Attaching load to Lift Bag

[rfwoodvt]

Been watching the online lift bag "training" videos and every single one shows tying a weight belt to the finger spool line. Hardly a real life example IMHO.

I can imagine many things will ahve a shackle or ring that can be clipped into directly to the bag such as anchors and mooring blocks. For other things I would imagine a sling of some sort would be necessary.

Would love to hear what you folks carry for such purposes and how/where you store them on your rig in addition to your lift bag. Also, what do you think would be the preferred material for such slings?

 

[bradlw]

doesn't that depend entirely on what the item is you are going down to salvage?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your question.....
lifting say for example a sunken Toyota Corolla is going to take an entirely different sort of rigging than a 20 pound boat anchor..

I'm reminded of my time working in large paper mills. Those millwrights would have to lift all sorts of very large and heavy equipment into and through all sorts of complex industrial spaces using crane's, chain falls, forklifts, etc.... they would come out of the wood work it seems with all sorts of different slings, ropes, chains, hooks, shackles, come-alongs, etc... and rig up all sorts of things. They were masters at it....and the hardware always varied depending on the situation and on the skill of the people doing it....

 

[Outbound]

Been watching the online lift bag "training" videos and every single one shows tying a weight belt to the finger spool line. Hardly a real life example IMHO.

I can imagine many things will ahve a shackle or ring that can be clipped into directly to the bag such as anchors and mooring blocks. For other things I would imagine a sling of some sort would be necessary.

Would love to hear what you folks carry for such purposes and how/where you store them on your rig in addition to your lift bag. Also, what do you think would be the preferred material for such slings?

Use nylon climbing slings. Buy some at any climbing shop or REI. You can use pre-sewn slings or buy some lengths of nylon webbing and tie them into loops with water knots. Then you can girth hitch them around what you are trying to lift and attach to the lift bag with a locking carabiner.

 

[rfwoodvt]

doesn't that depend entirely on what the item is you are going down to salvage?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your question.....
lifting say for example a sunken Toyota Corolla is going to take an entirely different sort of rigging than a 20 pound boat anchor..

What gets carried absolutely depends on the load but the question is more about configuration of that gear if they carry a lift bag as part of their regular kit.

For example What type of rope, such as poly, composite, nylon etc. Type of construction, double braid, hollow braid, three strand, or webbing. Terminal hardware: shackles, biners, snaps. Length considerations, minimal, extra long, adjustable, etc. Of course the associated question is why they chose that particular configuration

 

[rfwoodvt]

Use nylon climbing slings. Buy some at any climbing shop or REI. You can use pre-sewn slings or buy some lengths of nylon webbing and tie them into loops with water knots. Then you can girth hitch them around what you are trying to lift and attack to the lift bag with a locking carabiner.

Being a Tree Climber by trade I've used tons of those slings over the years. How do the locking 'biners hold up in the water environment?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Being a Tree Climber by trade I've used tons of those slings over the years. How do the locking 'biners hold up in the water environment?

Depends on their make up. Some of the locking ones, if made of stainless steel, might be ok if the springs in them are also stainless.
Many divers over the years found out that some of the stuff they bought thinking it would hold up, lasted a couple of dives until the springs rusted.
Aluminum doesn't do well with saltwater. And even fresh water, unless they are rinsed, dried, and lightly oiled will result in corrosion.
Even brass starts to get nasty and corrode.
I've had a number of students show up with great deals on clips and snaps that I showed them how they were junk. And had they spent, in some cases no more than a dollar or two more, they'd not have had to buy twice.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I took my AOW course and did the search and recovery dive, I had to lift an object with a lift bag. My instructor said tying knots in that situation was pretty much obsolete in modern diving. I used a carabiner with webbing.

Of course, that was back in the last millenium.

 

[Outbound]

Depends on their make up. Some of the locking ones, if made of stainless steel, might be ok if the springs in them are also stainless.
Many divers over the years found out that some of the stuff they bought thinking it would hold up, lasted a couple of dives until the springs rusted.
Aluminum doesn't do well with saltwater. And even fresh water, unless they are rinsed, dried, and lightly oiled will result in corrosion.
Even brass starts to get nasty and corrode.
I've had a number of students show up with great deals on clips and snaps that I showed them how they were junk. And had they spent, in some cases no more than a dollar or two more, they'd not have had to buy twice.

Good points. The ones I have are all high quality from my climbing days. And I mostly dive fresh water. I also clean all my gear really well and keep everything lubricated.

 

[PfcAJ]

Tubular webbing, water knot, girth hitch seems to work pretty well for a lot of things.

 

[Vicko]

I prefer solid shackles simply because they are easy to use in 0 viz. Soft ones are great for light loads in clear water, really fast to work with but getting the ball trough the hitch with gloves in black water is a slow and frustrating experience.
I don't trust knots for loads hanging above my head.