Nautilus Life Line from a divers and Captains view

[Johnoly]

and TekTite strobe. These items will now live in the left pocket

Next time I dive with you I'll bring you a vacuum sealed 55 gal Yellow Trash bag shrunk down to 4"x4". In a presentation at the Blue Wild Dive show by the Coast Guard Helo guys they tested this and it was the number 1 cheapest and best search & rescue device. If lost at dark and most boats don't have night vision, you blow up the yellow trash bag and put your light/strobe inside and tie it closed with the string provided. It becomes a giant blinking 3 foot ball lantern. Can be seen for miles by jet planes and even from land on the east coast dive sites.
Total Cost - less than 50 cents. Yellow giant ball being seen - Priceless !

Pict = bag unfolded & 4"x4" vacuumed

Pict=Bag blownup & tied at night

 

[O-ring]

Do they make a 20' x 20' version? That and a bottle of He and you can probably just fly yourself home.

 

[Steve Roquemore]

lol.. we did something similar on the Belle Amie a few weeks ago when a few of us bought them at the end of the voyage. They don't come with batteries, but my LM backup lights take the same batteries so I had a spare set on board and we were all testing our Lifelines in the salon just to make sure they worked before going home since they would be easier to exchange on board if faulty. One of the DMs saw us about to power them up and was like "dudes, if you are going to press that button let me alert the captain first".

Tested mine at our house for the video and the Coast Guard sent the police to my house to make sure we were ok. We live inland and 35 miles from the nearest CG antenna.

 

[CosbySweater]

I’ve been giving this topic some more thought recently. I’m focusing my question on a situation where a diver is separated from the dive boat but there is not an immediate emergency.

My thought is that the best thing to do would be to contact your dive boat to let them know where you are. Easy if you have the boats MMSI number programmed in to the lifeline.

Now what if you dive off of several different boats over the course of a year? Do you reprogram the unit each time you dive a new boat with the boats MMSI number? Is that what Nautilus intended? Not an awful solution but it would be an easy thing to forgot to do. I almost wish they kept the voice comms feature of the original nautilus as that will likely solve 90% of separated diver issues without calling in the cavalry.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I almost wish they kept the voice comms feature of the original nautilus as that will likely solve 90% of separated diver issues without calling in the cavalry.

I totally agree with this. Apparently the issue with the radio version of the Nautilus Lifeline was that many countries do not allow a VHF to be used within their waters unless it is registered and licensed. That does not mean that you cannot have a Marine VHF...... just that you can't legally use it.

I live in the North Puget Sound, WA area and in normal non COVID years I haul my boat up to the outside of Vancouver Island, BC (Ucluelet). I know that it is technically illegal for me to transmit on my VHF while in Canadian waters.... but I still have it and I monitor it. I also carry a handheld floating waterproof VHF in my boat. (waterproof to 15ft) Both have AIS and MMSI all set up and registered. I also have a GLOBAL EPIRB that has a 10 year battery.

Bottom line is that I am a bit of a safety nut and I don't give a rats ass if I am technically "breaking" the law by using a VHF in foreign waters. If I am ever in a rescue situation that requires that I must be able to communicate........then please come ASAP in a nice big warm boat and arrest me.

I would like to see Mike bring back the radio version and just place a disclaimer on the purchase that it is only intended for use in waters where VHF use is authorised.

One more thing that I might actually consider trying is to take a waterproof floating handheld marine VHF, then double vacuum seal it and then take to depth and see if it will withstand the pressure. If it will take the pressure then this might be a decent solution to having surface comms available in an on the surface emergency or even just to communicate with my boat. My handheld is also a GPS, so along with the ability to have voice contact, I can also relay my exact GPS coordinates.

Last but not least is that Mike Lever is a personal friend and I have lead multiple charters and dove with him on many occasions..... My avatar pic was taken by Mike on the Nautilus VII..... which was his original OP and long before he expanded and built the Explorer. I can say without ANY hesitation that Mike is all about safety when it comes to ANY of his dive op's and I know for certain that Mike's intentions and expertise in developing this Lifeline product are 100% genuine.. I 100% know that he and his team will continue to improve and support this product..

PS...... Mike and MaryAnn...... If you happen to be reading this... CHEERS! Hunter

 

[Rick Brant]

How does the size of the original device compare with the newer (no voice) model? I would not want anything larger than the newer model.

 

[Belzelbub]

How does the size of the original device compare with the newer (no voice) model? I would not want anything larger than the newer model.

Original device is definitely larger than the Nautilus GPS, but it’s not huge. It sits in a pouch that is attached to my BC, and I never notice it during a dive.

 

[CosbySweater]

Word of caution. I recently changed the batteries on my Nautilus Life Line. I was careful to inspect the o-ring and reassemble the unit but, unfortunately, it flooded on me. This was likely user error, however there is only a single o-ring sealing the battery compartment. Would like to see two. Additionally, the screws that seal the top of the unit to the battery compartment are tiny and are very easy to strip. This was probably a contributing factor to my issue. Either way, be careful and diligent if you're removing and replacing the top of the unit to swap batteries.

I purchased an inreach mini with the Garmin dive housing to replace it. Certainly more expensive than the lifeline, but arguably a better system, particularly if you want two way comms and true, worldwide connectivity. I do a lot of camping/backpacking so the inreach will get used for that too.

 

[Steve Roquemore]

Word of caution. I recently changed the batteries on my Nautilus Life Line. I was careful to inspect the o-ring and reassemble the unit but, unfortunately, it flooded on me. This was likely user error, however there is only a single o-ring sealing the battery compartment. Would like to see two. Additionally, the screws that seal the top of the unit to the battery compartment are tiny and are very easy to strip. This was probably a contributing factor to my issue. Either way, be careful and diligent if you're removing and replacing the top of the unit to swap batteries.

I purchased an inreach mini with the Garmin dive housing to replace it. Certainly more expensive than the lifeline, but arguably a better system, particularly if you want two way comms and true, worldwide connectivity. I do a lot of camping/backpacking so the inreach will get used for that too.

The 2 tiny screws that hold the casing together on the top will crack the case and allow it to leak if ou use full size screwdriver. Should use the ting screw driver that comes with the unit as it hen makes it hard to overtighten. I learned this the hardway and flooded my unit ones.

 

[CosbySweater]

The 2 tiny screws that hold the casing together on the top will crack the case and allow it to leak if ou use full size screwdriver. Should use the ting screw driver that comes with the unit as it hen makes it hard to overtighten. I learned this the hardway and flooded my unit ones.

After inspecting the casing that appears to be what happened.