Getting back into diving

[Uisce Beatha]

Greetings

I'm an older diver getting back into the sport. I got certified in 1995 and will be diving while cruising. Starting out from San Francisco then down the coast and on to the Sea of Cortez. My main focus will be learning to sidemount.

 

[tbone1004]

welcome back! Plenty of good sidemount resources on here!

 

[Uisce Beatha]

I have been looking through the sidemount forum post for a couple of months. I agree, a lot of good information. Thanks!

 

[rongoodman]

Why are you interested in sidemount? It isn't something you'd likely be using on the dives you'd encounter while on a cruise.

 

[Uisce Beatha]

Different kind of cruise. I am living on my 42' sailboat, sailing down the coast and onto Mexico. Its called cruising. I want to sidemount because I have a bad back and getting in and out of my boat with a cylinder strapped to my back hurts too much.

 

[34109411]

Different kind of cruise. I am living on my 42' sailboat, sailing down the coast and onto Mexico. Its called cruising. I want to sidemount because I have a bad back and getting in and out of my boat with a cylinder strapped to my back hurts too much.

i feel you !

 

[CraigP]

Greetings

I'm an older diver getting back into the sport. I got certified in 1995 and will be diving while cruising. Starting out from San Francisco then down the coast and on to the Sea of Cortez. My main focus will be learning to sidemount.

Good luck to you! I too am just returning back to diving. In my 60's and got my P.A.D.I. qualifications back in 1978 ...... so slow re-start with maybe some re-fresher training ....... gear has changed a lot. Fingers crossed!!

Greetings

I'm an older diver getting back into the sport. I got certified in 1995 and will be diving while cruising. Starting out from San Francisco then down the coast and on to the Sea of Cortez. My main focus will be learning to sidemount.

 

[happy-diver]

I want to sidemount because I have a bad back and getting in and out of my boat with a cylinder strapped to my back hurts too much.

Consider a floating tank and bc rather than two removed bottles being hauled in by other generous cruisers

 

[rx7diver]

Different kind of cruise. I am living on my 42' sailboat, sailing down the coast and onto Mexico. ... I want to sidemount because I have a bad back and getting in and out of my boat with a cylinder strapped to my back hurts too much.

If you configure a single-hose regulator on a smallish single cylinder (e.g., an alum 63 or an old-school 72 or a HP 80) attached to a BCD, you can clip this rig to a short rope connected to a boat cleat, and then set this rig over the gunwale or transom, into the water. Then you can enter the water, unclip and don your rig, and commence your dive.

After you fin back to the boat, you can doff your rig and clip it to the rope, and, after you climb back onto the boat, pull up your rig from the water into the boat.

Would this work for you? Should be very easy on your back--especially if you wear a weight belt instead of using a weight-integrated BCD. Seems a simpler approach (to me) than dealing with a pair of sidemount cylinders in open water.

ETA: Looks like @happy-diver just beat me to this suggestion.

rx7diver

 

[Uisce Beatha]

Wow lots of great ideas, thanks everyone!
I have figured out what works best for me on the boat. I am only using a single cylinder (monkey style?) and with the weight on my harness I only need a few lbs opposite of the tank to get balanced. It makes getting in and out easy for me.