Hull cleaner's advice wanted.

[Scubabill]

Im working out my equipment list for 5 divers for a hull cleaning company in South Florida (FT Laud area). I'm trying to be as safe as possible, so here is what im thinking
for gear.

Oxy ultralight BP
Oxy 18lb wing
My thinking here, is the equipment can/will be used for warm water diving also.

Thinking 60-something tanks to keep weight down

Dui 30/30 (tropical dry suits)
keeps the crap off the body

Full face mask w/hog cold regs Plus underwater Com's...
Again keeps the crap out of mouth, and the Hog reg is cheap, good, and sealed.
with communications workers can talk under water.

What do you think of this setup for doing hull cleaning work?

I have thought of surface supplied, but i have ruled that out.

If anyone is interested in a relocation to S. FL, feel free to see my post
@ http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/help-wanted/343516-hull-cleaning-south-fl.html


Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[smellzlikefish]

I wouldn't consider hull cleaning tech diving, maybe this would go better in a different forum?

As far as gear, you may have over-thought things a bit. I know a number of guys who do this kind of work in little more than a long, surface supplied hose, bathing suit, and mask. I've cleaned a lot of hulls with only a snorkel and mask.

For example, instead of a bp/wing setup, many of the guys who use scuba here use nothing more than a backplate to keep the tank on their back. The comm unit is definitely over doing it. Who needs to talk underwater? Depending on the harbors you are cleaning in, the dry suit may be a bit overboard, too. I would prefer something I could get in and out of really quick. This isn't toxic waste you are cleaning; it is algae and crustaceans. The only exception would be a severely polluted harbor.

 

[rjack321]

With 5 employees doing "commercial diving" you will have state OSHA equivalent regs to comply with. Don't know about FL but most states require redundant air sources for commercial divers on scuba.

This isn't toxic waste you are cleaning; it is algae and crustaceans. The only exception would be a severely polluted harbor.

Actually there's significant amounts of copper and lead. At least in WA, you can't scrub ablative paint in the water at all.

Needs to be moved to commercial diving forums...

 

[fstbttms]

Im working out my equipment list for 5 divers for a hull cleaning company in South Florida (FT Laud area). I'm trying to be as safe as possible, so here is what im thinking
for gear.

Oxy ultralight BP
Oxy 18lb wing
My thinking here, is the equipment can/will be used for warm water diving also.

Thinking 60-something tanks to keep weight down

Very few divers use SCUBA for in-water hull cleaning activities and I can't think of any advantages to doing so. The gear is heavy, bulky, potentially damaging to the boat, requires lots of maintenance, takes time and money to refill etc., etc., etc.

Dui 30/30 (tropical dry suits)
keeps the crap off the body

As a working diver in a warm climate, you may find that drysuits are too warm. Remember that your divers will be spending a fair amount of time out of the water between boats, maybe driving, walking, pushing a handtruck or dock cart or whatever. Personally, when I'm out of the water, I like to be able to strip down to just my jon when it's warm. Plus, drysuits tend to be less durable than wetsuits and more difficult to repair. I wear my drysuit as little as possible. I would never want to work in one year-round.

Full face mask w/hog cold regs Plus underwater Com's...
Again keeps the crap out of mouth, and the Hog reg is cheap, good, and sealed.
with communications workers can talk under water.

The full face mask is a good idea and it's all I use. But why do you need comms? Seeing as you are in Fort Lauderdale, you may have some large boats to clean, but where I come from, having more than one diver in the water per boat is generally a waste of time and effort. I think you will find that one diver/one boat is a more efficient way to work most of the time. And even if you do need to put more than one guy in the water on a boat, what do they need to chit chat for? Any talking can be done at the surface with the masks on.

What do you think of this setup for doing hull cleaning work?

I think you are planning to spend a hell of a lot more money and haul around a hell of a lot more gear than is necessary, that's what I think.

I have thought of surface supplied, but i have ruled that out.

Consider ruling it back in. Seriously.


