Dabbling in deco

[johnnyblackau]

At the moment I'm a rec diver who in about 2 weeks is doing a tdi sidemount course then the advanced nitrox. The plan for me is to do the deco course with tdi through the kind guys at dive dive dive (great online shop now - cheap plug). I don't have a lot of buddies who are keen to do the deco tec dives but for my own knowledge and fun I'd like to do it with the aim of one to two good tec deco dives a year the rest being rec dives. Is there any good resources, online courses or websites anyone can recommend to get my head clearly around the theory and guts of the decompression before I undertake the course. I'd love to have a real good hold on it before diving it.

Thoughts or input??

 

[TSandM]

I'd highly recommend Mark Powell's book, Deco for Divers. But you may not have enough time to get it before your class (which is a shame). I'm not sure if it has a Kindle edition or not.

Short of that, Google Erik Baker and read "Understanding M-values", and his deep stops paper. Read Ross Hemingway's "Deco myths" article. Read Doppler's "The Shape of the Curve" article on the Deco Stop. There is actually quite a bit of good stuff on line about deco, but you have to hunt and pick a bit; Mr. Powell's book wraps it all up neatly and serves it to you on a plate.

 

[ajduplessis]

Some good reading advise and a must IMO if you plan going down this route.

I am a firm believer in being a practitioner of all forms of activities and therefore not overly exited that you plan on executing deco diving once or twice a year. This is a skill you need to participate, practice/refine on a regular basis with the right mindset.

My 2 cents and safe diving.

 

[waterpirate]

I will echo everything that has allready been said, with emphasis on 2 dives a year will not keep you safe in regard to application of skills and drills. Once you get your head wrapped around the application of deco I found myself doing no rec dives anymore. Even on a mundane swim around in 80 fsw it is just to easy to spend the time you want to spend and incur a minimal amount of deco. This also keeps my skills and drills sharp year round.
Eric

 

[DiverAmy]

I'd highly recommend Mark Powell's book, Deco for Divers. But you may not have enough time to get it before your class (which is a shame). I'm not sure if it has a Kindle edition or not.

No Kindle edition.

 

[Gren]

I would recommend Deco for Divers to any diver not just those interested in tech and deco. It's good information to understand.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

While not entirely necessary I plan every deeper dive as a decompression dive. By deeper I mean in excess of 80 feet or so. Up here that also usually involves water temps in the 40's or lower and as such drysuits, redundant gas in the form of doubles and a stage. Sometimes two just for practice like a 40 & an 80. So the planning, including back ups and contingency plans with tables cut on v planner, is not much different and most times the same as a dive to my current max depth of 170 feet.

Mark Powells book and Steve Lewis's The Six Skills are musts for anyone contemplating the tech route.

As well as Tom Mount's "Tao of Survival Underwater" aka the IANTD Encylopedia of Expedition and Mixed Gas Diving. I may be off on the title as it's not in front of me now but easy enough to look up. A bit more expensive than the other two (around 70 bucks new) but worth it.

I may or may not actually go into deco on that 100 or 120 foot dive but the gas, equipment, and the plan is there should I choose to.
If on arrival at depth the vis is bad or just boring I'll call the dive. If it turns out to be great or there's something new to see then I may just end up spending enough time to require deco.
The key though is that the plan is there and in place and it keeps me in practice. As I often do these dives solo it pays to treat them all as "technical" dives.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Doppler]

Thanks for the book plug! LOL

Mark's book is probably the definitive resource for general information on Deco... that said, all technical diving centers on gas management... I'd suggest Jim that you spend some time getting that skill down pat. Have a read of as many articles as you can. There is one in my blog and of course my Six Skilbook has similar info in the breathing chapter.

Anyhow, good luck, mate.

By the way, Six Skills was available for a short time in a Kindle addition but the files became corrupted in the transfer and we have not got that sorted yet.

 

[gypsyjim]

I'd highly recommend Mark Powell's book, Deco for Divers. But you may not have enough time to get it before your class (which is a shame). I'm not sure if it has a Kindle edition or not.

Short of that, Google Erik Baker and read "Understanding M-values", and his deep stops paper. Read Ross Hemingway's "Deco myths" article. Read Doppler's "The Shape of the Curve" article on the Deco Stop. There is actually quite a bit of good stuff on line about deco, but you have to hunt and pick a bit; Mr. Powell's book wraps it all up neatly and serves it to you on a plate.

From Amazon:

Deco for Divers: Decompression Theory and Physiology

by Mark Powell

(14 customer reviews)
See this book on Amazon.com

[TD="colspan: 2"] Please tell the publisher: I'd like to read this book on Kindle
[/TD]

apparently it is not yet available on Kindle

---------- Post added July 11th, 2013 at 09:13 AM ----------

If you click the link Amazon.com sends a note on your interest on to the publisher in an attempt to get them to offer the E version.

 

[phoenix31tt]

If you click the link Amazon.com sends a note on your interest on to the publisher in an attempt to get them to offer the E version.

i was looking for that link but i dont see it on this book...

physical books are a burden for me thats the only reason i haven't gotten this book yet (i even had an e-version of my ow/aow manuals)