Doffing and Doning Gear Advanced Skills ?

[seaangel]

When I took my basic course we went through the skills of doffing and doning gear underwater in the pool and again in our OW check out dives. I had some difficulty then in accomplishing this but was able to do it with minimal assist by a buddy. I was extremely bouyant then in my 6.5 wetsuit and being new was sort of nervous compounding the bouyancy due to my breathing patterns. I was also using different BC, regulator and an aluminum tank.

Well I just completed my Stress and Rescue class, we practiced in the pool all of our basic skills, which there were no problems in the mask clearing or regulator clearing areas. I did have problems in the doffing and doning of my gear. I use integrated weights, have a steel 100 tank and even in a .5mm wetsuit I am bouyant, as soon as I am out of my BC I begin to float up and away from my gear as it sinks lower. I am able to pull myself to it grab it and work my way back into it. Ususally someone will kind of give me a light hand to keep me down while I get it situated. I can put my gear on floating on the surface no problem this is when at a depth of 20 feet that I am struggling with it off, to keep my regulator in my mouth and not have it pulled out by the gear sinking and me floating up. Before anyone suggests put air in the bc, I did that , maybe I need to put more.

Bottom line I passed all the OW skills even though I was not smooth and graceful with that skill But, I sure would like to be. Even with all the work I didn't suck up a lot of my air so maybe I wasn't working as hard as I mentally thought I was.

All I have left is to take the written test tommorrow night and then I will have my Stress and Rescue certification, which will give me my Specialty Diver card, my Advanced Certification and will have me one specialty left to complete before my Master Certification.

 

[Diversauras]

seaangle,

How many dives do you have total? How many are outside of classes?

 

[JDostal]

Here's a tip on taking off your gear and putting it on underwater...DON"T USE INTEGRATED WEIGHTS!!!



I was doing a shallow dive w/ some friends and wanted to practice...I was in a 7mil wetsuit.

So there's me, almost rocketing to the surface, being held down by nothing more than my reg which is furiously clamped between my teeth...hehe. Funniest thing ever, according to my friends.

Anyway...tried it again a week later w/ a weight belt. MUCH easier. And after lots of practice, I can even do it without much trouble w/ my integrated weights. Just don't let go of your BC...

 

[MikeFerrara]

The value of removing and replacing equipment underwater can be debated. If you are alone and become entangled it might come in handy. In other words, you need to make multiple mistakes before it ever happens. It might have value as an "equipment familiarazation" of "comfort in the water" type of skill. If you and your equipment are nearly neutral it's easy, which is why wearing a weight belt helps. Most just sit on the bottom and let the air out of the bc. If the need for this skill ever arises in OW there may not be a bottom. I am required by standards to conduct this skill even in an Advanced Nitrox class which means most students are wearing double steel tanks and no ditchable weight. This is a worst case. The scuba unit is very neative without air in the bladder and the student (wearing a dry suit is very buoyant). If you can stay under the unit and manage to keep your balance it can be done even mid water. In a single tank and wet suit, even using integrated weights, there is less force trying to seperate you from your equipment but it may not look very graceful.

 

[seaangel]

Not wearing integrated weights does make sense and that with a weight belt on I would be more negative. However, I do my diving with the integrated system so for practical purposes being tested they way I dive made sense. I also only need 5 lbs of weight in fresh water with a 3mm wetsuit and my steel 100 tank. In a 7mm suit I need 10 lbs. If I could split the weight between the BC and a weightbelt, just to have weight on me to make me more negative that might work. But, wearing more weight makes me overweighted and it effects my bouyancy control, the weight above has me weighted perfect. I don't fight to hover or have to over add air to my BC I can control my bouyancy with my breathing and I am able to stay still and not fin to keep from sinking.

I have been diving for over a year now, and have 94 logged dives, not that I am a newbie but still learning. I believe that I just need to work with my equipment and find my comfort zone. Doffing and donning my gear is not something I have done since OW check outs over a year ago and I guess I hadn't really thought much about it until now. My other skills are used alot more, mask clearing, regulator clearing and we practice air sharing frequently. I had no problem demonstrating an controlled out of air ascent. Just the getting the gear back on after off.

 

[voidware]

There is a particular dive in the BVI's (the Fearless) in which the head is easily accessible. I have a friend (yeah, a friend...that's right) who took off all his gear (including swim wear) at 90ft so that he could sit on the head. It's a pity that my buddy...I mean his buddy...didn't have a camera.

brandon

 

[Uncle Pug]

voidware once bubbled...
It's a pity that my buddy...I mean his buddy...didn't have a camera...

...and the seat wasn't covered with fire coral.

 

[Diversauras]

A moray eel living in the bowl, like in the U-352.

 

[voidware]

a few barnacles and some slimy algae were all. Fire coral would have been worth it, but I don't know about the moray. He might have severed some hoses .

The head used to be protected inside the hull, until some divers tried to recover it. Now, it's sitting loose by the hull and gets moved around quite a bit by search-and-recovery classes.

brandon