Maui residents - loan me 2 tanks and weights for a week and I'll give you $30!

[mickeyroi]

Ok, here is the situation. I am coming to Maui from California on August 16th, leaving Aug 23d. My girlfriend and I will bring all of our equipment, except of course for tanks and weights.

I am willing to pay $30 (non-negotiable, but paid in advance) to whoever, near (or willing to drive to) Kihei, will lend us two tanks (with current hydro and VIP) and weights (about 36lb) for a week, until the 23d.

We are both certified, with about 50 dives each, both in cold California waters and other tropical places. On top of the snorkeling, we want to be able to do spontaneous beach dives as we explore the island, without first going through the hassle of every time finding a dive shop near the location to rent from, and without paying big bucks for a full week's rental at a shop. We will probably only use your tanks/weights a couple of times, since we will be using a local charter's equipment for two of those days as we explore the off-shore sites.

I am flexible as to what to arrange as a security for the tanks/weights. I can write a post-dated check for the value of the used tanks/weights (about $150), or leave a form of ID, or pledge my first born child, or simply use an honest man's handshake, as long as I know that you won't run away with the security either and stick me with stuff can't take back to California.

Sorry to all those in the local dive industry reading my post, I know that I should be supporting the local economy (which I am with the charters), but I'm on a tight budget this year.

Please PM me or reply to the post to discuss further and exchange info.

Michael

 

[Wildcard]

You can also mail your weights ahead taking advantage of the USPS flat rate boxes. $8 each way for your weights. Just a thought....Enjoy your visit.

 

[TSandM]

Have you looked into tank rental? We were shocked to discover how cheap it was. We paid for the fills, but there was no additional charge for the tank rental -- and you'd have to pay for the fills, anyway,if you got somebody to rent you a tank. Talk to B&B Scuba and find out. We hauled our tanks all over Maui.

 

[mickeyroi]

Wildcard, I like the flat rate box idea a lot and will consider that. I used that once to buy weights on e-bay

TsandM, I like to hear that your tanks rental was inexpensive. I looked online and found rentals at about $7 a day. For two, that's $100 just to have the tanks! For that price might as well also ship my own, hehe. So they let you keep your tanks overnight, and only charged you the $5-$7 to fill them each time? I'll definitely check out B&B Scuba.

Thanks!

Michael

 

[Wildcard]

Ed Robinson gets high marks too.

 

[Grummpy]

Tank and ten refills at Maui Dreams is 30.00 a week

 

[kidspot]

most shops over here do not charge a tank rental fee, just a fill fee and they throw in the tank so you have something to hold the air in

In Kihei check with B&B Scuba - at most it will be $5/fill ... less depending on how many you get... Not that I wouldn't like to make $30 renting a couple tanks mind you ... it's just not a good deal for you Course I'm pretty busy that week, so I won't be able to get to Kihei anyway lol.

Have a great trip.

Aloha, Tim

 

[mickeyroi]

Thanks you all for your candor and friendliness, I can't wait to go on this trip! I will probably follow your many suggestions and rent from a local dive shop, since it is much cheaper than what I thought it would be.

I was going to book with Ed Robinson's for their adventure dive package, and maybe someone else for a night dive.

See you all there!

Michael

 

[KrisB]

Michael, if you're looking for a dive shop to do a night dive with, check out Maui Dreams Dive Co. http://www.mauidreamsdiveco.com/

Personally, I haven't been too happy with ERDA lately -- Mike Severns' also has top marks, but I haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

 

[DiverDebbie]

I was going to point out that even if someone lends/rents you tanks you should look into what you'll have to pay for fills... but I think someone did that already For $30 for 10 fills at Maui Dreams I'd go with that, as you can't beat $3/fill including the tank. When we were there we got a fill card for I think the same price but with Maui Dive shop. The reason being, they have multiple locations around the island, so I figured that would be more convenient. If you were to consider that, be warned that not all MDS locations have tanks when you need them, they only have standard AL 80 with air, and you still have to return them to the location you got them from. Although 1 or 2 locations had particularly knowledgeable/helpful/friendly staff, in general we found MDS (I'm talking the retail shops not charters) to be rather disorganized with staff who were very new to diving. I hear good things about Maui Dreams. But hey... do get the free Maui Dive guide at MDS. It has maps of the shore diving sites.
As for weights... 36 pounds?... for 2 people? I dive cold water with a dry suit and used about 1/4 of what I use here when I dove there in a 3/2 full. In fact, since I don't like to wear a bulleted belt, and I have bullets that fit nicely in my integrated pockets, we brought our own weight. It saved us having to rent weight, and since the airlines we took (Harmony... which was fabulous btw) allows a dive bag as extra (sports equipment), the extra weight in our baggage wasn't an issue.
Have a fabulous time!

oh.. and Tim, what do you mean you're pretty busy that week... you mean you're pretty busy using you own tanks yourself? (no jealousy here)