"Sidemounting With Benefits" - Lessons from a newbie Sidemount Diver

[SlugLife]

Quick Links:

• Part 1 - First SM dive! Fumbling, but Fun!
• Part 1b - On-land practice & equipment chances.

I can't edit my old post, but I'll try to include a table-of-contents in each new post.

Minor Update:

[Part 1b]

The TLDR is (1) I've made a number of tweaks to my equipment (2) been re-watching training videos, this time with much better understanding (3) will probably side-mount again on Tuesday (7/13).

The in-water experience in Part 1 was extremely valuable, giving me a little hands-on experience and context, as well as discovering flaws in my setup. I've gone back and reviewed a number of videos, this time with a little better idea what I'm looking at.

• Tank Rigging - My tank rigging oriented about 90-degrees off & is now fixed. I removed the rigging, so the valves could be swapped for modular-valves, and when I went to install it again at the dive-site, forgot wat the correct orientation was. I'm also making a few minor adjustments to the rigging, but the details aren't that important.
• Regulator Setup - The TLDR is my regulator setup was configured slightly incorrectly, and that's also been fixed. I may have gotten the right and left backwards during setup. I was also clipping my long-hose regulator to the wrong spot. I also redid the regulator necklace.
• Chest Strap - While not strictly required, I noticed the shoulder straps were not always in the exact same position on each dive. Adding a small chest-strap was easy enough & doesn't add clutter, so I might as well give it a try.

I've also been re-watching a few videos and practicing a number of things on-land including Regulator Switching and Don/Off of Tank Bungees. This time it was many times easier, which is likely partially due to equipment changes, routing and clipping correctly, and to having the tanks resting on chairs.

I feel much more confident now. I'll admit, I considered side-mounting off my friend's boat for a dive today (Sunday, 7/11), but safety-first, and I want to focus on finding sunglasses, not sidemount skills. My next side-mount dive should be around Tuesday (7/13), which gives me some more time to re-watch material, practice on-land, and make minor tweaks to equipment.

 

[rjack321]

• Chest Strap - While not strictly required, I noticed the shoulder straps were not always in the exact same position on each dive. Adding a small chest-strap was easy enough & doesn't add clutter, so I might as well give it a try.

Your chest straps are too loose or your crotch strap is too loose. You should not never need a sternum strap with a razor type X harness - if it fits right. A sternum strap is definitely clutter when you can skip it entirely via proper chest and/or crotch strap sizing.

 

[Diving Dubai]

The TLDR is (1) I've made a number of tweaks to my equipment (2) been re-watching training videos, this time with much better understanding (3) will probably side-mount again on Tuesday (7/13).

All the above is useful, for sure, however nothing will beat some in water time with and instructor or mentor who is highly experience with your particular rig

Just hovering in some shallow water while they tweak and fine tune the rigging will save so much time.

I had a minor, yet annoyin gissue with tank trim. My rigs' configured to use rental Al tanks. and I'd experience trim issues with the tanks.

All it took was 1 size smaller bolt snaps and 5 mins changing the attachment to the harness, and then maybe 5 mins in the water carrying out the fine adjustment and the issue was sorted.

This fix would have taken an eternity to solve had it been trail and error between dives

 

[SlugLife]

Quick Links:

• Part 1 - "First SM dive! Fumbling, but Fun!"
• Part 1b - "On-land practice & equipment changes."
• Part 2 - "Not Completely Incompetent!"

(check latest posts for updated table-of-contents)

[Part 2] Not Completely Incompetent!

I was only able to do one short sidemount-dive, but this time it was MUCH better!

• All of the various equipment-adjustments & reviewing training made a huge difference!
• The new dive-site I found had a shallow sloping entrance, which made a big difference.
• Sidemount is amazing for having partially-full tanks & not needing fills.
• Skills went well:
  • (1) Swapping regulators was MUCH better, I could consistently find each reg and swap very easily
  • (2) Bouyancy, diver-trim, and weighting was good.
  • (3) Everything felt comfortable, competent, and safe.
  • (4) Tank trim seemed okay enough, checking with feel as shown in sidemounting.com videos.
  • (5) Don and Doff went much, much better. Likely due to all of the adjustments, video-review, and shallow/sloping shore.
• In summary, lots of room for improvement, but starting to feel basic-level competent.
• Next Goals, Adjustments & Issues
  • Due to (3) everything going well, I'm ready to add the action-cam back in & will use that to double-check tank trim. Since my tripod arrived, I'll probably skip the helmet for now.
    
