The initial costs of diving

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There's nothing like freshly caught seafood. Absolutely nothing.
True. There are a lot of people I run into who state they don't like seafood. In many cases, I'm sure it's because they've never had freshly caught seafood.

I've been spoiled, and am very particular about where I get my seafood. It's only caught by me or my family, from a handful of fresh seafood markets, or a small group of restaurants that run their own boats for the restaurants. Apart from those sources, I'll skip the seafood.

I expand it a bit when I travel, but always stick to local there as well.
 
Definitely would suggest keeping it as light as possible until you are sure that everyone is going to really enjoy diving. Full admission, I assumed my wife and kids would absolutely love it and we bought a good amount of gear. I was almost right... everyone but my wife was a "go". Now I have to resell her gear at a loss after only a pool session... lesson learned.
 
Definitely would suggest keeping it as light as possible until you are sure that everyone is going to really enjoy diving. Full admission, I assumed my wife and kids would absolutely love it and we bought a good amount of gear. I was almost right... everyone but my wife was a "go". Now I have to resell her gear at a loss after only a pool session... lesson learned.
I saw you joined today and you’re from Mill Valley.
Welcome to Scubaboard BTW!
Nice to have another member from Norcal.
Is Marin Diving Center (John) your dive shop?
 
Knowing what I know now…
Lets say another big wild fire roared through my neighborhood and burned everything up.
I have no dive gear left, the only thing I have left is my knowledge.
The first thing I would buy is a wetsuit, hooded vest, booties, gloves, mask, fins, snorkel, and a weightbelt which I would buy a mould and cast my own since that would save money. Lead would be obtained at several tire shops that I know.
I would also become an avid garage saler and Craigslist lurker. The word would also be out that I’m looking for any used gear- I’m not picky.
This would at least get me wet and get my face back in the water for some therapy of the soul.
Next would be a used tank. A steel 72 or anything would be fine, and a used reg set that I know I could get parts for. A MK2/with whatever 2nd, or a Conshelf with a metal 2nd, I know I can get parts for those all day long. There is so much used gear out there you just have to look around. Some of it may not be optimal but the objective here is to get back in the water and scuba dive.
If there was even a used poodle jacket free or cheap I’d even take that until I could make my own back pack. Or get an old plastic pack and dive with no bc for a while just off the beach shallow. I would also consider ordering a DGX BP/W setup w/ stainless plate for $399 and use that, then make my own custom plate again when I could get up snd running.
I would run tables until I could get a computer of some sort. Don’t really even need that just doing max 50’ deep dives since air supply usually dictates those dives. A compass is actually more important.
This is ghetto diving at it’s finest, and I would save a lot of money. I’ve been at it a while and know how to do this and I can use any gear, whereas a new diver has no clue about what to look for used or how to work on stuff. This is where there is no replacement for experience.
Total cost could vary depending on what I find and how much I pay. Could be from a few hundred up to a few thousand.
I use the fire scenario because one of my good friends that lost everything in the 2017 Tubbs fire just recently told me he lost all his and his sons scuba gear in the fire. He never said anything about his situation because he didn’t want to be an emotional burden to people. I had no idea that his insurance company was screwing him and wasn’t including a lot of this sort of stuff.
So as soon as I heard this I gave him two steel 72’s with fresh hydro’s, two backpacks for each tank, and two sets of MK5/109’s with Scubapro SPG’s (fully restored and serviced) for him and his son to get them started. They dive old school no bc’s so this was perfect.
All this gear was given to me l, so I restore everything and pass on the good fortune to people in need. This is how it works.
I think you will have a hard time finding lead in a California tire shop now.
 
I think you will have a hard time finding lead in a California tire shop now.
I actually have plenty, but yeah you’re right.
There are still some buckets in some dark corners of some obscure shops that still have some lead tire weights left over that have been sitting for years.
You just gotta know where to look and who to talk to.
 
I actually have plenty, but yeah you’re right.
There are still some buckets in some dark corners of some obscure shops that still have some lead tire weights left over that have been sitting for years.
You just gotta know where to look and who to talk to.
I have a tire store. I have poured hundreds of pounds of scuba weights from tire lead. I poured 1000# into a truck bumper for a tow truck. but we have to sort a lot now to find any quantity of lead.
 
Hate to even bring it up at this point, but I paid just over $500 with tax and that included my boots, gloves, mask, and fins. It was a negotiated group rate though.
 
I have a tire store. I have poured hundreds of pounds of scuba weights from tire lead. I poured 1000# into a truck bumper for a tow truck. but we have to sort a lot now to find any quantity of lead.
For a while the sail boat guys were hoarding as much tire weights as they could possibly scrape up for keel ballast. It was kind of pissing me off.
A while back I scored a bunch of pure lead reloading shot that a race shop was using to fill one side of the frame on a sprint car. It was pure lead, the good stuff not mixed with zinc.
It’s out there, you just have to look around and put the word out.
 

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