CT-Rich
Contributor
looks like you've got a pretty good starter set. Have fun.
Equipment for wreck diving?
- Thread starter SlickNick
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looks like you've got a pretty good starter set. Have fun.
Dive the World
Contributor
In addition to above mentioned, Hammer and other tools to get those portholes.
Please DONT it with another person with the same knowledge as you, go with someone who is an experienced person when it comes to wreck penetration.
you can get soooo easily disoriented. so easily lost, so easily panicked.
If you are going to stick you head into a wreck make sure you've got a helmet too lol!
Serious, looking around a wreck is fine, going into one is a no no till you have learn/trained in how to dive in overhead environments and can make your way out of a zero viz environment with just feeling your line out.
Getting lost and running outta air is very high especially if you have no reference points, guidelines, or tend to bump into things. A single pat/fin wash in a rusty environment and all you'll be seeing is a unmoving dust cloud.
Serious, looking around a wreck is fine, going into one is a no no till you have learn/trained in how to dive in overhead environments and can make your way out of a zero viz environment with just feeling your line out.
Getting lost and running outta air is very high especially if you have no reference points, guidelines, or tend to bump into things. A single pat/fin wash in a rusty environment and all you'll be seeing is a unmoving dust cloud.
OP
SlickNick
Registered
actually no. He has his own gear, he got certified in '87. I mowed 72 lawns to get all of that stuff plus my cert courses.
mikeawags
Registered
I would like to invite you to join us in Michigan. The wrecks are covered in zebra muscles, but otherwise pristine. No one is allowed to steal anything from the wrecks, so there's lots to see. It may be colder than you are used to, but I can get you set up with appropriate exposure protection.
Sent during my 10' deco stop
For wrecks in the northeast I'd recommend at a minimum a reel and possibly a spool. An SMB/lift bag as well should you get blown off the wreck as currents can and do come up suddenly and someone will need to see where you are surfacing. The knife you choose is important as many northeast wrecks are also popular fishing spots. If you have one of those pig stickers that straps to your leg make sure it's on the inside of your leg.
I saw a number of obviously new divers this past summer wearing it on the outside and getting it tangled on lines, in vegetation, and one even had it popped out of the sheath and gone when he surfaced after it got snagged on something. The shop he was with felt bad for him. And proceeded to tell him not to worry, they'd sell him another just like it.
Better yet if that is what you have put it on ebay. Get a set of EMT shears as a knife will not cut through a steel leader. Shears will and something like a trilobite cutter will make short work of monofilament line and nets. Make sure you can get to either of these with both hands. By feel. In fact every piece of gear you carry should not require looking or thought to access it.
Some may say you don't need to do this just yet. I disagree. Better to develop good habits as early as possible so they become instinctual.
As to your lights. If you were doing even a basic wreck class with me you'd need two at a minimum. A primary and a back up. Both should easily stow when not in use and not be dangling from a d ring so they could get caught on something. Practice shooting a bag from depth. This is also something that would be part of the class.
Carry a slate or wet notes and get in the habit of taking notes on the wreck. Note the placement of the anchor or tie in line in relation to the wreck itself. Make note of features as you pass them and note distances, direction, etc. If in low vis and running a line this could come in real handy if the line got cut on a piece of sharp metal.
If you plan to do a lot of wrecks buy some very good gloves or a few sets of cheap ones. For warmer water I use cut proof kevlar safety gloves with rubberized palms I get from a safety supply store by the dozen. I got turned on to these at my other job that involves working with sheet metal.
I'd also start looking into wreck diving educational materials. I would not waste money on an entry level wreck diving manual unless it is accompanied by instruction from an instructor that does wreck diving. This is the time to forget about agencies and choose based on the instructor. Then buy the references they suggest.
For my students I recommend the following in this order:
1. My book "SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver" if they have not trained with me as it covers in detail - safe diving practices, planning, buddy skills, and my philosophy of training. Actually it's required and included in the class price.
2. The TDI Advanced Wreck Diving Manual. I don't waste time with entry level material as I want the student to have a comprehensive view of what wreck diving involves and that includes heavy emphasis on what can go wrong and the results of the crap hitting the fan. They'll get an SDI card and there will be very limited penetration as allowed by standards but I want them to have a realisitic view of wreck diving. Not the sugar coated one.
3. The Six Skills by Steve Lewis. This book may appear to be for technical divers but every piece of information in could apply to the newest diver just out of their OW class in some way.
