Table Rock Lake July 23rd

[shark tattoo]

I am going to be in Branson, MO July 23rd until July 27th or 28th.

I'm NEW to diving but feel adventurous enough to do Table Rock! But I need a dive buddy! Any takers that will be in the area that week? I need someone to guide me along for my first open water dive after certification.

I cant tell you exactly what day would work best for me and diving (In-Laws have most of the days planned out already!) but I will fit it in if I get any takers.

 

[cummings66]

I'm diving Beaver Lake I think on that weekend, if you want to head a bit further south I'll dive with you.

The plan I have right now is maybe 2 dives with C&J Sports and then some other diving after that. I've got a buddy down there, who though not a diver might have a boat to drive around on if I asked him. Could also do some shore dives, nice spots there.

If that falls through then TR is doable, no matter what happens I'm diving either Table Rock or Beaver Lake that weekend. I'll be camping out so the plan is dive mornings and play with my daughter in the afternoons. A 3.5 year old finds fun in almost everything so it's not hard to have a good time down there.

 

[shark tattoo]

Hey thanks for the reply. I got a response from diverdown247 and he said that Scuba Sports charges about $60 for a two tank dive at Table Rock, but that doesnt cover equipment rental. I dont have any of my own gear yet. So I'll have to figure that out later.

Im definately up for the dive challenge though. But NOT knowing what my exact schedcule will be when Im down there, I'll have to play it by ear.

Be in touch. Thanks.

 

[cummings66]

I've never rented gear, but SS does have reasonable prices on it from what I've seen. I'd be willing to bet if you book the boat you'll get a discount on the rental gear. Call them up and talk to them.

PS, if you book the boat you don't need to worry a lot about buddy's because if you are the only one Monty or somebody will dive with you. You also get to practice your buddy making skills as well.

I routinely dive with new buddies on the boat there and rarely encounter problems. Just watch your air and if buddied up let your buddy know you're new and frequently check your SPG and have fun.

PS, most of the shops around the lakes rent gear, SS happens to have the best prices and seem to be easy enough to get along with. State Park Marina is also easy to get along with but higher pricing. They have a different set of places they dive however.

 

[cummings66]

By the way, I don't know if you've got many places to dive up there, but since you've got to pass by me on the way to TR given enough notice I can also get you hooked up with Columbia Scuba to dive the local quarry here and rent some gear from them.

 

[shark tattoo]

checked with Scuba Sports and they quoted me at $60 for the boat and an additional $50 for the equipment rental. Seems a little high to me.

 

[diverdown247]

$50 is very fair for full gear rental. Then figure $10 per tank (already full), that balances to $70 just for gear. Well since the $60 for the boat includes boat, fuel, 2 tanks ($20), and a guide (possibly dive partner if you're the only one), then I'd say that's really fair. Since their boat is already on the lake AND they have an air fill facility on the lake, I'd say that's fair. A bit high if you have shore dive options and don't mind the limited dives you'll get w/ shore dives. Also, basic boat rental starts at roughly $80 for 2 hours at the marina.

Mike from Aqua F/X gets $50 for a 2 tank dive, but you'd be looking at about $60 for gear rental if you need everything.

So, You could shore dive and save $40 (cause you'll still need two tanks) and use the savings for a second day of gear rental OR you could spend the extra $$ and get to some of the sites that you can't access w/o a boat.

Tough decision. Ask Dwayne (wb5plj), he came down for a few dives at Table Rock and we limited ourselves to shore dives due to the expense of the boat dives. He can give you an honest unbiased opinion about the shore dives we took. I'm spoiled on ocean diving, so my opinion is always "eh, it's a lake dive, but it's a dive nonetheless."

 

[diverdown247]

I spoke with Mike from Aqua F/X today. He said that if you want to dive Bull Shoals with him that you need to call him so he can be sure of how many people will be going. He may have a student or two that have to close out their OW dives for their certs.

Otherwise, he said he can rent you the gear you'll need, but Scuba Sports will be comparable due to location for rental gear. He also said if you rent from him that it's no problem to get the gear to me for turn in if needed.

 

[cummings66]

One thing I'd like to point out is that this is a fair price for complete gear rental, however you get the point that it's not going to take many dives to buy your own full set of gear.

I bought my gear without ever renting anything because I could see that I'd save money very fast.

The trick is to buy the right gear, if you like cold water diving then buy a sealed and cold water reg, many of them out there. Buy a good 7mm wetsuit, nothing less will make you happy if you want to go below the thermoclines.

You don't really need your own tanks and with boat dives SS will throw in the tanks for you. SP will rent them for their trips so it would cost more from them to dive off their boat with no tanks, plus it's a 1 tank dive.

So, you need to own this for starters;

BCD
Reg
Wetsuit
Hood
Mask
Gloves
Weights
Fins
Compass and depth gage
If I was to skip something and rent for a while it would be the Reg and BCD, but I'd decide quickly what I wanted. If you want to dive year round then I'd suggest a drysuit, you can dive those in the summer too, just ask my buddies what I dive most of the time.

I have;
Steel HP120 tanks
Viking Drysuit
DSS BP/W
Blizzard Reg
Genesis React Pro Computer
Sherwood compass
Mares X-Vision Mask
Can't remember the fin name, but I'm going to get Jets later on.

 

[diverdown247]

Cummings66, you'll have some of us thinking you work for a dive shop!

That's the EXACT theory we use to move product. Why rent when you can own? After a few rentals, you will wish you had just bought, especially since you've just spent as much as it would have cost to buy and have nothing to show for it.

Purchased my first gear set-up just 2 days after completing my OW course in Cuba. Picked up a SeaQuest Balance BCD, Mares Axis full reg system, Mares gauges w/ add on compass, Genesis full view mask w/ purge valve, dry snorkel, Oneill 2/3 mil wetsuit, Mares version of the Dacor Tiger fins, Delta boots, C6 dive light, C4 dive light, and Akona kevlar Bug Hunter gloves. Got a package deal on everything minus tanks for $700.

Gave up my SeaQuest for a Zeagle Ranger (bump for Scott Zeagle) and recently gave up the Mares Axis system for a Zeagle Envoy full system (2nd bump for Scott Zeagle). Now I'm just waiting for a Zeagle dive computer to top it all off. Still have the Mares regs, but they're my backup system.