Did my fourth dive in doubles this weekend

[Ber Rabbit]

My dive buddy was kind enough to bring his doubles set-up to the quarry so I could get some practice. He's about 40 pounds heavier than I am but other than that we have a similar build so we figured I could get away with diving his gear without adjusting the harness. This was my first time with a long hose configuration so he reviewed how to donate the regulator. I dove with two buddies since I don't have enough coordination when maneuvering in the doubles to be able to handle an emergency unless it happens right in front of me. I had one buddy carry my camera so I would have some pictures of me to present for your amusement here

Things I learned on this dive:

1. I don't like the power inflator button on the "outside" of the hose, I like it near my body where I can press it with my thumb.
2. The harness needs to be snug against my chest. His gear was slightly loose on me and even with the crotch strap the tanks shifted as badly as they had when I dove without one. Had the harness been snug there would have been no need for the crotch strap.
3. It's impossible to see a buddy who is not even with your head/shoulders. My guys were diving together in a position where they could see/photograph me. When I wanted to see them some serious gyrations were required and it took me several seconds to regain my body position afterward.
4. I really have to focus to do the smallest thing...like kick. My main concern was my breathing followed by buoyancy control and I was concentrating so hard on those I kept forgetting how to kick.
5. It's hard to get vertical and when I want the air out of my drysuit legs I tend to go vertical. That resulted in a wrestling match at the safety stop.
6. When you're only wearing one fin at the surface you tip over sideways...at least I did :shakehead

It's going to be a long time before I'm comfortable diving the doubles but it gets a little better each dive.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Randy43068]

My dive buddy was kind enough to bring his doubles set-up to the quarry so I could get some practice. He's about 40 pounds heavier than I am but other than that we have a similar build so we figured I could get away with diving his gear without adjusting the harness. This was my first time with a long hose configuration so he reviewed how to donate the regulator. I dove with two buddies since I don't have enough coordination when maneuvering in the doubles to be able to handle an emergency unless it happens right in front of me. I had one buddy carry my camera so I would have some pictures of me to present for your amusement here

Things I learned on this dive:

1. I don't like the power inflator button on the "outside" of the hose, I like it near my body where I can press it with my thumb. You'll get used to it.
2. The harness needs to be snug against my chest. His gear was slightly loose on me and even with the crotch strap the tanks shifted as badly as they had when I dove without one. Had the harness been snug there would have been no need for the crotch strap. Not really, you really will need it.
3. It's impossible to see a buddy who is not even with your head/shoulders. My guys were diving together in a position where they could see/photograph me. When I wanted to see them some serious gyrations were required and it took me several seconds to regain my body position afterward. That's why some agencies train and insist on using a light for communication. And is a good idea.
4. I really have to focus to do the smallest thing...like kick. My main concern was my breathing followed by buoyancy control and I was concentrating so hard on those I kept forgetting how to kick.
5. It's hard to get vertical and when I want the air out of my drysuit legs I tend to go vertical. That resulted in a wrestling match at the safety stop. Why do you want to be vertical?
6. When you're only wearing one fin at the surface you tip over sideways...at least I did :shakehead Pretty funny!!

It's going to be a long time before I'm comfortable diving the doubles but it gets a little better each dive.
Ber :lilbunny:

My biggest problem was being head heavy.. I need better trim and balance

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Thanks for sharing Ber. Your candor and humor are always refreshing! Too many times this sport is full of way too much bravado.

I dove this past weekend at Haigh with six other divers. Out of the seven of us, five were diving doubles. I was one of the ones diving a single. I gotta admit that I sure like the freedom of movement both in and out of the water I have in my single, even with a slung pony. Also, doubles can sure wear you out quickly. I really felt sorry watching my buddies haul those things around. I still may give doubles a try some day, but I gotta admit that they sure don't look like much fun!

 

[Randy43068]

Aint' that the truth! Especially when it's hot as the dickens and all suited up with a hike to waters edge.

 

[TSandM]

Your trim is amazing, Ber! Most of us swim around at 45 degrees for a while before we get the rig balanced out. And I love the rabbit ears and the doubles -- too funny!

You wait -- You'll get addicted to the very inertia that's driving you nuts now. Yes, you have to respect doubles and their tendency to go where they want if you get careless with the positioning, but at the same time, they make holding stops SO much easier.

