Kayak Diving

[Spearo]

I own three Ocean yaks (all sit on top) and like them all. This brand can sure "take it" not like other brands I use to have in the past.
Freediving in the open ocean from the smallest of them is great but I rather use the boat if I want to scubadiving or spearfishing in the open water. Lets face it..I love the rigs and the time I spend on them but it has it's limitations too.
Forget it if there is wind, forget it is there is a current, forget it if you're loaded with gear in open water and want to bring them all back home at the end of the day.

There are also problems with mid to lg. size yaks when coming back and landing/beaching in the surf from the open ocean.

Expensive scuba gear can get lost with a blink of an eye using them to dive from, I don't know how expensive your is but mine is big bucks but...there is always that nice little lake or that flat little cove out of the way that things may work for you.

Good luck guys, just bringing out the good , the bad and the ugly. LOL

 

[Nemrod]

As to losing gear, if you don't have it then you cannot loose it. Mask, fins and snorkel (if you must) go in the forward hatch or a dity bag under the bow netting. Knife on leg, computer on arm. Tank and harness in the well. Notice I said nothing about a BC. The tank and harness are always tethered with a 10 foot line (with rubber shock bungee) until installed on me. I may don the tank in the water with it hanging on the bungee and doff it returning. Yep--practice those doff and don skills in the 10 foot pool. If you must use a BC I recommend a small wing. Always keep air in the wing. Again, always clip it off on a 10 foot line until it is installed on you. In rougher conditions don and doff in the water. In smoother conditions you can don the rig on the yak and then upon return doff it and clip off, again with the wing somewhat inflated, then haul it aboard and secure it. Lights, spear guns, doodads, cameras are left onshore at least until you master the basics.

Surf, well, this requires some knowledge of seamanship which is not taught in a scuba course. If the surf is beyond your skill then don''t go out--simple. If need be tow the yak out beyond the breakers and coming in do the same, let the yak run ahead of you, you hanging BEHIND it on the line. I am not recommending that method but I have done it that way. You can surf it--carefully but beware, large surf can broach and roll or pitchpole a kayak. Never allow yourself to get downwave of the yak as it will knock the dickens out of you as it crashes into you. A plastic kayak helmet--laugh if you like---might be a wise addition during encounters with surf.

As to swapping out tanks while at sea, that is an advanced skill. I generally tow the kayak rather than anchor it since it serves as my surface floatation, not having a BC. If I anchor I am careful not to leave sight of the anchor. I use a small clevis anchor that folds. I can pick it up if need be. Generally when I plan to use an anchor or carry the anchor along with me then I use a wing so I can offset the anchor. The anchor is barely three pounds if that anyways.

Consider this, your not going to be getting into a complex drysuit or tight wetsuit on a kayak, I wear what I am going to wear. I have contacted several wetsuit makers to come out with kayak friendly suits but they don't understand at all. It is possible to wear a neoprene short or pants and then don a neoprene vest or "bolero" type top once on location. Thing is that they do not make this stuff. In lieu of that with the typical back zip jump suit you can put it on and then leave the top section forward while paddling but there is a danger in that---what if you wind up in the water by accident in a half donned suit or a bolero top half on and over your head with your arms trapped---might lead to an easy drowning. Neoprene vests with front zip are less problematic. If your not a good swimmer then wear your kayak purpose designed PFD while at sea. Otherwise I keep mine under the forward net, I am a good swimmer. All in all I have considered it might not be wise to go further to sea than I could swim back on my own, just in case.

A PLB might be nice. Since BTW a kayak can deep six I have taken to installing pool noodles and an inflatable bag in mine so it will stay afloat. The hulls have no bouyancy beyond the trapped air which will leak out the rudder cable holes, rivet holes, open hatches etc and the yak will go down. I guess in this circumstance you could attach a suasage to it and abandon ship, swim for shore and hope somebody will help you salvage the thing later--lol.

Frankly, the biggest danger is jetskis piloted by the typical and omnipressent yahoo and yahooette and boats. As to spearfishing, y'all go right ahead, somehow the idea of a bleeding fish with the blood draining out of the scupper holes just seems like a bad idea to me while I amsitting in a bananna shaped piece of plastic. I don't spearfish anymore so I have not completely thought that all through. Do---doop--doooo-----doooomp.

Minimalsit diving suits kayak diving. Adios.

N

 

[Spearo]

I think this tread was about scuba diving from a kayak and not fishing or freediving from them if I remember right...

I understand that there are some out there that are "perfect" all the time, in all situations and in any size boat but there are many that are not and situations are always diffrent and the skills and "tricks of the trade" are not always in the bag specially for beginers.

The fact is that when you're scuba diving/spearfishing (speacially in cold water) you need lots of expensive diving equipment and yes you can rig/inflate and tow it to the site (not very efective) or you can get it all on the boat any way you can (remember that we're talking kayak here) and hope that tide, wind or just the weight don't become a factor even before you start. Towing a loaded yak on land/sand after you drifted away from your entry site do to any of the above is not fun.