3. The SDI Solo Diver manual. Personally another book I feel every diver should have. Especially new ones.
4. The Technical Diving Handbook by Gary Gentile. Some of it is a little dated but it is still a great resource.
5. Either the IANTD Technical Diver Encyclopedia or the Exploration and Mixed Gas Diving Encyclopedia (aka The Tao of Survival Underwater). Both are by Tom Mount.
Pay special attention to the equipment configuration and dive planning sections.
These would be a good start. And again, locate an instructor that does wreck diving. Not just one who can teach it because he/she has a card that says they can. There's a big difference.
I saw a number of obviously new divers this past summer wearing it on the outside and getting it tangled on lines, in vegetation, and one even had it popped out of the sheath and gone when he surfaced after it got snagged on something. The shop he was with felt bad for him. And proceeded to tell him not to worry, they'd sell him another just like it.
Better yet if that is what you have put it on ebay. Get a set of EMT shears as a knife will not cut through a steel leader. Shears will and something like a trilobite cutter will make short work of monofilament line and nets. Make sure you can get to either of these with both hands. By feel. In fact every piece of gear you carry should not require looking or thought to access it.
Some may say you don't need to do this just yet. I disagree. Better to develop good habits as early as possible so they become instinctual.
As to your lights. If you were doing even a basic wreck class with me you'd need two at a minimum. A primary and a back up. Both should easily stow when not in use and not be dangling from a d ring so they could get caught on something. Practice shooting a bag from depth. This is also something that would be part of the class.
Carry a slate or wet notes and get in the habit of taking notes on the wreck. Note the placement of the anchor or tie in line in relation to the wreck itself. Make note of features as you pass them and note distances, direction, etc. If in low vis and running a line this could come in real handy if the line got cut on a piece of sharp metal.
If you plan to do a lot of wrecks buy some very good gloves or a few sets of cheap ones. For warmer water I use cut proof kevlar safety gloves with rubberized palms I get from a safety supply store by the dozen. I got turned on to these at my other job that involves working with sheet metal.
I'd also start looking into wreck diving educational materials. I would not waste money on an entry level wreck diving manual unless it is accompanied by instruction from an instructor that does wreck diving. This is the time to forget about agencies and choose based on the instructor. Then buy the references they suggest.
For my students I recommend the following in this order:
1. My book "SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver" if they have not trained with me as it covers in detail - safe diving practices, planning, buddy skills, and my philosophy of training. Actually it's required and included in the class price.
2. The TDI Advanced Wreck Diving Manual. I don't waste time with entry level material as I want the student to have a comprehensive view of what wreck diving involves and that includes heavy emphasis on what can go wrong and the results of the crap hitting the fan. They'll get an SDI card and there will be very limited penetration as allowed by standards but I want them to have a realisitic view of wreck diving. Not the sugar coated one.
3. The Six Skills by Steve Lewis. This book may appear to be for technical divers but every piece of information in could apply to the newest diver just out of their OW class in some way.
3. The SDI Solo Diver manual. Personally another book I feel every diver should have. Especially new ones.
4. The Technical Diving Handbook by Gary Gentile. Some of it is a little dated but it is still a great resource.
5. Either the IANTD Technical Diver Encyclopedia or the Exploration and Mixed Gas Diving Encyclopedia (aka The Tao of Survival Underwater). Both are by Tom Mount.
Pay special attention to the equipment configuration and dive planning sections.
These would be a good start. And again, locate an instructor that does wreck diving. Not just one who can teach it because he/she has a card that says they can. There's a big difference.
manni-yunk
Contributor
The Gentile book that Jim mentioned is a very good book that is basically written for NJ and Northeast diving. I reread it all the time, when Im bored. Im sure the others are good as well - but the Gentile book is all about our area. I believe Northeast Scuba in Norristown has it in stock - and I know for a fact that Atlantic Divers in Egg Harbor has it.
OP
SlickNick
Registered
I have that book. I borrowed it from the dive shop down the street. Though im only a few pages in.
Some of the equipment configurations are pretty dated and exemplify the height of the "wear it all" era. People tend to be a lot more minimalist now with much cleaner configurations that will slow them down less in a current and not get them hung up in a wreck.
IIRC,he has some good discussion about mixes and optimum deco mixes for dives in the 150 ft for 30 minute range, that provides a pretty good idea into the pros and cons of getting on a leaner mix earlier verses a richer mix later versus just using back gas and O2. There's more to it than what discussed there, but it illustrates how everything interacts.
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