Finally did it

[Captainsea]

On the little boat I'm going to have to figure out the same kind of thing. There's a starboard cutting board on one covering board aft - I think that'll end up "the place", and although its a big high for the job I think it will work. We'll see.[/QUOTE]

You may want to try what i use to do along time ago, and sometimes do when a diver has back problems and has to don their gear in the water.. just put out about a 6 ft line with a carabiner on it, then then attach it to the bc.. then slightly inflate it the bc and throw it in the water..i did that on ly small boat until i got a fin ladder (armstrong). but like i said.. vest type of bcs are easy for me and if it isnt easy.. i dont like it..lol

CLiff

 

[Genesis]

Yeah, its not that big of a deal.

The little boat is a GB 22 - power catamaran, with an extended platform and a nice sturdy ladder on it. Twin outboards, but the platform extends beyond them so you don't have to deal with pranging yourself on an engine.

The good news is that it has a lot of freeboard. The bad news is that it has a lot of freeboard

The Hatt is easy - the tuna door opens right near the waterline, and you can toss a kit in with a line on it if you need to (put air in the BC first!), or retrieve one if someone clips it off without too much trouble. That will NOT be easy on the GB, particularly the retrieval part.

 

[hantzu701]

You'll probably get into some interesting discussions with crews if you do this on charter boats...

WW

OOOPS!! NO Doubt! I guess my inexperience is showing. All of my dives have been shore or quarry dives. No rocking boats... Also, I'm in a single AL80 tank, so flipping the rig isn't as difficult as it sounds. I have also gotten into the harness by sitting on the ground and putting the harness on that way, but it's not terribly comfortable. Did I mention it's 16 degrees here? Nothing like have a cold butt to start the dive!

I still think that flipping the tank and harness over your head is the easiest way to get out of it midwater. Taking one arm and then the other out of the harness seems to take too long and feels awkward. Getting negative and sitting down in muck to take off your bp/wing harness also doesn't seem right either. Anyone else have input on this? Also, I'm curious of how technical divers get out their doubles underwater.

As for the weight belt, I know that ur suppose to put the weight belt outside the harness with wet suits in case you need to dump weights quickly. I think there are some spirited discussions on this, but this is just how I prefer to do it. If something goes wrong, I don't want to have to think if I have a wet suit or a dry suit or whatever. I want my playbook to be the same stuff that I need to do. If I dump weight, I want to expect that it will get hung up on my harness.

Bad: If I really need to dump weight, I need to take an extra step to make sure the weight is gone. Good: If I accidently dump weight, then I have another chance to re-secure the weight before I lose it.

 

[Genesis]

I NEVER put the belt outside the harness....

 

[MonkSeal]

I NEVER put the belt outside the harness....

Nor do I, but I wached DIR III video where GI explains when and why over or under harness. Seams pretty reasonable: with dry suit you have one more "air cell" to inflate if you have to increse your bouyancy - dumping weight is less likely, with wet suit you'll be able to dump it easier when it's over harness. However, it seems reasonable to have the same setup dry or wet - under harness.

That's why I wrote "maybe" in my post.

 

[Genesis]

If you need to "rapidly" ditch your weight you are overweighted - wet or dry.

As with many cliches, its not nearly as simple as the Kool-Aid folks make it sound. Losing a belt with a wetsuit at 100'+ is just as bad as losing one with a drysuit - either way, if you started neutral, you're not any more and by the time you can dump the wing you're probably halfway to the surface and irrevocably going there.

The belt CAN be ditched under the crotch strap; it WILL come out. It just requires more of a deliberate action.

Much of the time I dive with zero ditchable weight anyway. The only place I consider ditching accepable is on the surface - if I need to there I will ditch the entire kit.

 

[MonkSeal]

If you need to "rapidly" ditch your weight you are overweighted - wet or dry.

As with many cliches, its not nearly as simple as the Kool-Aid folks make it sound. Losing a belt with a wetsuit at 100'+ is just as bad as losing one with a drysuit - either way, if you started neutral, you're not any more and by the time you can dump the wing you're probably halfway to the surface and irrevocably going there.

The belt CAN be ditched under the crotch strap; it WILL come out. It just requires more of a deliberate action.

Much of the time I dive with zero ditchable weight anyway. The only place I consider ditching accepable is on the surface - if I need to there I will ditch the entire kit.

I agree with you. Those are the reasons why I do the same thing.