cave vs open water dpv

[happy-diver]

So with an unbounded enthusiasm, coursing through my pulsing veins
and having not done anything like this before I reconditioned a scooter

Some secret extra horsepower

Some more not so secret extra horsepower

Not bad, better than a bought one

The requisite photoshoot

The requisite photoshoot on a boat dive at 30 metres buzzing wrecks with crap visibility

on the dpv buying, building, buzzing course, I designed myself and passed brilliantly

In The Ocean

Some of them up thread have some bias towards towing the line and selling courses
somewhat rudely and without the complete comprehension required to be unbiased

 

[ofg-1]

After reading some of this, I am not sure what the original question was. IMHO, although the operation of a DPV is similar in the open water, or a cave, the decisions that you have to make when the scooter takes a dump on you are totally different.

I have used scooters in caves since the late 70's. I have had a Farallon flood, a Tekna impode, and on another dive, the same Tekna stick on. My first UV 26 started leaking bad around the shaft about 3000 feet upstream Chips, I ran it till it stopped and left it. Yes, we went back for it. My N-19 had a crap battery pack. Somedays it would run 110 minutes, some days it cut off at 85. I had SS remove the cut off.

I know a 2 person team that had a Tekna implode in the Wakulla room, 2 divers had to tow out about 4000 feet with a single Tekna that had already run for 40 minutes. The WKPP had a diver who;s Gavin clutch fell apart close to 10000 feet downstream in a siphon. All the Tekna based scooters could stick on and you had to smack the clutch or stick your hand in the prop to get it stopped.

Take your cave DPV class from someone that's had a scooter take a dump on them in a cave. Learn how to tow or be towed out of a cave. Learn how to handle a second scooter and when to take one. Gas rules are different in a cave. Don't believe that any piece of equipment, even your $8000 scooter, can't die at the worst possible time. Learn when to unclip the scooter and leave it.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

Scubaboard works in mysterious ways.

But jokes aside the first page of the thread is where the actual question was answered