Kayak diving

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Dale, why don't you post the details either here or in the Marketplace forum. I think there's enough interest here that just posting the information might work better than PMs. Part of the reason the Board is here is to get out information like that. You didn't start this thread to advertise something. You responded to a question. Give us the details!

Or...I can PM you, get the details and copy & paste them here... :D


I also found that one person always does more of the paddling than the other..... :wink:
 
OK, you talked me into it Rob. Here are the details of the course.

PADI Kayak Diver Specialty:
Introduction- Short lecture on Kayak types suitable for diving, necessary accessories, features and functions. Handouts covering boating basics, knot tieing, kayak brands, etc. This can be done as part of briefing at dive site.

Session 1- Kayak Basics.
First session is done without scuba gear, just getting used to the boat. Water entry and exit through surf, paddling techniques, maneuvering, getting off & on, righting a capsized boat, dealing with flooded boat, towing another kayak, broken & lost paddle procedures, etc. Spend about an hour or so on water just getting comfortable.

Session 2- Scuba dive. Securing equipment, anchoring techniques, donning equipment, assisting buddy, gear removal & replacement from kayak, resecuring gear, dealing with hatches.

Session 3- Scuba dive. Tethered diving, use of reels, navigation.

Session 4- Scuba Dive. Fun dive to put skills to use. Practice a few rescue simulations, but just extra practice to get more comfortable.

Cost of course- $125. Includes use of kayak, certification fee. Discount if using your own kayak. Students provide thier own scuba gear. Prerequisite- Advanced Open Water certified.

Thats the quick synopsis of the course. Its big fun as well as educational. I will soon be getting more kayaks for student use & rental, but I still keep class size small, no more than 4 students at a time. I've been wanting to get to Phoenix and dive Lake Pleasant, so if you guys let me know when your planning something, I can bring the 2 kayaks I have and let people try them out.
 
I have introduced my self and my Arizona connection, so I assume I can comment.

My wife and I have owned plastic sit on top Kayaks for 16--maybe 17 years and have done extensive diving off them, in California and Baja.

We use the Ocean Kayaks (OK) Scupper Pros and have a double Zuma.

The narrower kayaks are faster but have less stability than a wide one. There are currently a number of wide ones being offered, by OK and others. If buying I would check out the wide ones as opposed to a narrow one.

We only use singles for diving..Doubles and diving just won't work..too much equipment and too much weight and one too many people.

Most Kayaks have room for gear storage in the form of a hatch and or a storage bin molded into the hull that secures the items via straps.

Modifications need to be made to the kayak in form of polypro lines. We use a number of rather large diameter lines, 3/8 to 1/2 inch with snaps on both ends. Before diving or after diving the BC is inflated tossed over as is the Weight belt and mask (we use a OC layard) which are secured to the boat by one of the polypro lines--note one line per object. We use extra long paddle lanyards which I also made of 1/8 polypro

At the dive site, first thing is to toss the paddles over board--attatched by a lanyard.

Fins are put on in the boat.

Toss over inflated BC/Scuba, weight belt, mask etc. Drop in..mask on, BC on, weight belt on, accessories on, and it is time to dive.

Entering the boat reverse the procedure, tie off every thing to the poly pro lines via snaps. We have a "step"n the form of a long polypro line which is secured to the boat in two places. Swim to the boat place a fin in the loop made by the poplypro line, kick with the other fin and propell your self up into the boat while concurrently twisting so as to arrive in a setting position,

Pull in the items, with the straps still attached place the FMS in the front, weight belt in the middle hatch, and the BC/Scuba behind the seat..I have my wife secure the BC/Scuba staps as I do the same for her.

Paddle to shore.

Note==use thick Polypro--it is easy to handle with a cold gloved hand, and does not tangle as much as the thinner line.

Kayaks allow you to explore the reefs to far to swim and too close for boats to anchor.

The dive flag when used is placed in a medical stopper and forced into the scupper hole.
-------------------------
Scuba Cowboy was well known in California diving circles, has been diving for many many years and has been a well known and certainly well respected instructor also for many years....there is one better in in Arizona to teach Kayak diving...and I would strongly suggest that you take the course from him.

sdm
 
Thanks for the kind words Sam, and great to see you posting here. Sam has more diving knowledge than all of us put together, been diving longer than a lot of folks have been alive. Sorry, Sam, thats not to imply that you're old:) I have learned a great deal from him.
I started kayak diving in a Scupper Pro, great boat, tracks through the water very well. I switched to Scrambler XT's because they're wider & more stable making an easier dive platform. Definately don't have the performance of the longer Scupper, but not bad either. There is nothing quite like being on a kayak in the open ocean. You feel like part of the swells as you move along. I've launched them in places where you couldn't launch a normal boat and reached sites that were unreachable otherwise. I'd better stop, I'm starting to miss my old North CA stomping grounds.
 
I don't kayak alot locally, but would like to try with my son, next year. I really have no way of transporting a "hard" shelled kayak, I have limited storage and car space, so i've was considering the other option ... a two person inflatible diveyak. I know it probably won't last as long as a "hard" shelled one, and will definately not hold up if pushed into onshore rocks. Other than those obvious fallacies, what does everyone thing about them (the inflatible kind); i'm considering them because of low storage commitment, easy transportation, just for fun trips.

Any experience or advice would be most welcome.

-----

Mike.
 
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