Minimalist Setup for Small River Diving (~15ft or less)?

[SlugLife]

There are a few slow-moving small "rivers" or large creeks in the area commonly used for casual-tubing (floating down the river in inner-tubes) that I'm considering diving. For the most part, I suspect it would be hard for me to find spots deeper than 15ft & there are only a few small "rapids" areas that are easy to avoid and not too extreme.

I also recently happen to acquire enough gear to assemble a few spare sets of scuba-gear, including something that's basically a plastic backplate with a small wing, extra regs, and even one of those commonly-hated octo-inflator combos.

Anyway, I was curious if anyone had put together a sort of minimalistic setup for this style of diving. I was thinking my setup would be little more than a backplate, tiny wing, minimalist harness, weights, fins. Regulator setup would be 1st & 2nd stage, small spg, no octo (bad idea?), no inflator hose. Accessories would 2 cutting devices for entanglement & small SMB to act like an inflatable pool-noodle when I'm just in the mood for floating down the river. Lastly, a map, so I know about where I am relative to the 2-3 small "rapids" areas (basically tube-slides) along the entire length.

A 30 to 40 cu would probably be ideal, but I only have 19cu, 63cu, and 80cu tanks at the moment. I could back-mount or sling the tank (not sure which would be better).

As far as hazards and safety, entanglement is probably a real risk. Bumping into drunken idiots could be another, but only very minor risk. Rapids could be a risk, but only if I wasn't paying attention. For the most part, it seems like surfacing could solved by surfacing. If this is unsafe for some reason, feel free to let me know.

 

[Raphus]

If entanglement is a real risk I would want to have more then 40cft.
I don't like the idea to dive without inflator/wing or octo.
If you got any problems you want buoyancy, at least on the surface.

Of course there will always be at least one diver who says a wing is not needed and back in 1574 we dived without wings.
But they were developed for a reason and are an essential safety device.

If you don't want the octo dangling around and entanglement is a possibility, then use a shorthose and wear the octo under your chin, like done in longhose setups.

If your primary is ripped out of your mouth, while entangled and no octo is available you will regret your decision.

 

[happy-diver]

Yeah back in 1574 we dived without wings
unencumbered by all the current prerequisite unnecessary junk, because other people are scared
because we could dive

but not the advice a diver would give for rivers

So you can be the first that has brought such a ridiculous idea to the fore

 

[SlugLife]

If entanglement is a real risk I would want to have more then 40cft.
I don't like the idea to dive without inflator/wing or octo.
If you got any problems you want buoyancy, at least on the surface.

Of course there will always be at least one diver who says a wing is not needed and back in 1574 we dived without wings.
But they were developed for a reason and are an essential safety device.

If you don't want the octo dangling around and entanglement is a possibility, then use a shorthose and wear the octo under your chin, like done in longhose setups.

If your primary is ripped out of your mouth, while entangled and no octo is available you will regret your decision.

Reasonable enough responses about the octo, I might as well keep it & just ensure it's properly secured.

I don't know for certain there are entanglement hazards, it's just what I imagine with weeds, branches, and fishing-line being slightly more common than my usual dive sites.

It might be worthwhile diving the site in full-gear (that I'm familiar with) before trying to see what I don't need.

 

[happy-diver]

I could back-mount or sling the tank (not sure which would be better).

You want your stuff firmly affixed

 

[boat sju]

You'll have to make some gear choices based on the lazy river you truly intend to dive. When you say "tubing" I think very benign like some of the streams we have here in Michigan. Look through my media and you'll see my inland lake, 15 ft deep rig.

I suggest having a flag on an inner tube with you. You can use it as backup buoyancy. I use a snorkel too, since no bc. If you intend to skim along the stream bed I'd avoid as many danglies as possible.

 

[Bob DBF]

Yeah back in 1574 we dived without wings

Well, we did!

However I did wear an inflatable horsecollar life vest for surface flotation that inflated using CO2 cartridges. I believe one can still find similar gear, now more for boaters, I would advise it. A BC for 15' diving is unnecessary as proper weighting, lung volume, and propulsion is more than enough for buoyancy control.

Turns on rivers have a tendency to speed up flow and push one into and under debris. It can be done, but be f'n careful. The less gear you have, and more streamlined you are, the better.

 

[SlugLife]

You'll have to make some gear choices based on the lazy river you truly intend to dive. When you say "tubing" I think very benign like some of the streams we have here in Michigan. Look through my media and you'll see my inland lake, 15 ft deep rig.

I suggest having a flag on an inner tube with you. You can use it as backup buoyancy. I use a snorkel too, since no bc. If you intend to skim along the stream bed I'd avoid as many danglies as possible.

One of the reasons I was thinking of going super-minimalist was because I could just do snorkeling instead in these rivers, but it's much more enjoyable to be able to just relax under the water. Maybe not as minimalist as using a spare air.

I have 2x plastic backplates, which look nearly identical to this one (below). One of them has a wing and harness.

Plastic backpack and 30cf pony

What's funny is I intended to let the seller keep (and sell) the BCD, and offered him $20 less. He took the $20 lower offer, and gave me the BCD, so I just threw it in a box thinking I wasn't going to use it because I already had 4x full BCD setups for 1 person. Now, I'm glad I have it.

I do have a mini dive-flag, a tube, and an inflator-nozzle. Since it is a (slowly moving) river, I'd probably want to anchor the tube at some points and drag it with me at other points. I could always throw water & food in a cooler, in the tube. Same with any loot I find on the bottom, and just attach a mesh-bag to the tube and drop stuff off periodically.

Now that I'm thinking about it, the 63cu might be ideal, even if bulky, since it might take me 2-3 hours to explore the entire segment of river. If I still end the dive with 2000psi, then maybe I'll downgrade to the 19cu for the next dive.

 

[boat sju]

It can be done, but be f'n careful.

I think this is the best, most direct advice I've ever seen on this board.

 

[boat sju]

SlugMug,

Be VERY prepared for fishing line.

Remember, being shallow and relaxed a 19 cu ft pony will probably get you close to 40 minutes and you can be using your snorkel too. I do have a 63 that I use but I like the 30 if I'm more "snorkeling".