Crew handing BP/W international diving

[rhwestfall]

they (a bp/w) are more common than people think

blasphemy!!!

 

[Scared Silly]

I think the best procedure is for the dive op to ask their customers to set up their dive gear themselves. The crew should then swap cylinders.

Regardless if one is diving a BCD or BP/W each person "customizes" their rig to themselves. Two people with the same rig are probably not going place it exactly the same on a cylinder or route their hoses exactly the same.

As for a BP/W, when I travel the plate is separate from the wing. The bands are off as are the weight pockets. Then there our lights, smb. About the only thing that is actually assembled is the harness. (The hoses on the first stage of the regs are not even connected). As such, the chances of anyone but my wife getting my rig set up correctly is nil.

 

[tr3a]

Actually when diving Indonesia I have found that the guides and deck hands are very observant, show them once and they usually catch on. Just a quick check before splashing. I am getting to old to enjoy hoofing gear in third world locations, more than happy for the help.

 

[g1138]

How do you deal with crew and support staff handling a Backplate and Wing when you're diving away from home (especially internationally) and they don't know how to deal with it?

(I can hear a chorus of "no one touches my gear" but I do not find that this works for me -- I don't want to carry the tank + gear through the surf zone onto the boat, for example. And I do want them to switch tanks for me on a pitching boat.)
Tell them to carry by the plate or straps and not by the wing as so many do.
If you're going to play nitpicky, let them set up your gear and then fix it the way you want. Or learn to deal with pitching deck.
Cali boy should know how to deal with surf
(I say this as a former Monterey Diver in good humor)

For nitpicky, it helps to be honest and modest. Hey I like my gear set up a certain way. As long as you don't pinch the wing, please set it up as best you can because I'm uncomfortable doing it when the boats rocking. I may nitpick and do some minimal adjustments after. Thank you and sorry in advance.

Quite a few times I *have* shown crew how to deal with it but they pretty much see a tangle of hoses and clips, they are always in a rush to deal with all the divers coming onto (or off of) the boat at more or less the same time.
Coil your long hose, loop your backup reg necklage over the coil twice, snap the necklace into your primary's boltsnap and then snap onto your Shoulder D-ring.
Keeps the mess looking much more neat.
I would also snap your SPG to your shoulder D-ring to prevent the boat crew from smacking it onto the ground or under the tank.

When it's time to gear up, strap up first then uncoil and reclip everything where you want.

One problem is they put the tank with wing attached into the tank hole (or whatever you call it) and the wing usually ends up folding under the plate and gets crushed.
Tank Rack or Tank Cubby when it's using the bathroom stall wall setup.
Deflate your wing fully after you cross the line where falling off the boat is minimal. Then nitpick that the wing not be pinched under the tank. With the wing deflated, unless you ride your tank as high as possible it shouldn't be pinched flat by the plate.

During gear-up pump air into your wing when you stand or before it get's lifted onto the gunwhale or side of the RHIB, less you want to see a small opps lead to BC recovery at depth.

Just thought I'd ask how it goes for others.

Thanks,

Bill

Answers in red, above.
I'm very OCD and nitpicky. So trust me, there's hope for you and your wife.

 

[OkByMe]

I have a routine That is second nature to me... It comes out of the gear bag in a certain order and is assembled or attached without me ever having to think about it. When someone is fussing around me and or asking me questions, that autopilot gets disrupted and I'm having to check and recheck. Same thing on the last dive.. it comes off the rig in order and goes into the gear bag and I'm off the boat with nothing left behind. If you ever see me on the boat readying my rig, don't talk, don't touch or try to help. Having a Diverite transpac and Rec XT wing keeps the pinch-man away and still back-mounts and side-mounts well.