Details matter

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob, there was NO way that dive was happening without a scooter, given yesterday's currents. In fact, Scott and Brian, who splashed when we were trying to, didn't even enjoy the bottom time that much. (Richard and Jeanna, who went in much later than Richard was sure we needed to do, had a somewhat more pleasant dive, but surface current was wild for them, too.)

... that place is pretty unpredictable. The one time I made it onto the wreck we dropped the hook when the charts said we were supposed to ... and the current promptly pulled the buoy underwater. About 20 minutes later it came back to the surface. We went in one at a time ... dropped upstream, drifting into the line, and pulling ourselves down onto the wreck. When it was time to come up I shot a bag as soon as I left the wreck, did about 12 minutes of deco on the ascent, and ended up about 100 feet from where I'd started. Scott Boyd was driving the boat that day, and he said I did three gigantic circles around the wreck after I shot the bag.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post Merged at 06:44 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 06:39 PM ----------

Scooters seem to me to be unreliable. Every time I am reading about them they are failing.

I would not like my dive depending on a scooter, but if it did a backup seems prudent. I have no idea what scooter rental would cost but whats the cost of a six+ hour trip and all that prep just to have a switch issue?

It's gear ... gear fails sometimes. And when it does, it's a good idea to have a contingency plan.

I called a dive this evening ... due to lightning, of all things. We get that maybe twice a year out here.

My contingency plan was a Thai restaurant ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[PfcAJ]

Scooters seem to me to be unreliable. Every time I am reading about them they are failing.

I would not like my dive depending on a scooter, but if it did a backup seems prudent. I have no idea what scooter rental would cost but whats the cost of a six+ hour trip and all that prep just to have a switch issue?

Scooters are one of the most questionable pieces of gear, and can also be one of the most critical. I always have a backup plan, usually in form of an extra scooter.

 

[TSandM]

If my survival depended on a scooter, you can be sure that at least the team would have a spare.

In this case, nobody's life depended on it, but making the dive did. Nobody got hurt or even badly frightened on this trip. It was just frustrating and disappointing, and entirely my fault.

For anybody who doesn't use scooters who is reading the thread, the point isn't that the scooter failed. The point is that I didn't check the function of everything we needed to use to do this dive, and that came back to bite me. Details matter!

 

[scubahawk27]

Very picky comment. Small chance that a leak would develop from the time of the pool test to installing the batteries. Why not check the propulsion system top-side after battery installation would be my question. Several short trigger-pulls...

I live about 20 minutes from the beach here on Maui and scooter every weekend. Everytime I load up four scooters two Apollo AV1 and two Tusa SV7 (Same as the Apollo AV2) I dont leave the garage without greasing the O rings and installing the batteries and testing the props. Why even load them up if they don't work. There is too many oportunities for minor isssues like a simple battery connection or sand in a O ring. It only take 15 minutes of preperation to save a great dive.

 

[Scott L]

I'm not familiar with scooters, and especially not the scooter she's using. But the stuff I do deal with that has o-rings and needs leak testing gets leak tested every time it's closed back up due to the fact that a leak is possible anytime it's opened. That's why I'm having a hard time understanding testing it for leaks if it's gonna have to be opened up again and asked for a clarification.

If you have one, I'd love to hear the reasoning.

With good proficiency with one's scooter(s), simply replacing the battery does not normally call for another leak test. Given that this was a very big dive in terms of cost/time, Etc., another water test to check for leaks would certainly not be a waste of time on a slow day. By the way, as her story indicates, it was not a water leak which derailed the scooters use. Sorry if my wording was too pointed.

 

[Mustang29]

Too bad you could'nt make the dive.
The Knot is on my bucket list.
I'm hoping to do it on my 100th dive.
Good Luck next time.

 

[fdog]

Scooters seem to me to be unreliable. Every time I am reading about them they are failing.

I would not like my dive depending on a scooter, but if it did a backup seems prudent. I have no idea what scooter rental would cost but whats the cost of a six+ hour trip and all that prep just to have a switch issue?

I'll respectfully disagree. Our scooters are absolutely some of the most reliable gear we own, if not the most reliable.

They're as durable as a hammer, which is why we use them on practically every dive and we pretty much take them for granted. So do all the folks we dive with. We certainly don't baby them or overhaul them on a weekly basis; used hard would be more like it, with the scars and bangs to prove it.

Of course, scooters are commodity on the dive, just like gas; so if we need redundancy it's in the team (or a spare scooter if it's that far), as you would with anything that's mission critical.

...But that's afield from the original post Lynne made. I absolutely agree that if it's an important dive, or trip, that if you MUST have it, it should be checked...back where you can fix it.

Sorry about the dive, Lynne and Peter!


All the best, James

 

[TSandM]

For some reason, the trigger on my scooter tends to get sticky. Which is weird, because both scooters get cared for the same way, and they are always soaked and spun after use.

My regulators get cruddy fast, too . . . I'm beginning to wonder if the very hard water where we live is responsible for some of this.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'll respectfully disagree. Our scooters are absolutely some of the most reliable gear we own, if not the most reliable.

They're as durable as a hammer, which is why we use them on practically every dive and we pretty much take them for granted. So do all the folks we dive with. We certainly don't baby them or overhaul them on a weekly basis; used hard would be more like it, with the scars and bangs to prove it.

Of course, scooters are commodity on the dive, just like gas; so if we need redundancy it's in the team (or a spare scooter if it's that far), as you would with anything that's mission critical.

...But that's afield from the original post Lynne made. I absolutely agree that if it's an important dive, or trip, that if you MUST have it, it should be checked...back where you can fix it.

Sorry about the dive, Lynne and Peter!


All the best, James

Scooters are kinda like cars ... if you use them frequently, they seem to just keep on running. It's when you let them sit for a while that something gets wonky ... which kinda worries me, since the last time mine was in the water was sometime in 2011 ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)