Removal/Replacement of BP/W (DIR. rig) Underwater

[Divetech99]

I use the Jacket method for removal replacement doing so while kneeling on the bottom and breathing off the necklace backup reg (long hose reg clipped on the right shoulder D ring). I'd like to ask if there is a different / better way and if using the primary long hose reg will make it easier. Thanks.

---------- Post added January 19th, 2015 at 04:03 AM ----------

Also, is there a video on doing this?

 

[rongoodman]

Why would you want to?

 

[tbone1004]

first off, should never have to sit on the bottom to do this. Method as follows. I have a video somewhere without a long hose, but the long hose doesn't necessarily make it any easier.
Doing this neutral is actually easier than on the bottom, so hover prone in the "diving position"
Remove secondary and suicide strap from your head, put the long hose back in.
Undo waist strap and crotch strap.
Tuck your chin down and hike the rig forward a bit
reach back and grab the shoulder straps, tank, or sides of the plate. Doesn't matter which, I go for the tank or manifold if doing it with doubles
Pull the rig up and over your head and flip it forward in front of you tank down, valve facing you, dump the air from the bottom dump valve since it will be floating butt up
Put crotch strap in waist strap and buckle. Clip suicide strap into the primary then onto the right shoulder D-ring. Turn tank valve off, clap OK and you're done.

For donning it's basically the reverse.
Approach rig from the valve side and turn on the valve
Unclip the regs, put off to the side, undo the waist strap and lay the three straps out to the side and bottom
Inflate the wing until the rig is slightly negative. Should still be on the ground, just not quite as heavy, so maybe 2lbs ish negative depending on how floaty you are, how much your lungs can offset buoyancy wise, and how strong you are.
Put your hands through the shoulder straps and grab the top of the tank and throw it over your head. Should have enough leverage to tip the bottom back down to where you can grab the waist strap and pull the rig back down.
Grab crotch strap and get all the straps put where they should be.
Reach back and find the octo hose and put it back on, reach back and grab the primary hose, running the whole length of the hose to make sure it isn't tangled up and you're good to go.

It is possible to do it with the octo and suicide strap on your neck, but you can fubar it pretty easily and get the hoses underneath the shoulder straps. This is a pretty trivial exercise though and doesn't really mimic anything you'd do underwater, but it is good to know for doing no mount restrictions if you're a backmount diver. This is all super simple and takes less than a minute once you get good at it.

 

[TSandM]

It is truly trivial to do it the way tbone describes. As opposed to the "sitting on the bottom" method, which I almost never manage without falling over.

 

[tbone1004]

True story Lynne, I can't do it kneeling on the bottom. I'm too tall and the CoG with the tank over my head just doesn't work. Takes me easily 3-4x as long to do it that way than just flipping it up and over. Hell if the tank is turned on and the rig is somewhere close to neutral I can swim up to it and flip it on without stopping, driveby style. Part of the military dive training we did was what was called stack drills. Diver 1 on the bottom, diver 2 jumps off of the 3m platform in nothing but a bathing suit, and while diver 2 was hanging out on top of diver 1 buddy breathing, you had to swap all gear including mask and fins to the other diver while kicking around the perimeter of the dive well. Swapping the BC over while buddy breathing is a pain in the butt. Skill proves nothing other than comfort in the water and general diving skills, but man was that unpleasant while you and your buddy were trying to figure out how to do it while kicking laps around the dive well.

 

[Redshift]

Over the head was how I learned it in my CMAS 1 course. It's simple enough. I have never tried it with a twinset though...

 

[Divetech99]

Thanks Tbone . I'll try that. So you're breathing off your long hose reg throughout the drill but the long hose is not coiled around your neck. Right?

---------- Post added January 19th, 2015 at 10:21 AM ----------

Why would you want to?

The drill is gear mastery more than anything else. It's a problem solving and confidence building skill. OW students are required to perform this in their basic course (albeit in a jacket style BC). Real world application varies.

 

[Hawkwood]

T.... OW students are required to perform this in their basic course (albeit in a jacket style BC). Real world application varies.

Not really correct...they are required to do it, in whatever configuration they are taught with. There is no requirement for a "jacket style BC".

 

[Divetech99]

Not really correct...they are required to do it, in whatever configuration they are taught with. There is no requirement for a "jacket style BC".

Yes, you're right.

 

[tbone1004]

no requirement for a jacket, we teach our students in BP/W's, but they are using a standard length regulator hose set. So 22" on the octo, 32" on the primary. If you're doing it with a long hose it is just a bit more cumbersome because it is floating around everywhere and can get caught up more easily, but it doesn't matter if it is around your neck or not during removal, during replacement it should be pulled clear of the shoulder straps and make sure both regulator hoses from the first stage are outside of your right arm before you put your hands through the straps otherwise they both tend to get stuck