  • Several additional minor equipment adjustments are needed. Namely the (1) dump-valve pull cord (2) bungees that squeeze the wing & streamline it with my body (3) harness needs a few adjustments.
  • The only notable issue was the 1st stage was somewhat jammed into my sides. I may need to slightly loosen the tank-bungees. I also wasn't wearing a wetsuit this time & need to get some din-conversion kits.
  • Because I didn't check the weather & had a non-diver with me, I had to end the dive early.
  • Next dive is mostly going to be much of the same. Basic skills and harness adjustments.
  • I have a near-ish term goal to don & doff tanks while floating, but need more standing don/doff practice first. The idea is to be able to drop some tanks in the water from a boat, jump in, don the tanks, then dive.

Your chest straps are too loose or your crotch strap is too loose. You should not never need a sternum strap with a razor type X harness - if it fits right. A sternum strap is definitely clutter when you can skip it entirely via proper chest and/or crotch strap sizing.

Absolutely! Shoulder straps were too loose & crotch strap was too tight, as I just verified that on this short-dive. I didn't have a chance to adjust it due to the dive being cut short, but I have adjustable buckles on the shoulder-straps near the lumbar-plate for this reason & being able to adjust for with & without a wetsuit quickly.

I also think everything being new & new to the water means there will be some stretching/tightening/etc, somewhat similar to new tank-cam-bands needing to be wet before inserting a tank.

 

[SlugLife]

Question: Solo Don/Doff from Boat without Assistance

I often dive from my friend's ~25 foot boat, with a somewhat flat platform on the rear, I usually don't have assistance, and there are sometimes decent sized waves. I also want the procedure to be as quick as practical, because they usually want me back in 1-hour.

Based on the boat layout, I can't imagine a safe/practical way to enter/exit the boat with two tanks attached to me, and part of the reason I started sidemount was to avoid climbing ladders with a backmounted tank in wavy conditions. None of the sidemounting.com videos seem to match these conditions precisely (or I might have missed it), though they do briefly show tanks dropped below a larger boat on a line.

My idea is to don & doff in the water, and clipping the tanks to the boat or near the boat. With waves, I'm worried about the tanks banging into the boat, damaging either the boat or the regulators. My next best idea is to use a float (SMB or lift bag), and clip the tanks to the float & possibly have a line from the float to the boat to ensure they don't drift off too far.

• For the Don procedure, I'd equip everything except the tanks and fins, inflate the SMB, clip the tanks on, toss both tanks and the SMBs in the water, don fins, jump in, don tanks, and go.
• For the Doff procedure, I'd inflate SMB (or retrieve from boat), clip to boat ladder and back away, clip each tank to SMB, enter boat (no tanks), then pull up the tanks one at a time.

My tanks are aluminum, so I'd imagine even a small SMB could probably float 2 tanks, though I'll test that from a shore-location first (I also have a couple larger SMBs & a lift bag). Is there anything I'm probably missing from this plan? Does anyone have better ideas?

 

[Marie13]

Have you tried back rolling off the boat with your tanks on? I don’t know if it’s possible with your friend’s boat. I’ve back rolled once from a small boat SM (low freeboard) - Boston Whaler - and it was OK. Would probably have been better with top leashed clipped to shoulder D rings. Calm that day, at least.

Have you tried clipping the tanks off to lines attached to the boat? Each tank on its own line.

 

[SlugLife]

Have you tried back rolling off the boat with your tanks on? I don’t know if it’s possible with your friend’s boat. I’ve back rolled once from a small boat SM (low freeboard) - Boston Whaler - and it was OK. Would probably have been better with top leashed clipped to shoulder D rings. Calm that day, at least.

Have you tried clipping the tanks off to lines attached to the boat? Each tank on its own line.

This is a somewhat close representation of the boat. You might imagine two divers getting ready on that rear platform, while waves rock the boat.

Each tank on it's own line might work. It would make each tank less likely to bump into eachother & easier to toss in 1-at-a-time. The same might work for pulling up tanks. The secondary, could be clipped to a deeper line, while the primary would be on me most of the time. I could clip the primary to the ladder, climb up, and then pull in primary, then reach over to the other line, and pull up and pull in the secondary tank.