On the other hand, using doubles on some of the dives I did in the last week would have been quite literally the death of me. They're not for long hikes and tricky surf entries!

 

[Randy43068]

I agree. Ber you have a wonderful sense of humor and a witty way of writing about your diving experiences. I especially liked your writings when you "wrassled" your drysuit.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Just curious--if the power inflator button were on the inside like this (as opposed to this--bad picture, flip it like a mirror), how would you hit it with your thumb?
I prefer mine on the inside was well, but I can't say I've ever hit it with my thumb. Wrapping my hand around the entire power inflator and using a finger or two allows me to control it quite well. If I want to, I can touch it light enough to slowly let in just one or two bubbles, or I can wail on it if need be.

Glad you had a good time, and it's good to see you can laugh at yourself.

My first dives in doubles came around dive 40 with a set of LP95s. Managed to somehow not have any issues other than the first descent when I realized that just putting a little air in the BC wasn't going to slow me down. :11: I could frog kick fine and keep good trim.
It has been the dives since then that the issues have come. Doing head over heels loop-de-loops was, I'm sure, quite humorous to watch.

I use double Al80s at the moment, which really aren't that difficult. I'm waiting a bit to have some work done on my drysuit--then I'll throw my double 119s on and get some practice with those. I might want to do some lower leg workouts first.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The nicest thing about wearing doubles is that once you get used to them, wearing a singles rig feels like you ain't got nothin' on ...

Agree with Lynne ... your trim looks terrific.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Randy43068]

I didn't see the pictures 'till now. The others here are right, you look really good in those doubles. Great trim, looks like you've had 'em all along.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Also, doubles can sure wear you out quickly. I really felt sorry watching my buddies haul those things around. I still may give doubles a try some day, but I gotta admit that they sure don't look like much fun!

The doubles I was using are pressed steel 100's and I didn't think they were too terribly heavy. When I got out I was able to climb the stairs using one foot per step. My buddy who owns the gear followed the three of us up the stairs and said, "Stop at that picnic table and let us get you out of that." I ignored him and went over to where my other gear was to remove my mask/hood/gloves first. I have a certain order I like to use when undressing. He said, "You don't listen to orders very well do you, get over here and get those tanks off." I told him to wait a minute and pulled my mask off; somehow I managed to get an ear tangled in the mask strap and the hood twisted under my chin, I couldn't get the mask or the hood off then. The guys had to come over and undo the hood to get me loose

Your trim is amazing, Ber! Most of us swim around at 45 degrees for a while before we get the rig balanced out. And I love the rabbit ears and the doubles -- too funny!

Thank you! When I got into the water my friend asked how the rig felt when I was face down. I was really pleased to see it was easy to stay level when I rotated forward. When I was on the surface the tanks tended to tip me just slightly backwards into a really comfortable resting position and I was really happy with that. Now we just have to figure out how to configure MY gear to get the same results.

The rabbit ears were a source of entertainment for a lot of people the entire weekend, I meet the nicest people wearing those My friend had people coming up to me and petting them for good luck; I overheard something about "points", not sure what he was up to :whack:

Just curious--if the power inflator button were on the inside like this (as opposed to this--bad picture, flip it like a mirror), how would you hit it with your thumb?

On the inside like this. That's how my Ladyhawk is and I always operate it with my thumb. My buddy's gear had the button on the other side of the hose (maybe the mouthpiece was just turned I don't know). He also removed the inflator hose pull dump because it's a failure point. I didn't realize how much I had grown to love my pull dump until that dive I did a lot of two-handed dumping which caused my body to tip to the right...and the tanks to shift. The ensuing wobble/wrestling match to get them back into position had to look like some sort of seizure to my buddies. To their credit...I think...they never attempted to rescue me.

Glad you had a good time, and it's good to see you can laugh at yourself.

If I can't set the example I might as well BE the example, I'm good for a laugh if nothing else. I didn't hug any trees this time and I was pretty proud of that, have to be vertical to hug trees and I couldn't get vertical. (Randy: I was trying to get the air out of my drysuit legs at the safety stop and no other position was working, I needed to be head-up vertical.)

Ber :lilbunny: