Diving doubles and being well balanced

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I been asking questions on the Dir thread as well, as I been diving " DIR " style for the past 3-4 months, following all there procedures on equipment , etc.

I also been diving doubles, for the past few years, and had many set's ,
from PST 130's , PST 100's, which i use now, and LP 95's , Alum 80's etc.

I'm diving and love my PST 100's, as they fit my profile UW perfect. Most of our diving is above 135' because I'm not tri-mix certifed, so the few dives we do have down to 180' , I don't plan on doing anymore, until I get further certifed for the right mixes at that depth.

We do however do alot of decompression diving on the wrecks around 135' , and the PST 100's have more then enough air , and trim out well.

My question is, When I say " Well balanced " you should be as close to neautral as possible, and not be neg, and not have weight where you can't ditch, example, BP, I use a 6 lb halycon, So I'm min of 10 lbs neg between my BP and tanks right off the bat, jumping in the water.

when diving doubles, you should have two sources of renduncy, I " was " using a dual bladder 60lb OMS, which I sold, and got a single baldder Halycon, to follow the Dir method.

I also dive with a lift bag at all times, and use a dry suit, but I don't use the dry suit in the summer months here in FL.

Sometimes in the past, I used a shorty, and dove the doubles, single bladder, relying on a lift bag, if I needed lift, if somthing were to go wrong with my wing, bad Idea.

So what are the guy's doing diving doubles, to stay well balanced ?

I asked a few of my friends who I dive with, Who are just using a single bladder wing, liftbag, and diving wetsuits.

I don't like being really negitive, which i am UW, and I'm not sure at this point if I want to follow DIR, or go with a Dual bladder wing for peice of mind, and reduncey.

Diving steel doubles, is hard to get well balanced in my opiuon, unless you are diving dry, I trim out beautifully with my DUI TLS350 with those puppies on my back.

But who wants to be jumping off a boat into 84 degree water all summer in a dry suit?

Any suggestion's would be greatley appreciated

 

[cerich]

Diving wet with doubles DIR requires alum doubles not steel. You are balanced in that you can always swim double alum 80's up, if you need more gas stage 80's or go steel and dry(which if using that much gas you most likely have a good deco oblig so being dry/warm you will deco better anyhow)

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Diving wet with doubles DIR requires alum doubles not steel. You are balanced in that you can always swim double alum 80's up, if you need more gas stage 80's or go steel and dry(which if using that much gas you most likely have a good deco oblig so being dry/warm you will deco better anyhow)

Thats good advice. I just broke up a pair of Alum 80's, and switched over to my PSt 100's I had laying around, only because If we din't go into deco, I could use the doubles on a wreck dive, then use them again on a reef dive, which usalley follows a wreck dive here in FL ( recreational diving )

Thats when I tohught of doubling up my 100's

Maybe I'll just switch back to the 80's and band them back up.

I keep switching back and forth, i had the 100's doubled up 6 months ago, but I didnt like how Neg I was diving wet, so I banded up the alum 80's.

But I found , then I blow out 130cf of air on a wreck dive, and I have to sit out the reef dive, because I didn't have enough to do both.

Thats what gave me the idea of going back to the 100's.

Theres nothing easy about this, as you can see

 

[cerich]

when I do a two dives on a trip that I want to do little longer/deeper wet I just bring my double 80's and one stage 80. I use the stage 80 on dive #1 and maybe some gas from my doubles (depends on my rock bottom calculations) and then just back gas on the second dive. Always in trim and good practice with a stage. It's also really easy to move around to and on the boat. Even when doing more tech types dives in the 150-250 zone with less than an hour of deco in really warm water I'll just bring 80 stages as needed and double 80's , much easier to move and also to get ready for the second dive, on those dives I plan to only use stages and always have 160 cubic feet of backgas I don't touch at all.

I REALLY recommend you get some instruction before using stages. There is good technique that makes it easy and safe and bad that just becomes too much task loading, bad drag in the water and not safe.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Theres nothing easy about this, as you can see

It's pretty easy actually.

