Curious

[Paladin]

When I finally got around to getting my first C-card in 1976, I used only fins, mask, snorkel, steel 72 and a DA Aqua-Master and the instructor didn't even bat an eye. Nor did he seem upset that I had been diving for over ten years without being certified. Times were different then.

 

[scuga]

yeah padi is the only training materials I have ever used and I thought they were good its all what YOU put into it you know you need to be accountable to yourself. ANYWHO

I meant sending off the specialty course to padi sorta more as a sarcastic joke

so that vintagedoublehose has 3 pages of sold regulators and all the shiny ones are sold and that's not very helpful

 

[Greg Barlow]

Actually that,s' not me but one of my vintage diving buddies.

It is actually a picture of me while at Legends of Diving 2009. I am wearing 6 pounds in the picture, which is standard for my 5mm suit. Karl and I made a dive to 135ffw in an Ocala spring a year earlier. Once I got down to around 100ffw, I took off the weight belt until I was ready to start my ascent. Due to suit compression, I was actually a bit too negative with the six pounds.

Don't let Captain fool you...He is a Master Diver if there ever was one!

Here are a few more pictures showing the streamlined silhouette of a dive sans a BCD:

Greg Barlow

 

[herman]

very interesting. Would definitely be interested in trying this out in the future.

Would this be done with steel tanks? Can't imagine anyone using al tanks that would be positively buoyant at the end of the dive.

It all depends on your weight needs. I can't (don't like to is more accurate) dive steel tanks in warm fresh water if I am not wearing any rubber, they over weight me by more than I like. I dive zero additional weight in fresh water if I am diving a metal double hose or a single hose reg. I have to add a couple of pounds if I am diving my Voit 50 Fathon which is a plastic double hose.

Adding weight would definitely compensate for the buoyancy of the al tank. but the OP was referring to diving w/o a weight belt as well.

Again, it's all about proper weighting. I do not wear any additional weight (or belt) in warm fresh water, in warm salt I need 4 lbs assuming I am diving an AL-80 tank.

Yeah I would love to try this out in Florida this summer you know skin diver with a tank sort of feel. I just have my OW cert too, but something tells me that this style is beyond any agency. Today I was talking to a guy who said you can design your own course and get padi to let you teach it as a specialty I wonder if there is a padi recognized specialty for scuba with just a tank, mask, and fins? Can you still get parts for pretty much any voit or US diver DH or do you need to look for specific models?

There actually may be one, I know there is an official PADI double hose cert. I know nothing else about it other than it exist.

Parts for all US Diver and Voit regs are currently being reproduced and are easy to get. Other regs like Healthways and Dacor are much harder to find usable parts for. If you plan to restore a reg, get a USD or Voit as your first project and leave the rest for later.

yeah padi is the only training materials I have ever used and I thought they were good its all what YOU put into it you know you need to be accountable to yourself. ANYWHO

I meant sending off the specialty course to padi sorta more as a sarcastic joke

so that vintagedoublehose has 3 pages of sold regulators and all the shiny ones are sold and that's not very helpful

I know were 2 or 3 rebuilt and ready to go regs are if you want a rebuilt DH - not mine but a local buddy. Drop me a PM if you are interested and I can put you together with the owner.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Just so you'll know, the Healthways Scuba regulator second and third generation probably don't need new parts--they were built very well. Hoses are available through Vintage Scuba Supply too. The seat is reversible, and the nylon seat holder is very durable.

SeaRat

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Just so you'll know, the Healthways Scuba regulator second and third generation probably don't need new parts--they were built very well. Hoses are available through Vintage Scuba Supply too. The seat is reversible, and the nylon seat holder is very durable.

SeaRat

I have a Healthways regulator too that my dear friend Dale gave me.
I'm a little paranoid about how the exhaust valve works being that it uses pressure from the internals of the fresh air side to hold the baffle shut on the exhaust return tube into the can. If that membrane were ever to tear it would leave a gaping hole for water to rush in and I'd be sucking water with the next breath.
Any thoughts about that or am I figuring wrong?

 

[captain]

Captain:

and

N

Thanks for the pixs N. I seem to have lost the ones I had Of the Sea Hunt 50th weekend.

 

[Nemrod]

I have them Captain, you need the files again? I have the few I took anyways.

I think this is you:

Nem

 

[duckbill]

Stephan, the 4 additional pounds is just to offset the buoyancy of the aluminum 80 compared to the steel 72.

Paladin, diving with doubles and no BC will be a little more difficult due to the increased air swing.

Diving BC-less feels really good, but the BC didn't come about for no reason at all, and there are times when a BC is beneficial.

When beach diving "moderate" Pacific surf you don't want to be underweight when exiting. Get rolled by some big Pacific waves and you'll see why it is better to be negative while crawling up the beach. In order to dive safely, yet be negative at the end of the dive, you have two options. Drag around an inner tube like they used to "in the day", or use a BC to compensate at depth. Dragging a floatation device around through kelp while you are diving is nearly impossible, and I believe this is one of the reasons BCs came to be.

I dive sans BC whenever conditions warrant. Diving with a BC in the rivers around here is pointless. A BC adds considerable drag in the strong currents, and the banks are always an easy swim from anywhere in the river. Due to the currents you want to be negative at depth so you can hug the bottom, and there is no marine life to speak of to worry about "impacting".

Boat diving and rocky shore diving are also great places to practice BC-less diving, as being buoyant at the end of the dive is a good thing. However, there's nothing wrong with wearing a snorkeling vest (for emergency surface floatation only) if you think there is a chance you could end up out of air far offshore.

JMO.

 

[Nemrod]

Diving BC-less feels really good, but the BC didn't come about for no reason at all, and there are times when a BC is beneficial.


JMO.

Yes, exactly, I dive one of several wings I have in a semi-Hog rig. Especially when I carry a camera. To me the closest thing to no BC is an Oxy 18 with mini plate. It lets me handle the camera and make the minor adjustments when I don't have my weight spot on or I am just lazy.

N