 

[SlugLife]

Quick Links:

• Part 1 - "First SM dive! Fumbling, but Fun!"
• Part 1b - "On-land practice & equipment changes."
• Part 2 - "Not Completely Incompetent!"
• Part 3 - "Weekend Madness"

(check latest posts for updated table-of-contents)

[Part 3] Weekend Madness!

Today's excitement was having to hop between 3 parks, to find one that wasn't full. And then I found some pristine Oakley's sunglasses. But that's not why everyone's in this thread.

• Overall, I did 4 dives on 2 tanks. I think I discovered it's better to use slightly more air from my secondary (right) tank, since my primary (left) is usually what I start and end my dives with. I ended with 500psi left & 1100 psi right.
• Did a good amount of practice doning & doffing tanks, including before entering, on the stairs, and underwater.
  • I accidentally miss-routed the long-hose under the lower bolt-snap on my 2nd dive. Since I could breathe out of both tanks & was near an underwater platform at 20ft, I decided the easiest thing was to descend and fix it there. I completely doffed the right tank, re-stowed the hose correctly. For fun/practice, I took a few breaths off the tank I wasn't wearing. Then I re-donned the tank, this time properly, and was good to go. This seemed like a good exercise, so I repeated it later in the dive.
  • Between dives, I would doff the right-tank & clip it to a railing 7-feet deep, and while next to that tank, then doff the left-tank most of the way (while breathing out of it) before ascending and climbing the stairs with one tank. When going on the next dive, I'd end the water with 1-tank, don it, retrieve other tank, don that, then go diving.
• I dove with my dive-helmet & camera. Footage wasn't useful, I need a wide-angle lens that can attach to the housing. The dive-helmet was a little uncomfortable, and interfered with my regulator hoses and regulator-bungee-retainer. It also made a very poor "tripod" for recording myself. I'm thinking I might do a shoulder-mount or tank-mount for hands free. I could modify a wetsuit hood. However, until I figure out some clever hands-free solution, I'll setup the camera with a tripod, and clip it off.
• Unfortunately, I had some difficulty sliding the waist d-rings. Logically, it's the combination of webbing and hardware, meaning one or both has to change. The hardware is the easiest, and I have several options on hand to choose from, so I'll start there. The thing I didn't think of was the webbing would be under tension, which changes how easily the hardware slides. Tank-trim was passable, but not great because of previous hardware problems.
• I ordered some din-conversion kits, which I should arrive tomorrow & I know how to install them myself.
• I think I'll setup some drop-lines with clips, for my friend's boat in a few days. At minimum, I can drop my secondary-tank and don it at about 8ft deep, though I might have to jump in with my primary.

 

[SlugLife]

Quick Links:

• Part 1 - "First SM dive! Fumbling, but Fun!"
• Part 1b - "On-land practice & equipment changes."
• Part 2 - "Not Completely Incompetent!"
• Part 3 - "Weekend Madness"
• Part 4 - Ponymount (80 & 19cu)

(check latest posts for updated table-of-contents)

[Part 4] Ponymount (80 & 19cu)

Updates:

• My friend called me up for a dive on his boat. However, he only wanted to do a single-tank dive. In the interest of lugging around reduced equipment, I decided to do my sidemount setup, except replaced my right-tank with my 19cu pony bottle. Most everything else was the same, other than I didn't bother with a full-deployment of the long-hose, I just clipped it off on the chest-d-ring. So I fulfilled my thread: Side-mounting 2 different sizes (ex: 80cu & 40cu). by sidemounting 2 different sizes and it honestly worked just fine.
• I'm still a little slow donning my SM. Not terribly slow, but I'm improving! I hope to eventually be faster at getting ready with SM than my dive-buddy with his BM setup. Getting ready and jumping in with 1-tank & 1-pony though while standing on the boat was fine & in some ways easier.
• Doffing the system and getting back in the boat was easy. I was able to place the pony & fins on the back of the boat. Then clipped the tank to the ladder, climbed up, and lifted the tank easily.
• My SM setup worked quite well for looting sunglasses, I ended up with about 2-gallons in 1-dive.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Sidemounting with Benefits?

Am I the only perv on here?