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DM cert gives me buckets of practice on the basic skills, helping in classes, things that I know my buddies don't have -- we may all have the best of intentions, but regular practice of certain basic skills just doesn't seem to happen all that often with most people. Run through all of the...

My save a dive kit has two wrenches, for the LP and HP fittings, plus a spare LP hose. This summer I've loaned the LP hose out several times -- issues with others' LPs (due to be replaced, things do wear over time), plus had a couple of second stage loose items (obvious, you can hear the slight...

I weight for the pony being empty, but trim (where the weight goes) for clean balance when it's full. My S19 is close to 0 lb buoyancy empty, so I don't actually need more weight -- it would be OK to move a bit of weight from the front to the back. Full, that's a 1/4 tank, compared to an AL80...

One rule of thumb is that the weighting is about 2 lb per mm for a full suit. For a multi-X L, maybe it's more like 2.5 - 3lb. So, changing from a 3 to a 7 is a 4 mm difference -- I'd expect anywhere from about 8 to 12 lb more lead, somewhere in the 26 - 30lb total lead range. There's also...

If you're taking a DM class, you might find that gets you there, permitted to solo dive at various locations. We're supposed to have been trained more in multiple theoretical areas, have a better appreciation for risks and rescues, and the nature of the work (first in, last out). One of the...

The reader reviews don't look all that good. I also haven't seen any reference to a 2007 version -- the book seems to be an Aqua Quest publication, 2nd edition is 2001. Up on Amazon, an earlier version of the book that says "Revised Edition" on the cover is actually older, from the '90s.

Got mine in -- photo fuzzy (I probably broke the printer :) ) It'll be useful for OW classes this weekend -- show the students what they can aim for!

BMI comes into play in achieving the proper base weighting for a given person, whether in salt or fresh, but once they achieve this the conversion to switch water types is the same, irrespective of BMI. Weight is the right thing to use, given that you have gotten the amount of lead correct in...

Here's a decent little compendium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCUBA_diving_glossary

Quick draw -- there's a bracket that goes over the tank band, the pony has another bracket piece that's easy to remove. I end up leaving the main bracket piece on my BCD, whether or not I'm using the pony (shallow I don't bother). Check with scubatoys.com, if your LDS doesn't have much...

I mount mine right side up, have it fully on. Some people mount theirs upside down, just pressurize the hose then turn it off. I heard about an absolute CF recently, when an OOA diver ended up getting the not-really-on pony reg. Can you say "Panic"? The only time I ever mounted upside down...

It certainly should not be taboo. It's the Instructor's job to get classes done in a reasonable amount of time. At least where I live, referrals are a pretty normal part of life. People will take classes, want to complete before the water warms up up here, so they do a referral. Any chance...

A full suit, in the M - L zone, is about 2lb per mm. Switching from a 5/4 to a 3, IF both are in reasonably good condition, would be around a 3 lb swing (3 lb less lead). The bigger swing is freshwater, quarry, to salt. If the tank size/type is the same (diving an AL80 in both cases, for...

What's the sizing? Do you measure from the end of the attachment clip (whole strap assembly, not just the fastclip part) at one end to the end at the other? When I pop off the whole strap assembly on my DS fins, properly set, I measured 16" tip-to-tip, so would use the XL?

Order of magnitude, a full 7 to a full 5, is likely about 4 pounds, keeping everything else the same. That's the transition I see going from full 5 to full 3 -- a 2mm wetsuit delta. A quick pool check is always good -- jump in, make sure you're fully wet, no air pockets, BCD empty. Weight...

Do we have to wear BCD pocket protectors?

Everything else stays the same -- same drysuit, BCD, tank type/size? If Yes, you add that 1/40 for your total land weight. A tank is about 40 lb full, more or less, so you add one pound for it. Then, if you plus your lead and gear weigh 200, you would add 5 lb, a net gain of 6. (the 1/40 is...

That's why I like SB -- learn new things every day!

I thought that was his "TASER fingers" pose, ready to whap the student :)

For those who just want "the ticket" for the cool boats, don't have the time to complete Adventures in Dorking, they can often just do a Deep Dork ("Narced at the surface"!) course.