Boat Entry Question

[TigerDiver8]

Hey everyone,

So I dive a SMS 75 and usually use my 2 AL40's for beach dives and off our boat which is a very small drop off for the entry. Next weekend I am diving off the Truth Aquatics boat which is a entry with about a 6 to 8 foot drop. Is it okay to do a normal giant stride or is that dangerous at all. Should I have them drop each tank to me after I am in the water?

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Nope. Did a giant stride off the bow of Conception last spring with 2x AL80s. No prob.

 

[TigerDiver8]

Nope. Did a giant stride off the bow of Conception last spring with 2x AL80s. No prob.

Perfect. Thank you very much

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Yup ... just make sure you're completely clipped in first. Did a trip on the Peace my first year in sidemount, and had no issues at all going off the boat ... either sides or bow ... with my tanks on. FWIW - I was diving double steel 100's.

In typical Channel Island chop, getting back on is another thing to consider. I tried unclipping tanks while hanging onto the ladder, and decided after a couple dives that it was easier to just climb the ladder with tanks in place and worry about unclipping once I was back on board.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TigerDiver8]

Yup ... just make sure you're completely clipped in first. Did a trip on the Peace my first year in sidemount, and had no issues at all going off the boat ... either sides or bow ... with my tanks on. FWIW - I was diving double steel 100's.

In typical Channel Island chop, getting back on is another thing to consider. I tried unclipping tanks while hanging onto the ladder, and decided after a couple dives that it was easier to just climb the ladder with tanks in place and worry about unclipping once I was back on board.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Oh man you did SM on the Peace. Eric hates SM. Always gave me **** so I always did Back Mount with them. My 2 best friends are the DM's on that boat and I have filled in and worked for them quite a few times. Great boat great crew.

Thanks for the input guys. We are diving San Miguel and Santa Rosa November 15th if any of you want to join

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Oh man you did SM on the Peace. Eric hates SM. Always gave me **** so I always did Back Mount with them. My 2 best friends are the DM's on that boat and I have filled in and worked for them quite a few times. Great boat great crew.

Conception captain & crew had no problem at all with my sidemount. Of course I try to make a point of being low maintenance on dive boats.

Like @NWGratefulDiver Bob, I opted to just keep everything clipped up the ladder and back to my seat, rather than remove & clip off in the water. Less extra hassle for the crew.

Another option is to unclip when you get to the ledge above the swim step, right below the stairs up to the main deck. To make this easier, unrig your hoses while you're waiting in the water to get on the ladder.

But walking all the way up with your skinny little AL40s @TigerDiver8 should be a piece of cake.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Oh man you did SM on the Peace. Eric hates SM. Always gave me **** so I always did Back Mount with them. My 2 best friends are the DM's on that boat and I have filled in and worked for them quite a few times. Great boat great crew.

Thanks for the input guys. We are diving San Miguel and Santa Rosa November 15th if any of you want to join

Yeah, I did take a bit of flack from the crew ... I finally had to let them know that it wasn't their place to tell me how to dive, or what equipment to use. After that they kept their opinions to themselves.

Might as well also point out that was the last time I ever went out on that boat ... which I otherwise felt was a great operation.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Littlerayray]

The only thing I take off before entering the boat are my fins and weight belt everything else stays on till I find a suitable seat and when diving off a boat I usually only have 16lbs on my belt so I keep it on if others are waiting to board

---------- Post added November 5th, 2015 at 05:55 PM ----------

And when jumping in the water the boat I normally dive off has a five foot drop and I have a steel 117 and there are guys that have side mounts and others with 120 hp doubles we all do the big stride you should be perfectly fine

 

[abscuba]

With al40s just clip them in and hop in. Longer dives with more tanks I put in a drop line and clip the tanks off. When I get back on the boat it is with one tank and let every one else get back on. Once every one is onboard and out of the way I go back and get my tanks. Most boat captains like that as it keeps to flow going and does not hold of the line of folks getting on and off. Thats only when I am hoping in with 3 or more al80s.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

I do the same thing Bob does...make sure I'm clipped in and make the drop. One of the charters I dive off of the most uses an old crew boat and we go off the port side, so depending on the sea state it's anywhere from a 4-9 foot drop. Never had a problem. As far as getting back on, I pull my fins, get back on deck and seated then unclip my cylinders.