And since you are in Florida, read this thread (actually all hull cleaners should read it):

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/he...ng-part-time-possibly-full-time-divers-3.html

 

[fstbttms]

I know a number of guys who do this kind of work in little more than a long, surface supplied hose, bathing suit, and mask. I've cleaned a lot of hulls with only a snorkel and mask. This isn't toxic waste you are cleaning...

You're right, it isn't "toxic waste". Anti fouling paint is classified as a pesticide. So the less contact you have with it, the better. And cleaning boat bottoms in only swim trunks and a mask is bad idea. At the very least you should be wearing a hood to keep the gunk and critters out of your ears. If I worked in really warm waters, I'd wear a dive skin. The stuff you are wiping off boat bottoms (both natural and man-made) is not stuff you want settling on your bare skin.

 

[Superlyte27]

First...
The hull cleaning I did was on very large ships like 1500' barges and air craft carriers and such... So bare that in mind...

I did it all surface supplied. Usually wearing a Superlite 27 or something similar. Most of the time I was down for 8-12 hours, coming up only long enough to take a dump and stuff a sammich down my throat. Filling that many tanks would take time and money and it's just not worth it.

We never wore anything more than a very buoyant wetsuit with a pair of coveralls over them. We didn't really need the warmth, but floating against the ship made scrubbing easier. We used anything from scrapers to shovels, to water powered orbital sanders with scrubby disks on them.

Recently, there was some hoopla about the paint and the debris entering the marine environment and the certification for the prevention of that "hazardous" waste has eliminated alot of hull scrubbers. I'm not sure how that was overcome or if it has even been overcome, or if people are simply ignoring the new standards.

If you have some capital to start a new endeavor, send me an email, and i'll turn you on to something in the diving industry with greater return for the same investment in an industry that's govermentally required, not just needed. mccumb4@hotmail.com

 

[K Mejean]

There was a big thing here in Tampa a couple of weeks ago. OSHA came in and fined a small Mom and Pop hull cleaning company over $200,000.00 for not having proper gear and not disposing of the waist properly. I would be sure to follow OSHA guidelines to the letter. They can and will get you.

 

[fstbttms]

I have been in contact with the dive service in question, "Scuba Clean" and they have not yet been fined and in fact, have gotten OSHA to back down for the time being due to a sloppy initial investigation, apparently. The bottom line is that following OSHA regs intended for commercial dive operations is essentially unworkable in the pleasure craft hull cleaning industry, and that's why they are largely ignored by bottom cleaners. Scuba Clean and some other Florida dive services are trying to get OHSA to change the existing regs to more accurately reflect the realities of the hull cleaning biz, which are much different than that of the hard hat dive industry.

 

[Scubabill]

There was a big thing here in Tampa a couple of weeks ago. OSHA came in and fined a small Mom and Pop hull cleaning company over $200,000.00 for not having proper gear and not disposing of the waist properly. I would be sure to follow OSHA guidelines to the letter. They can and will get you.

Thanks everyone,

i know all about OSHA, i volunteered 3 weeks on hurricane relief a few years ago. Was toting a chainsaw, clearing large, down trees. Hairy work (i was trained by the US forest service) OSHA was not playing, never do! I'll look into the reg's...after the good feed back, i'll reopen the surface air idea, makes allot of sense, and on paper looks cheaper to setup then tanks, ect. I still like the dry suit idea, i really don't want people i work with in that water, with that crap on their skin. The DUI 30/30 is a tropical, dry suit. It breathes very well. Underwater communications might not really be necessary, just my techno' nerd addiction talking! [:

 

[K Mejean]

I have been in contact with the dive service in question, "Scuba Clean" and they have not yet been fined and in fact, have gotten OSHA to back down for the time being due to a sloppy initial investigation, apparently. The bottom line is that following OSHA regs intended for commercial dive operations is essentially unworkable in the pleasure craft hull cleaning industry, and that's why they are largely ignored by bottom cleaners. Scuba Clean and some other Florida dive services are trying to get OHSA to change the existing regs to more accurately reflect the realities of the hull cleaning biz, which are much different than that of the hard hat dive industry.

Good. I hope they get them changed. Until then I wouldn't take any chances though.