Bouyancy check alone?

[ScubaSteve]

while I agree that if you are in 5' of water there is no need for a rope, but I disagree that it isn't good advice. Rope problems are only an issue when swimming around and losing awareness of it, and a simple weight check shouldn't involve any swimming.

You sound awfully certain of that. If a new diver submerges, then starts waving their arms to maintain buoyancy for a couple of minutes, accidentally propel themselves backwards where one arm gets caught on the floating line, they spin to see which hooks the tank valve and first stage, things get worse from there quickly.......I really do not see this as all that far fetched. Tying off a solo brand new diver is a bad idea in my books.

 

[nimoh]

You sound awfully certain of that. If a new diver submerges, then starts waving their arms to maintain buoyancy for a couple of minutes, accidentally propel themselves backwards where one arm gets caught on the floating line, they spin to see which hooks the tank valve and first stage, things get worse from there quickly.......I really do not see this as all that far fetched. Tying off a solo brand new diver is a bad idea in my books.

this practice is commonly done on ice dives where divers are in the water solo. I don't see it as an issue for doing a weight check a few yards from shore. I would agree that tethered diving is not a great practice for diving, but in these circumstances, I think tying off a brand new solo diver is better than a brand new solo diver.

not to nit pick, but you mentioned "waiving their arms to maintain buoyancy for a couple of minutes..." whereas on my recommendation, they would have been pulled out after one minute.

 

[ScubaSteve]

this practice is commonly done on ice dives where divers are in the water solo. I don't see it as an issue for doing a weight check a few yards from shore. I would agree that tethered diving is not a great practice for diving, but in these circumstances, I think tying off a brand new solo diver is better than a brand new solo diver.

not to nit pick, but you mentioned "waiving their arms to maintain buoyancy for a couple of minutes..." whereas on my recommendation, they would have been pulled out after one minute.

Agreed on the ice diving point however how many ice dives are done by divers with less that 24 dives? I am looking at your audience. As for the "one minute" versus the "couple minutes"; it changes nothing. "IT" hits the fan faster than any of us can control whenever it wants. My point is, with a NEW diver, tethering is a likely bad idea. Too many things can go wrong that may not be handled well as a new diver. An experienced diver is more likely to handle an emergency such as being "tied up" accidentally better than a new diver. It takes less than a minute to die if things go right/wrong.

 

[nimoh]

Agreed on the ice diving point however how many ice dives are done by divers with less that 24 dives? I am looking at your audience. As for the "one minute" versus the "couple minutes"; it changes nothing. "IT" hits the fan faster than any of us can control whenever it wants. My point is, with a NEW diver, tethering is a likely bad idea. Too many things can go wrong that may not be handled well as a new diver. An experienced diver is more likely to handle an emergency such as being "tied up" accidentally better than a new diver. It takes less than a minute to die if things go right/wrong.

yes, you are probably right, I actually just thought of another issue not discussed (other than inclusively in "things can go wrong"). If over-weighted, and dropping down 20m or 30 feet, they may be pulled out too fast by an inexperienced line tender introducing rapid ascent problems whereas the diver may have been able to rectify the situation on their own without incident.

I still like the idea of the rope for this situation to get the diver out if things go wrong, but as you (and others) have indicated, introduces more risk than necessary and shouldn't be used.

 

[ScubaSteve]

yes, you are probably right, I actually just thought of another issue not discussed (other than inclusively in "things can go wrong"). If over-weighted, and dropping down 20m or 30 feet, they may be pulled out too fast by an inexperienced line tender introducing rapid ascent problems whereas the diver may have been able to rectify the situation on their own without incident.

I still like the idea of the rope for this situation to get the diver out if things go wrong, but as you (and others) have indicated, introduces more risk than necessary and shouldn't be used.

I like the idea of a dive buddy in the water if a rope is required. Much safer. Trouble may not happen.....likely won't, but we need to look at what if it does. What can we handle on our own (or in this case the OP and everybody reading the thread). If the buddy knows what the OP is going to do (buoyancy check), then I bet most would still accept the dive because they get to get wet and could likely work on skills of their own while the weight check is happening. And at the end, a dive could happen.

My recommendation to the OP is find a buddy and be honest about the dive. Follow it up with a real dive and I bet most people would still be happy to join you.

 

[g1138]

I didn't think the rope idea was a smart choice, especially considering logistics and our audience. Just how long a rope will the shore support need? And also pulling in a sunk diver from shore, on a rope, from a lake?
Suppose he has an issue underwater? After one minute he's going to be dragged along the bottom by his frantic shore support.
And trust me, dragging a diver horizontally through the water is a lot harder than dragging vertically. I only see it as a comfort safety and not something that's practically safe.

If I were to suggest using a line for the OP (which I don't) I would also discuss tug signals and quick release mechanisms.

 

[3D diver]

you are going to do your milestone 300th dive in a pool?

:snicker:

I don't log pool time, so...no.

To the OP: IMHO diving is one activity where you have to be prepared to walk away if you're not 100% comfortable with the situation. Have you checked with your local dive stores? Maybe one of them can help you out with a pool session?

 

[boulderjohn]

If you are doing this for AOW, why not make Peak Performance Buoyancy one of your 5 choices and have the instructor guide you though the process--including working on proper trim--as a part of the course?

 

[SkimFisher]

This thread should replace the TOS new members are forced to accept before posting. Prefaced, of course, with: "If you choose to accept, this is the kind of ridiculous nonsense you will be forced to read at least 10x per day." Holy cow turds.

Should the guy shower with a buddy too? Maybe tether himself to the sink in case the power goes out, and he's forced to the turn the bath? This is good stuff.

Seriously, though. Is this a joke? Surface support for a swimming pool? Tie a rope to yourself? The font selections available to me for this post don't even begin to adequately express just how awful some of this sounds.



**To the OP - in all seriousness, if you really aren't sure just get a friend to go with you, but DO NOT tie a rope to yourself. That is just farm-animal stupid.**

 

[dumpsterDiver]

This thread should replace the TOS new members are forced to accept before posting. Prefaced, of course, with: "If you choose to accept, this is the kind of ridiculous nonsense you will be forced to read at least 10x per day." Holy cow turds.

Should the guy shower with a buddy too? Maybe tether himself to the sink in case the power goes out, and he's forced to the turn the bath? This is good stuff.

Seriously, though. Is this a joke? Surface support for a swimming pool? Tie a rope to yourself? The font selections available to me for this post don't even begin to adequately express just how awful some of this sounds.



**To the OP - in all seriousness, if you really aren't sure just get a friend to go with you, but DO NOT tie a rope to yourself. That is just farm-animal stupid.**

I find your tone rude and demeaning... Actually i'm just pissed because I didn't say it...