As Chris says, get some actual training.

There's very little 'dir' about what you're doing and I can assure you you will learn this stuff from the right guys.

BTW what are your buddy's wearing? Are they all changing their tanks because you are?

 

[JeffG]

As Chris says, get some actual training.

What do you mean? Are you saying I can't learn how to dive on the internet? Ya right. Get with the program dude.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

It's pretty easy actually.

As Chris says, get some actual training.

There's very little 'dir' about what you're doing and I can assure you you will learn this stuff from the right guys.

BTW what are your buddy's wearing? Are they all changing their tanks because you are?

I'm not sure what training your refering to.

I been diving doubles for years, but I'm trying to do it safer, as I relized for the past few years, that we have been really not " following the rules" if you know what i mean.

I got spolied diving off my own boat for the past few years, and planning the dives where ever, as long as we want, and nobody telling us when to be back on the boat.

My friends are diving wet suit's, with steel tanks, and dosn't think theres a problem with diving wet with large steel tanks.

I got away from diving the double 100's, because I knew I was way to neg in the water, and could not swim them up if needed.

My friends, and alot of people here in FL, I see people all day now that I'm diving of recreational boats, with steel doubles on, with wet suit's. I think they, and myself are hoping one day they will never have to swim them up. Two weeks ago, I saw a few guy's diving doubles , and wearing just shorts, with not even a wetsuit on, just bare skin, I couldnt belive it.

I have a ton of tanks, so I could easlley double up 100's, alum 80's, steel 80's, etc.

I just got off with one of my friends, and he said, we been diving like this for years, what brought this on?

Even now as I'm thinking, I also have a steel 133 , that i dove with a shorty on, I was problet really negitive even with that set up

 

[JeffG]

I'm not sure what training your refering to.

Let me help you out.

as I been diving " DIR " style for the past 3-4 months, following all there procedures on equipment , etc.

We do however do alot of decompression diving on the wrecks around 135' , and the PST 100's have more then enough air

hence

There's very little 'dir' about what you're doing

So if you want to dive DIR, you might want to look at get some training with people that use/understand DIR.

 

[cerich]

I'm not sure what training your refering to.

I been diving doubles for years, but I'm trying to do it safer, as I relized for the past few years, that we have been really not " following the rules" if you know what i mean.

I got spolied diving off my own boat for the past few years, and planning the dives where ever, as long as we want, and nobody telling us when to be back on the boat.

My friends are diving wet suit's, with steel tanks, and dosn't think theres a problem with diving wet with large steel tanks.

I got away from diving the double 100's, because I knew I was way to neg in the water, and could not swim them up if needed.

My friends, and alot of people here in FL, I see people all day now that I'm diving of recreational boats, with steel doubles on, with wet suit's. I think they, and myself are hoping one day they will never have to swim them up. Two weeks ago, I saw a few guy's diving doubles , and wearing just shorts, with not even a wetsuit on, just bare skin, I couldnt belive it.

I have a ton of tanks, so I could easlley double up 100's, alum 80's, steel 80's, etc.

I just got off with one of my friends, and he said, we been diving like this for years, what brought this on?

Even now as I'm thinking, I also have a steel 133 , that i dove with a shorty on, I was problet really negitive even with that set up

Steves a GUE instructor I believe, as such he is very DIR and according to DIR rules, well you haven't been following them.

I'm just GUE trained and teach NAUI Technical so I pretty much think and dive DIR (for tech, I'm still a poodle jacket and octo guy for recerational no stop diving with a few Oceanic computers strapped to me...)because I believe it is the best "system" overall (with some quirks), however also don't think "DIR rules" apply to those that haven't learned them...

Try out what we are suggesting with the 80's doubled and see how it dives. Then let your friend do the same and you decide.

 

[JeffG]

Steves a GUE instructor I believe

Snort cough...ack.

Nope, he wears X-Shorts, can't be a Gue instroketer.


(He isn't. He's a PADI instructor that has taken some GUE training (and other tech agency training))