distance.

We have nice dock carts at the marina. The distance from the parking lot to the boat is just too far for me to move doubles on my back due to my knees. I’ll be able to muscle my doubles into the cart from the back of my SUV. However, pulling them out of the cart is going to be an issue. That and getting them up the steps into the boat. The wood steps from the dock to the boat deck are wide, but they have no hand rail and I feel unsteady on them even without adding doubles into it. I’ll simply ask for help getting them onto the boat. Much better than me hurting myself or falling. I know my limitations. And frankly, the guys say my HP80 doubles are light to handle, and not a burden.
 
@Gareth J

I’m not a spring chicken. I’m 51 in two months. I have to put in the time at the gym in order to do the diving I want to do. There are not very many gal tech divers on the Great Lakes. I have a passion for our wrecks and their history that many of my fellow guy divers have said they appreciate. They seem to appreciate the effort and dedication I put into my diving, and as a result, offer help even if I don’t ask for it. I don’t lack help, I just need to ask for it, and believe me, I do. I also tip boat crew well. I’m a regular on our local boat.
 
@Gareth J

I’m not a spring chicken. I’m 51 in two months. I have to put in the time at the gym in order to do the diving I want to do. There are not very many gal tech divers on the Great Lakes. I have a passion for our wrecks and their history that many of my fellow guy divers have said they appreciate. They seem to appreciate the effort and dedication I put into my diving, and as a result, offer help even if I don’t ask for it. I don’t lack help, I just need to ask for it, and believe me, I do. I also tip boat crew well. I’m a regular on our local boat.

well said!!
 
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