Jon Nellis
Contributor
There's a lot of "it depends" for boat entries with a DPV.
Is it a 1-2ft drop for a giant stride or a 4-6ft drop?
Is it a 1-2 ft drop back roll or a +4ft drop back roll? (yeah, that's a thing some places)
Single tank, or doubles and stage?
Calm seas or rough enough to require holding on to the boat at all times?
Are your fins already on, or do you have to put them on at the platform or in the water because something on the boat impedes you from getting from the back of the line to the entry point?
Ideal giant stride for me, I'm geared up, BCD empty, fins on, DPV clipped to crotch D-ring with control handle in right hand, holding onto the boat with the left hand. Step off, left hand goes to mask and right hand pulls the trigger as I enter the water and I'm going down. There's no reason to come back to the surface, especially on a hot drop.
For back roll entries, ...I don't. I straddle the side of the boat with the DPV outside (again, clipped off to D-ring and control handle in right hand) and just fall out sideways and get on the trigger.
I always keep a loop of webbing with a Fastex buckle on the BCD to clip the fins to, when I can't reasonably get them on before entry. Get clear of the boat and then put them on underwater while descending/falling.
For higher drops I'll swing/flip the DPV as I enter so it hits the water sideways in front of me and the impact does not hit the propeller blades directly nose down.
I run a fairly loose mask strap and hold it on all entries.
...and for casual dives on an anchor or mooring with no rush, I clip all the DPVs to a drift line behind the boat, then gear up and get in, swim over and pick it off the line. That's the extend of my swimming on dives.
Is it a 1-2ft drop for a giant stride or a 4-6ft drop?
Is it a 1-2 ft drop back roll or a +4ft drop back roll? (yeah, that's a thing some places)
Single tank, or doubles and stage?
Calm seas or rough enough to require holding on to the boat at all times?
Are your fins already on, or do you have to put them on at the platform or in the water because something on the boat impedes you from getting from the back of the line to the entry point?
Ideal giant stride for me, I'm geared up, BCD empty, fins on, DPV clipped to crotch D-ring with control handle in right hand, holding onto the boat with the left hand. Step off, left hand goes to mask and right hand pulls the trigger as I enter the water and I'm going down. There's no reason to come back to the surface, especially on a hot drop.
For back roll entries, ...I don't. I straddle the side of the boat with the DPV outside (again, clipped off to D-ring and control handle in right hand) and just fall out sideways and get on the trigger.
I always keep a loop of webbing with a Fastex buckle on the BCD to clip the fins to, when I can't reasonably get them on before entry. Get clear of the boat and then put them on underwater while descending/falling.
For higher drops I'll swing/flip the DPV as I enter so it hits the water sideways in front of me and the impact does not hit the propeller blades directly nose down.
I run a fairly loose mask strap and hold it on all entries.
...and for casual dives on an anchor or mooring with no rush, I clip all the DPVs to a drift line behind the boat, then gear up and get in, swim over and pick it off the line. That's the extend of my swimming on dives.
