Difficulty of vintage diving

[rgbmatt]

Maybe next summer when I can minimize the exposure protection I'll work on making some dives that don't rely on the BC bladder for buoyancy control.

This is easy - just dive your normal gear a few times, and try leaving your BC deflated for a whole dive. If you're too heavy, take some weight off.

This is something I think more divers ought to do, even if they don't plan to dive without a BC. It really helps cure the overweighting habit.

 

[spectrum]

This is easy - just dive your normal gear a few times, and try leaving your BC deflated for a whole dive. If you're too heavy, take some weight off.

This is something I think more divers ought to do, even if they don't plan to dive without a BC. It really helps cure the overweighting habit.

Yea, so many dive plans, so little time.

Pete

 

[Creed]

My local fresh water dives are largely done with a backpack, a steel 72, and my trusty Conshelf XI. When I need a BC, I use a Seatec jacket and my Conshelf XIV. However, I am hot on the trail of an older wing for the backpack, and that will probably be my primary rig.

 

[spectrum]

Is diving vintage gear dificult or is it all in the set-up? I'm thinking about bouyancy. Since there is no BC you are what you are except for the tank geting lighter as air is consumed. So that it's not a fight to get down I assume you enter the water negative and become neutral to positive towards the end. What if you want to ascend early? is it a struggle? Were the early wetsuits bouyant like todays neoprene? Sometimes they look more like plain rubber exposure protection. Is controling lung volume a significant part of the art?

Pete

Tonight I got to answer my own question. At least for me making such a dive meant minimal neoprene and here in Maine we have a slice of time where we can make freshwater dives at a local pond in a 2mm shorty as long as we stay above the first thermocline most of the time. Surface temps are in the low 80s and hold to the mid/upper 70's above 16 feet.

So for my 149th dive I mounted an E7-80 to a Dolphin pack and set-up a soft "weight belt" with foam blocks for 3.5 pounds of static positive buoyancy to negate some of the cylinder's negative buoyancy. Next time I'll try a pound or 2 more of fixed lift but I was able to hold my depth using my lungs for the 50+ minute dive. It became a lot easier after I worked the cylinder down 1000 PSI. It was a real neat experience being underwater with just the bare essentials. A few times I instinctively reached for my inflator and just shifted gears and made it happen.

We spent most of the time swimming just above the 16 foot thermocline. The times I ventured down to 21 feet to snag golf balls (4) I was able to drift up at will just by filling my lungs and exhaling slowly.

Anyhow thanks for Luis for the mentoring and loan of the pack. To Costi for doing dive flag and navigation duty and another regular buddy that joined in. It's an aspect of diving I never figured I'd attempt.

Pete

 

[Luis H]

So for my 149th dive I mounted an E7-80 to a Dolphin pack and set-up a soft "weight belt" with foam blocks for 3.5 pounds of static positive buoyancy to negate some of the cylinder's negative buoyancy.

Pete

You need to update your “logged Dives” record.

That was a nice dive yesterday evening. It was nice diving with only a 3mm shorty, no BC inflator… actually no BC, and no octopus. Basically just a basic tank harness and my Mistral (Nemrod, I did have a console on a banjo mostly for the compass).
My (Warner Ave.) Mistral doesn’t breath as good (specially with a full tank) as any of my Royal AM, but it is fun taking it out for a dive.

Just a minor correction: that wasn’t a Dolphin pack. That was just a basic back pack. A Dolphin pack is the USD plastic pack that wraps around the tank neck, the one I was using last week. I don’t think a Dolphin pack would fit your steel tanks.

A weight belt full of foam blocks…crazy engineer, what would you think of next?
Just make sure you don’t release it in an emergency. You won’t get the expected effect.

 

[Nemrod]

I think Allen can make original harness sets for aluminum 80s, the Dolphin will only work with 6.9 inch diameter tanks. I dove with Allan every dive at Wazee except for the last dive where I went over to the beach area and went solo after discovering my tent and camping gear--uh--missing--. I dove every dive except for the Phoenix test dive with a 3/2 layered over a Henderson vest and short and beanie. I used 3 lbs on my first dive and was a touch negative so I ditched the weight belt alltogether and was perfectly neutral from the surface down to my deepest depth of 45 feet on this trip. I dove my Mistral twice with only an spg on banjo adapter twice and my square Royal several times with spg on banjo adapter with a Calypso second on a hookah port adapter. Of course with the Phoenix I dove full wing/BP and all that in a Hog rig so I could utilize the LP ports etc for testing. I think I carried six pounds of weight.

"(Nemrod, I did have a console on a banjo mostly for the compass)."

Ughhhhhh, arrrrrrrrrr, you guys and those consoles.

Hey, while on the subject of minimal diving, I met a fellow from Dallas who had a strange octapus. It was not a conventional second stage but instead a small "tee" shaped piece of rubber that you bite down on and it would release a small burst of air. Have you ever seen these? Seems like a neat idea to reduce clutter. But, he did have a honking huge console, lol. N

 

[Damselfish]

Hey, while on the subject of minimal diving, I met a fellow from Dallas who had a strange octapus. It was not a conventional second stage but instead a small "tee" shaped piece of rubber that you bite down on and it would release a small burst of air. Have you ever seen these? Seems like a neat idea to reduce clutter. But, he did have a honking huge console, lol. N

you mean this?

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=31173

 

[Luis H]

Hey, while on the subject of minimal diving, I met a fellow from Dallas who had a strange octapus. It was not a conventional second stage but instead a small "tee" shaped piece of rubber that you bite down on and it would release a small burst of air. Have you ever seen these? Seems like a neat idea to reduce clutter. But, he did have a honking huge console, lol. N

I have seen those at LeisurePro only:
http://www.leisurepro.com/Cat/Context_954/Octopuses/960.html


Oh yeah, in the dive yesterday evening, I didn't use a weight belt with my steel 72. I felt a tiny bit light at the end but maybe not enough for a weight belt and a 2 lb weight. Perhaps if I just strap on a manly knife, it would have been perfect.


Pete,
Next time you are welcome to try one of my RAM and truly dive closer to real vintage.

 

[spectrum]

You need to update your “logged Dives” record.

That part of the site has been on the fritz sine the Memorial day "upgrade". Believe me I've tried.

A weight belt full of foam blocks…crazy engineer, what would you think of next?
Just make sure you don’t release it in an emergency. You won’t get the expected effect.

I'm glad they didn't implode at 21 feet! I like the idea of a tuneable PVC static displacement cylinder.

Pete

 

[spectrum]

Hey, while on the subject of minimal diving, I met a fellow from Dallas who had a strange octapus. It was not a conventional second stage but instead a small "tee" shaped piece of rubber that you bite down on and it would release a small burst of air. Have you ever seen these? Seems like a neat idea to reduce clutter. But, he did have a honking huge console, lol. N

There was a "colorful" thread on those this past winter. I forget if it was in the basic or regulator forum.