Question CCR Suggestion for Remote Boating Trips - Sanity Check

[girlwithbigtanks]

Meg. 2.7 or Tib no regrets on my 2.7 used head with a combination of new, used, my own pile, and gifted parts.

 

[Superlyte27]

For the type of diving I do, CCR is safer than open circuit. Solo ccr is safer than buddy CCR. Don’t take new ccr diver’s advice as gospel. Often times, they don’t know what they’re taking about….yet.

 

[broncobowsher]

I am diving solo, even when there are others around.

 

[rddvet]

Thanks, I've been looking hard the Fathom given that it seems super simple in terms of construction and has Shearwater smarts. Do you dive one? I know there are only a few instructors listed on Fathom's site, so I'd probably have to fly to Tulum, which would be horrible

Fathom is pretty indestructible and easy to dive. The only proprietary parts are in the head, so if something does break it’s easy to fix. Charlie’s customer service is top notch and he’s easy to get ahold of. So if you’re on your boat away from any other ccr divers and something weird happens and you need an answer, you can get an answer quickly. For example, my wife’s unit kept intermittently failing negatives. We couldn’t figure it out because it would fail one time and pass immediately after when we did another test. Luckily we live in Florida, but on a whim we messaged Charlie and met him at his shop and he diagnosed the problem as a bad qd we added to the bov. But the leak depended on the angle of the hose.
As for instructors you have Mexico and Florida as options. But Kelvin has traveled to Canada a few times this year. So there’s always a small chance you can coordinate with him being in Canada if he goes back.

 

[Jeremie Guichard]

Have you looked at Triton CCR? Recycleur | Triton CCR space wise besides Side Winder not many will be as small... As well it can adapt to any config you already diving in, back or side mount.
Since the build of the unit is pretty simple mechanical unit, you have less chance of failures and remote field repair will certainly be easier while having a set of spare parts will neither be a big use of space.

 

[MrBlenny]

For the type of diving I do, CCR is safer than open circuit. Solo ccr is safer than buddy CCR. Don’t take new ccr diver’s advice as gospel. Often times, they don’t know what they’re taking about….yet.

I appreciate the insight. I like my dive buddies, but I am more relaxed diving alone in most cases. I know my problems are mine alone.

 

[MrBlenny]

I am diving solo, even when there are others around.

My feeling exactly, I just didn't want to assume it applied to CCR's as well without asking folks who have experience.

 

[MrBlenny]

Fathom is pretty indestructible and easy to dive. The only proprietary parts are in the head, so if something does break it’s easy to fix. Charlie’s customer service is top notch and he’s easy to get ahold of. So if you’re on your boat away from any other ccr divers and something weird happens and you need an answer, you can get an answer quickly. For example, my wife’s unit kept intermittently failing negatives. We couldn’t figure it out because it would fail one time and pass immediately after when we did another test. Luckily we live in Florida, but on a whim we messaged Charlie and met him at his shop and he diagnosed the problem as a bad qd we added to the bov. But the leak depended on the angle of the hose.
As for instructors you have Mexico and Florida as options. But Kelvin has traveled to Canada a few times this year. So there’s always a small chance you can coordinate with him being in Canada if he goes back.

It is definitely a unit that intrigues me. Have you even dove it from a boat or in cold water? I do like that they are located in the US, just for ease of service. It's also good to hear that they have good customer service. I think the only other US company on my short list is ISC.

 

[Blackfrogfeet]

It is definitely a unit that intrigues me. Have you even dove it from a boat or in cold water? I do like that they are located in the US, just for ease of service. It's also good to hear that they have good customer service. I think the only other US company on my short list is ISC.

I'm living in British Columbia and I dive a Fathom as well as one of my buddies. Honestly, any modern CCR on the market right now is gonna do what you need for the dives you're looking at. As another commenter mentioned, the fact that you want to do CCR cave should be more of a deciding factor for what CCR to get (in which case the Fathom is still a really good BM option). The other things that I thought about when choosing a CCR were
1. Can it be run in a "DIR" configuration. For me this had to be a yes.
2. Does It have BMCLs? Another requirement for me.
3. How modular is it?
4. Is the manufacturer/service center on the same continent as medium?
6. How bulky/ heavy is it compared to other units?
5. Will it hinder or enhance my style of diving (goes back to #1). I dive it in the Tech Rig config and it's slick. I can tell all my GUE JJ buddies are secretly jealous haha.
Obviously your list may look different, but I would think about stuff like that rather than dwell on if it's gonna work in remote locations in cold water, because most CCRs are gonna do that job no problem.

 

[Blackfrogfeet]

Also when you're in BC doing your CCR trips on your 38' Bayliner, feel free to invite me