Sidemount for Wreck Pen

[DeepBound]

... Going through hatches and doors are much easier than with doubles on. Small hatches that you cannot get into with doubles are easy with sidemount. Unclip your right cylinder off your butt plate spin it around infront of you and slide right in. Once past, spin it back and clip it back on. Narrow doors, just turn sideways just like you would in a tight cave passage that was tall but not wide..

Thanks for the tips.

I just recently started diving sidemount and I'm impressed with how you can just stick your head through those smaller hatches to look and see whats inside. With doubles the tanks would have prevented just sticking my head in. When I get more comfortable with the setup I'm looking forward to unclipping a tank to go through the smaller hatches. I really like it so far.

 

[DeepBound]

Give Matt a call at Dan's Dive shop in St. Catherines. He teaches a sidemount wreck penetration course, and dive that way himself.

Thanks, I might look into that! I didn't realize it was catching on in Ontario like that.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I haven't done very much sidemount but most of the divers that I know who go that way end up taking all their doubles apart and never put them back together. The profile advantages seem pretty clear and the divers who are diving in the tightest places are not wearing doubles.

 

[WA Wrekdivr]

So how is it using side mounts when you also have stage bottles hanging?

 

[MattRece]

Hi WA Wrekdivr,
The bottles that are hanging are actually bailout bottles for the rebreather but I have them mounted in a side mount configuration with a but plate and a bungie around the neck of them. Having them on the but plate keeps them in nice and tight and the bungie allows them to hang much lower so they are out of the way. I realize this isn't the traditional sidemount like you are talking about for doubles but on the rebreather where you have to carry bailout it makes you much more streamlined in the water.