new to scuba, any advise on some basic yet efficient equipment?

[tonyM13]

Hello, I am new to scuba, I recently got a job where we go diving for golf balls, its decent pay but I feel I could be making much more money if I invest in some scuba diving equitment. As of now, we go in golf cources/ country clubs at night and be in the lakes for golf balls, we have 7 hours to work and in that time we dive down, retrieve 3-5 golf balls, surface, and do it again once we catch our breath. It is a fun job but I feel we are only using 1/3 of our time retrieving the golf balls and 2/3 acting our breath, so I want to get some basic scuba equipment to make our jobs easyer and much more productive (we get paid 10 cents a golf ball, so time is money). Do you have any recommendations for a good starter kit? Such as a basic tank, regulator, weight belt etc. I don't need fins or any of that stuff because the lake is only 10 feet deep at most. Thank you in advance and I look fiward to hearing from you.

 

[Skittl1321]

You might want to look into the cost of certification and weigh it against the extra money you would make by being able to collect balls more quickly. If this is a true business for you, it may be worth it, but our certification was fairly expensive, especially if I'm counting it at 10 cents a ball... Without counting the cost of equipment (we were required to buy mask, fins, snorkel; but the rest was provided during the course) just to get certified, I'd have to be able to pick up 5,600 balls...

Like I said, I don't have gear yet, so I can't help you there, but I'm just wondering how much you've really looked into this- especially because of the mention of not needing fins. You definitely need fins. The SCUBA gear is somewhat cumbersome and it would be difficult to propel yourself without them. We did our certification dives to only 15-20 feet, and I can't imagine doing it without fins.

Are you using a snorkel? If you are only going 10 feet, it seems like snorkeling gear might be the best investment, possibly with fins, so that you can propel more efficiently and use less energy in the up/down. Obviously you'd still have to come up to breathe, but you should be able to dive repeatedly without "have to catch our breath".

 

[diversteve]

Since you're diving in silty conditions constantly, buy a regulator that can be environmentally sealed to keep the crud out. 2nd stages on some regulators can be taken apart with minimal tools, you might want to get one of those also. Weed, silt and other things can cause them to malfunction also.

Are you a certified diver? You'll need to be to get air fills.

If you'll never exceed 10' something like this might work also - there's several mfr's that make them. Although actually some work to 60'. They're a lot more money than basic dive gear though. Hookah Diving Equipment and Brownies Third Lungs Maybe check craigslist or ebay?

 

[DanLW]

I'm working on buying all my gear, and from the list I have, a complete basic scuba setup costs at least $1500 new. Used equipment can be had for less. Let's say you could get a complete setup for $750. Add to that roughly $500 for certification. So you're looking at roughly $1250. At 10 cents a ball, you'd need to haul up 12,500 extra balls for it to be worthwhile.

But also consider the cost of air fills. A single tank costs around $10 or so. So every time you go out, you need to bring up an extra 100 balls just to pay for the air. I'm not sure how long a tank would last at just ten feet, but I suppose you may be able to get a couple hours worth of air per tank. Also consider the extra time spent driving to/from the dive shop for air.

Of course, if you want to get into scuba diving anyway, the costs involved become less of an issue. But from a purely business standpoint, the profit/loss may not be worthwhile.

 

[chrpai]

I think I recall reading somewhere that diving for gulf balls is actually fairly dangerous. It's basically no-vis "touch" mud diving, solo diving with entaglement concerns. I don't think a mere O/W class would prepare you for it.

Water Hazards: The Murky World of Golf Ball Divers

 

[Skittl1321]

At 10 cents a ball, you'd need to haul up 12,500 extra balls for it to be worthwhile.

Reading that article chrpai just posted where they are collecting 3,000-6,000 or so balls in one night, seems like maybe SCUBA equipment would be worth the extra bottom time. Though I agree, just OW certification might not really be enough; however, that would be enough to get a dive shop to fill your tanks, and then what you do with those tanks is your own business. I guess if you are used to swimming in these water hazards already, the additional training may not be hugely necessary.

 

[Hawkwood]

I think I recall reading somewhere that diving for gulf balls is actually fairly dangerous. It's basically no-vis "touch" mud diving, solo diving with entaglement concerns. I don't think a mere O/W class would prepare you for it.

Water Hazards: The Murky World of Golf Ball Divers

I'd also be really concerned about exposure (dermal and ingestion) to the pesticides (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, etc.) and the fertilizers that can run off into the ponds. The sediments can also harbour nasty stuff as well, depending on the age of the golf course. Lots of wonderful brews were used in the old days to treat the turf.

Chlorothanonil, propiconazole and iprodione, to mention only a few, are nasty chemicals. I do the compliance monitoring at one of the many golf courses around here.

At least ask to see the surface water sampling results from some of the ponds you will be working in, if any exist.

 

[chrpai]

A lot of golf courses use grey water also. Ya... I've read enough to know that you'll never catch me diving in golf course ponds.

 

[Hawkwood]

A lot of golf courses use grey water also. Ya... I've read enough to know that you'll never catch me diving in golf course ponds.

Ha! That's sort of why I'm doing the compliance stuff. They irrigate with the treated effluent from the community's sewage treatment system. We test for the effects of the irrigation water and whatever the golf course treats the turf with.