Tank Holders

[divechilly]

I'm new to diving and "old" to boats. I run a 31' walk around. I'm thinking of putting tank racks in the cockpit or on the hardtop. Is there a preferred method of storing tanks--vertical or horizontal? Any ideas on racks or clamps?

 

[mike_s]

as for clamps, racks, etc... people have made their own or bought ready-made ones.


try a search here and you'll find old posts that include where people posted pics of their tank racks on their boats. I think the visual illustration of the pic's will help you decide what you want to do.


mike

 

[MaxBottomtime]

A very nice system here;
http://www.longbeachdive.com/tank-bench-detail.htm

If you don't have the space Roll Control racks are great for storing bottles.
http://ecpdb.com/rollcontrol.htm

 

[Tom Winters]

31' is big enough that you can put in some nice light benches with integral tank holders. That longbeachdive.com link was nice, but I have never been a big fan of the RollControl system. They do have their adherents though, and it is a nicely designed modular system. On that design, I would reenginner it to make the benches collapsible with removeable support posts. All sorts of possibilities!
On my old dive boat in Hawaii, I glassed in curved tank rests for my tanks and kept them in place with removeable bungee cords clipped onto the gunwales. Without tanks, I could fold down the bench seat and have a fully open cockpit.
So I want to put in some lightweight, removeable aluminum benches with tank racks in my 30' boat, but all I hear from my wife is "Oh, I don't want it looking like a dive boat!" Like that's something bad. And she's an instructor as well...

 

[friscuba]

As said earlier, you've got a good sized boat so you've got options. Technically, your best spot is centered and down low for best use of center of gravity, but this is often impractical.

The roll controll systems are great. I personally am not fond of gear on the floor in the cockpit so I've got my roll control system mounted on an aluminum railing on the gunnel for any tanks I intend to have gear set up on (with a few extra tanks in the cabin). Works well on boats with say a 8-9 foot beam as long as the boat isn't too small (small boats with weight mounted high and outside aren't necessarily desirable). Bigger beamed boats will likely accept a nice bench along the outside of the cockpit and if you make it wide enough you can build in tank racks on the back side of the bench. You'll want to figure in that a tank with gear mounted on it might take up a good 13-15 inched of space behind whatever width you intend to allow for seating on the bench.

Later,

 

[divechilly]

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll figure out something!

 

[dab]

Here is another option. Enrique makes custom benches and can configure something to your dimensions. They are expensive, but very well made, although he primarily caters to technical divers.

http://www.techdivetools.com/boat/ladders.html

 

[Chad Carney]

I'm new to diving and "old" to boats. I run a 31' walk around. I'm thinking of putting tank racks in the cockpit or on the hardtop. Is there a preferred method of storing tanks--vertical or horizontal? Any ideas on racks or clamps?

DC,

You didn't decribe your boat much, or your intended numbers of divers. Bench seats are often not the way to go for many personal boats, where the number of tanks may out number the divers substantially. Floor/gunwale like roll controll racks keep the center of gravity lower and cost a lot less.

My boat is 36' but normally it takes 4 divers, 6 max. I prefer the roll control system to keep them standing with gear assembled and keep the gunwales free for back roll entries. Also they can all be folded down, or removed easily from the track. (Some of them in these photos were fixed racks but now I have all fold down adjustable diameter clamps.)

Chad

 

[divechilly]

Thanks for the photos. Are the clamps on a track? Where did you get them? I'm not going to be able to have the number you have--you must do a lot of diving! For now I think I'll put some across the stern. When the tanks are in, they'll block battery access, but I usually don't need that during the day. See photo. Along the sides I have bolsters so I'd prefer not to take those off just yet. (That's my old dog climbing up the ladder.)

Any suggestions, please share.

Thanks.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Chad said he had Roll Control System. That system consists of big C-shaped clips in an
Aluminum track.. See http://www.eastcoastplastics.com/rollcontrol.htm for details.