Body check when you are on a single tank and your buddy on doubles

[DaleC]

Not touching your buddy's isolator valve unless specifically asked to do so is extremely important, as DevonDiver said. A doubles diver should be proficient enough with performing valve drills, so that even if some loony on the boat or whatever turns it one way (thinking he/she's being helpful...it DOES happen), the doubles diver can easily deal with it underwater, usually while simultaneously questioning the parentage and personal hygiene habits of whoever messed with their gear through their regulator. You don't want to be the cause of all those expletives, do you?!

Hey, I resemble that remark!

The first time I ever dove with a doubles diver he asked me to turn his air on for him at the rail. I mistakenly turned the left post off (it was already on). At 100' or so he discovered this mistake when he went OOA on the right cylinder (hey, his SPG still said he was full). He immediately knew what was wrong and opened the valve. Complacency and inexperience....

Lessons learned:

1. Familiarize yourself with the correct way to turn all valves on and off from various orientations.

2. As Lynn said, even if they think everything is correct, the doubles diver must verify that they have proper flow through all valves. It may take an extra second or two but it is a short cut not worth making.

 

[bamamedic]

Just a thought:

Odds are, the doubles diver won't have any removable weights (such as a weight belt, or integrated weights), since, for most double-cylinder divers, the tanks are heavy enough, and no additional weight is usually needed.

Might be something worth asking your buddy about...

In case of a rescue situation (if your buddy is unconscious on the surface, and you need to make him/her buoyant), you'll just have to make sure you inflate the wing/BC instead of looking for a weight belt to ditch...

Seems like the other posters covered everything pretty well

 

[cool_hardware52]

Hey, I resemble that remark!

The first time I ever dove with a doubles diver he asked me to turn his air on for him at the rail. I mistakenly turned the left post off (it was already on). At 100' or so he discovered this mistake when he went OOA on the right cylinder (hey, his SPG still said he was full). He immediately knew what was wrong and opened the valve. Complacency and inexperience....

Turning off the left post has no effect on the function of the right post.

Turning off the isolator will produce the result you noted, but only if the diver fails to note his spg is not moving.

Tobin

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Just a thought:

Odds are, the doubles diver won't have any removable weights (such as a weight belt, or integrated weights), since, for most double-cylinder divers, the tanks are heavy enough, and no additional weight is usually needed.

Might be something worth asking your buddy about...

In case of a rescue situation (if your buddy is unconscious on the surface, and you need to make him/her buoyant), you'll just have to make sure you inflate the wing/BC instead of looking for a weight belt to ditch...

Seems like the other posters covered everything pretty well

We actually covered this in Betty's Rescue class ... as well as the differences between bringing a singles and doubles unconscious diver up from the bottom.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DaleC]

Good catch Tobin. I had the same thought in bed at about 6:45 this morning (the things I dream about) so I must have hit the isolator as well.

Another related lesson I learned the hard way was not to turn back my own valve a quarter turn as taught in OW. It's either fully off or on for me. One time I thought my valve was off so I absentminedly cranked it on (actually off) and back a quarter turn. The result was that it was then a quarter turn on. This resulted in my being able to breath the reg on the surface ok but not getting adequate flow at depth. Imagine my chagrin.
Fully off/on catches this as does watching the SPG when breathing the reg (sometimes). A cracked valve will/may result in a dip in PSI during inspiration.

 

[Soakedlontra]

We actually covered this in Betty's Rescue class ... as well as the differences between bringing a singles and doubles unconscious diver up from the bottom.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob! Are you hallucinating because you are diving too much? Or am I missing something?

I have never taken a rescue class with you! I have never taken a rescue class at all! I am considering taking a rescue class now! Maybe it was another Betty...

 

[Soakedlontra]

Good catch Tobin. I had the same thought in bed at about 6:45 this morning (the things I dream about) so I must have hit the isolator as well.

Another related lesson I learned the hard way was not to turn back my own valve a quarter turn as taught in OW. It's either fully off or on for me. One time I thought my valve was off so I absentminedly cranked it on (actually off) and back a quarter turn. The result was that it was then a quarter turn on. This resulted in my being able to breath the reg on the surface ok but not getting adequate flow at depth. Imagine my chagrin.
Fully off/on catches this as does watching the SPG when breathing the reg (sometimes). A cracked valve will/may result in a dip in PSI during inspiration.

Both Sam and I have been turning the valves as taught in OW class. We have never had a problem so far. Now you can by a plastic cap?/ring?, something, that is red and green to help you to see whether the valve is open or not.

The doubles diver can reach her valves (it's me who cannot reach a damn thing back there on my own tank!). About the flow check, this is the first time I have heard of it so during our first body check I don't think she mentioned it at all, unless she did it without me watching...

As Lynne mentioned we both have the same gear DIR style (BP/W, long hoses and necklace). My hose is 5 ft and hers is 7ft. Now I have a canister light like her (less powerful, though) and I am still getting used to it. In fact is going to be interesting to practice air share with the light in my left hand. Yesterday I practiced shooting a bag and...Oh dear! My poor buddy Sam was blinded by that light at least 10 times! Anyway this is another story.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob! Are you hallucinating because you are diving too much? Or am I missing something?

I have never taken a rescue class with you! I have never taken a rescue class at all! I am considering taking a rescue class now! Maybe it was another Betty...

I'm hallucinating ... thought you were in the May 2009 class.

Sorry 'bout that ... the older I get the harder it is to keep it all straight ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Soakedlontra]

No offense, but to be asking this question having already dived with him, it sounds like you have been neglecting this?

Well, because I guess when we did the body check before our first dive (I have dived with her two times so far) we did not do a very thorough job. I don't know exactly why...Somehow we let the rush to start the dive skip things taking them for granted... I suppose. Who is not 'guilty' of doing this here?
I forgot to attach my dry suit inflator hose and she did not notice it at all.

The second time there were three of us and we did not spend a hell of a lot of time doing the body check because, I figure, we were all using the same gear except for the second female diver who had doubles. We all assumed that there was no need to explain to each other how we would do air share etc. It never accord to me to ask her how I was supposed to deal with her valves in case of a leak.

We all do a bubble check as a part of our body check routine, though.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

All this talk of body checks is making me hot! I've been wasting time with buddy checks. Gonna have to do a body check with my GF tomorrow. Have to teach tonite. Dang it!