There is a big diffrence from just kayaking with regular/simple gear for a few hrs. or a day to loading up a yak for a scuba trip in the open ocean. TThere is also a big diffrence in where you plan to do your thing. A lake, river, Sound and open ocean are all fun to do with the right boat but scuba diving in open deep water from a yak is a diffrent animal.

I am no expert but been doing it for a very long time and just wanted to bring a few good points and hope some will enjoy the experince and not loose your shirt or get hurt in the prosess.

Have fun but do it safe and save your gear for another day.

 

[Nemrod]

I carry the scuba tank (with wing assembled) in the tank well of my kayak but always tethered. Don't know if that is perfect all the time, just what I have been doing, seems to usually work out OK. My Scupper Pro is prety fast though slightly unstable. It does not have to much problems with wind and current--to a point. A cell phone and marine VHF in a waterproof bag rides with me too if I am going out far--just in case. I wonder if SeaTow will come get me, I am a member. Hmmm. N

 

[Da Nizz]

Yak diving is alive and well in FL, and we have had a yak diving subforum in FL since September. ScubaBoard - Florida Kayak Divers

Feel free to join in

 

[Peter_C]

We dive the open ocean that has current, bad vis, and swells. If you can see the bottom in 20 feet of water it is a great day to go diving. We always anchor as we can not tether to the kayak with kelp around. I use a heavier anchor and a fairly heavy 2.5 foot chain to make sure my kayak will be there when I return. It could be a matter of life or death. Our ocean front is met with cliffs and big rocks that have waves crashing over them. Not somewhere you want to try to go ashore at. A depth finder is mandatory as we often anchor in 60+ feet of water, and need to know depth before hand. I keep the depth finder on the port (Left) side of my kayak clipped off with a double ender. The right (Starboard) side stores my anchor that is run up to the front through self installed u-clips. I've found it is feels easy to flip (Read nearly flipped) when trying to free a stuck anchor from the side, but by pulling on the front of the kayak it is much more stable (Yes we do descend go down the anchor to make sure it is well placed). My kayak has life lines all the way around the back, then on the left (Port) side also and the anchor line can be used on the other side. The life lines are very nice to have for moving around the kayak, with or without fins on.

Fins are stored in the front hatch with everything else (Mask, weight belt, flares, VHF/FRS, pump, etc.) in the center hatch. Rear hatch holds a USCG approved orange life jacket to remain legal. Between the bow and center hatch is filled with expandable foam, along with under the seat. Obviously it is going to keep the kayak afloat, but also keeps stuff within easy reach of the center hatch. Dive flag gets mounted in sail mast hole and is just a piece of irrigation tubing with a flag and line to keep it in place. When not in use the flag pole is stored on the port side where a paddle could be mounted. Since mine is pedal powered most of the time, kelp requires paddling often, the paddle is on a leash and mounted to the starboard side.

Like Nemrod, I use a leash for my BP/W (BCD as most know them) but mine is only about 7 feet. It is clipped off any time it is being don or doffed in the water. Fins remain on (Current can be strong) any time I am working in the water which is also better for putting my BP/W back onto my kayak. I push the tail of the tank up, then rotate the rest over the side. The Hobie Revolution will handle doubles, but been there done that, not recommended.

We have done small surf exits and just paddle like mad until were on the beach. Many of our beaches have big waves and steep sand, so usually we launch from a cove, which although calm can be over large slippery rocks aka boulders.

So far I have never flipped when using my kayak for diving, but did do a few test flips on purpose to make sure I new I could get it back over, and that my BP/W would stay put. There were no problems at all performing the drill.

We also fully suit up and zip up before ever boarding the kayaks as drysuits are the norm and dry gloves work much better when kept dry.

Since surface swimming in the Landlords (Great White sharks) realm is right up there with smearing yourself with blood in a grizzly infested forest I feel the kayak lets us access more remote spots with some protection from a larger predator. At least if a shark hits the kayak it will not attack again and chances are it will not do much if any physical harm to us.

 

[jmish]

Been on several kayak dives in Monterey. I have an Ocean Kayak Scrambler XT also. I usually do 2 tank dives, and stow a lot of stuff in the hatch. I drilled a second hatch so I could mount a GPS. Looking for more kayak dive buddies in Monterey.

 

[Da Nizz]

Do any of you have a fishfinder attached to your kayak? Do you have any other extras attached?

 

[jmish]

Yes, I have a Garmin GPS/FF. I mounted the unit itself on the right side of the kayak, just to the front of the seat. I read about several ways to mount the transducer, but in the end I just coat the bottom with vaseline and stick it to the inside of the hull. It works like a charm and nothing is permanently mounted.

 

[jdubdiver]

I may have the chance to get an Ocean Malibu two or a Malibu two xl used for a good price, I am not sure as to which one it is. would anybody have an opinion on how diveworthy either of these boats are? I am considering picking it up and if I get it eventually I want to dive off of it.