First couple of dives with doubles...

[Tamas]

WOW! What a rush and what a different feeling. After diving for 5 years now with ample dives under my suit, I must say it is like learning to dive all over again. The effects of the extra added weight, the lack of quick movements, the ability to turtle or to drive ones head into the mud if not careful.....wow. But on the other hand it was very cool to be able to go with the flow and dive with doubles. As frustrating as it can be, I am digging it. Will have to change a few things the way I dive now just to compensate for all the above mentioned reasons (which will get better as time goes by) but it was/is not that difficult - never once did I turtle (although felt like I was about to). I guess no more sideways swimming and quick seal like manoeuvres under water with these puppies. The dry weight is kinda hard on the body, especially when you are trying to do a shore dive, not to mention trying to lug the gear around in-out my house.

But I must say, I am loving it and am looking forward to my next dive on May 21/22 in Kingston. Care to share your first experiences?

 

[KidK9]

My doubles are about ready to go for their first swim next weekend. Did you go with an instructor? Solo? Or just grab the bull by the horns? I'm very interested, especially in not drowning myself....

 

[Diesel298]

my first experence was simmilar to yours.. i got over it rather quickley...
ilbe shakin down my doubles on a few shore dives soon
what are you using for tanks
im using stel 72's

 

[Tamas]

I went to the pool the very first time but almost killed myself.....no, not from the tanks but rather from the heat of the water and the suit. I wanted to wear my normal cold water gear to get the weights and buoyancy right, but it was horrible in the heat of the pool.

Other than that, I just grabbed the bull by the horns or in this case by the manifold and headed for the deep end. As I said, the idea/theory is already there, but for now I just miss the finesse of the art.

I have 2 LP OMS 98's that I picked up used for a steal.

 

[KidK9]

Tell me if you can - if I using double PST E130's with a drysuit, weighing in at 160 lbs, what kind of weight do you think will be needed? Did you wear it on a belt or do you have weight pockets on your harness?

 

[SDAnderson]

:scubadive The Dance of the Drunken Turtle :scubadive​

• Be sure you have enough lift to get you to the surface.
• Have a buddy with you that has lots of experience in doubles - and make him bring a camera.
• Shallow bottom for the first several dives - maybe 20 feet or so.
• The first couple of dives are all about buoyancy and trim. Bring lots of little weights and plan on spending ridiculous amounts of time moving them around. Your buddy should help with feedback on your trim.
• Be sure to turtle a couple of times - you want to know where the tipping point is, what happens when it happens and how to recover.
• Don't forget to start practicing bubble checks, air-sharing drills and shut down drills on your first dive and every dive after that.
• Relax, have fun and don't worry about looking like a doofus - everyone in doubles went through the same thing.

Next step: adding stage bottles and a scooter. :11:

 

[KidK9]

Hmmm, maybe I should just contact my LDS and pay an instructor to help me out for a day just to make sure I dont die.

 

[SDAnderson]

As long as you have enough lift to get yourself back to the surface there isn't much danger of being hurt on your first doubles dives - unless you laugh yourself sick. Having somebody along who knows what they're doing to give you tips, help turn you back right-side up, help you analyze your trim, futz with weight placement and snap some incriminating photos just makes the job of learning easier, faster and more fun.

To answer the weighty weighting question, for buoyancy you will need little to no weight. For trim, you probably will. If you can, bring along a handful of bullet weights with snap bolts or ankle weights so that you or your buddy can easily move them around. You might well find that you'll be more comfortable with weights around your ankles - just remember that there is a serious energy penalty you will pay for that solution. It's usually better to adjust the tank position in the bands and play with some weight on a belt or the tank butts than to go with ankle weights.

 

[Amphibious]

Hmmm, maybe I should just contact my LDS and pay an instructor to help me out for a day just to make sure I dont die.

judging by your first post that is a wise choice. double are not for everyone and take some practice to get used to. I never really had any trouble when I started, but having over 1000 dives prior to going twin may have helped. DIR rigging definately did.

 

[H2Andy]

ok, dumb question:

if you turtle, how do you get out of it by yourself?