Accomodating inabilities

[Jax]

Bad discs keep me from helping haul heavy equipment (tanks), but I can put stuff on a belt on my waist (like hanging the fin bags) and I can drag the dive bags on wheels. I put no weights in my BC -- all are on the hips so the back carries no more than it has to carry. Bonus - in the water, weights gently expand spine, removing pressure from discs. Lovely! Slight near-sightedness helps with reading, but will need lenses someday.

I don't run nor jump out of planes anymore. Otherwise, I'm not giving up!

 

[ItsBruce]

What does the song say: "I'm not as good as I once was, but I as good once as I ever was."

 

[Paladin]

I'm getting older than I thought I was. I used to be able to throw a steel 72 over each shoulder and diddy-bop right down to the boat. Just the other day, I put together a couple of 72s to make a twin set, then went to lift them up to move them into a corner. Something popped as soon as I lifted them, so I set them down to see if I'd left something loose on the rig. The rig was nice and tight everywhere. That's when I realized that the "pop" had not come from the tanks. With head held low, I went out to the garage for my hand truck.

Do any of my fellow geezers out there find it necessary to use a hand truck to move their doubles from vehicle to dock or am I the only one who is all washed up?

I can still handle a single steel 72 or AL80 but twins seems to push it a bit.

 

[The Chairman]

Accommodations for getting older...

WetWear Wet Suit. It's the only suit that my less than flexible body can don by myself. Leg and arm zips are great and the diagonal zipper that starts by my left hip is WONDERFUL.

OTB Boots! Designed to get Navy Seals "Over the Beach" and they give my two ankles the support I need. This is especially true after having one Achilles Tendon removed to get to a bone spur two years ago and having the other one do it spontaneously just last year! I still wear my XXL Jet fins and feel no pain in the water.

Zeagle Express Tech. Far easier than any BC or BP& Wings to get in and out of. I am modifying it to accommodate side mounting for even more flexibility. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...ide-mounting-mods-my-zeagle-express-tech.html

Oceanic's VEO 250. It's an easy to read PDC.

Tobin's stamped D-Rings & Butt Plate. They are significantly smaller in diameter and don't move as my arthritic hands attempt to clip and unclip things. I am using his butt plate for side mounting, but it's wonderful just for plain diving as well.

Hiking Stick. This is for getting out of the surf in one piece and I designed it specifically for Venice. I am not ready to try it for at least another month. Ankle surgery was just this past February and I can't deal with the soft sand yet of beach entries.

Carts/Dollies. I try to carry as little as possible to the water.

 

[Paladin]

I like the hiking stick idea. Especially for wearing twins. Where do you store it while diving?

 

[The Chairman]

I like the hiking stick idea. Especially for wearing twins. Where do you store it while diving?

It's part of my Dive Flag. I'll try to post pictures. I might also start over as I have had additional ideas about one that just tags along with me on a double ender.

 

[TSandM]

I have thought a lot about a hiking stick -- did you find one that was pure aluminum? I have worried about corrosion, as well as figuring out where to store it during a dive. But having something to use for exits would be really sweet.

 

[The Chairman]

OK, I revisited the hiking stick/float set up last night. I broke the float! Arrgh!

It was then that I realized how simple this really is. My "Diving Stick" is made of a wood closet bar. I drilled a hole in one end for the line and opened up the float to put the stick through. Too complicated and the float became weak. I think I am going to put an rope through the hole I drilled and attach a Bolt snap. It could even be a suicide clip! Since it will float on its own, all I have to do is to clip it to the line that attaches the flag to the buoy. This will make putting fins on much easier as well as assist me getting UP the dang slippery sand slope.