Tiny Twins

[Griffo]

I'd like to assist the wife in moving to twins from her singles setup. She isn't adverse to it, but there's simply no way that she could climb a ladder with the standard twinset. The "standard" around here is twinned Faber steel 12.2L / 100CF's. So I was toying with buying here a set of twin 7L (55CF) cylinders to do the gear swap, and then migrate up to larger tanks at a later date.
Now obviously there is the whole "her gas is my gas" component to be considered - so our effective team range would be no larger than a single 100CF in reality, but I figure that with some careful planning and her small SAC we should be able to manage most of the common dive trips around here.

Has anyone else ever taken this approach for "smaller" divers before? Is there anything I'm not considering apart from the lack of gas inherent in smaller cylinders?

Cheers

 

[rivers]

Are you sure she wouldn't be able to handle twin 12s? She may surprise you. I'm 5'3, 120lbs. I dive twin 12s. Sign her up for a doubles primer if you can, and have the instructor bring a few different sized sets if he has them.
Barring that, if you can get some twin 8.5s, I hear they are nice to dive

 

[ScoobaChef]

Hey Oz,

If your wife has a pretty low sac, which it sounds like she does, then odds are for most recreational profiles, it shouldn't cut short your diving too much.

Realistically though, we're talking a 14kg dry weight difference(less if you take into account bouyancy and total weighting). I don't know the exact details of your wife's capabilities, but my suggestion would be to just stick with 12's and spend some time getting used to them. We have quite a few smaller women at DCB who have moved from single al80 to twins and on to stages without too much difficulty.

 

[TSandM]

Because I was worried about the same thing (I'm 5'4" and 120 lbs, and not particularly strong) I started out with double 72s. I hated them -- they took a ton of weight to sink, and just wouldn't trim out for me. I switched to double 85s, and the total weight wasn't much different, but they dove SO much better.

Climbing ladders is an issue, which is why I am such a ladder snob. But that's what deck crew is for. A good solid hand on the manifold and a heave at the right time has gotten me back on all the boats I've jumped off of . . .

 

[Griffo]

Thanks for the input so far.

I guess my concern stems from the fact that there have been times after "tiring" dives where I have had to literally pull her up the ladder with just a single 12L and steel plate. (She's only 5"2 and 120lbs) I'm not convinced she could even stand up on dry land with twin 12's. I'm happy to throw some money at ensuring the switch to doubles is as non traumatic as possible.

 

[rivers]

Thanks for the input so far.

I guess my concern stems from the fact that there have been times after "tiring" dives where I have had to literally pull her up the ladder with just a single 12L and steel plate. (She's only 5"2 and 120lbs) I'm not convinced she could even stand up on dry land with twin 12's. I'm happy to throw some money at ensuring the switch to doubles is as non traumatic as possible.

Instead of jumping to twins right away, why don't you guys work on your fitness and strength levels for a couple of months. If you have a particularly 'tiring' dive and she struggles with a single, she may struggle with a twinset of any size. Not too mention, if you get into trouble and she needs to execute a rescue, there very well could be issues. If she is in reasonably good shape, it shouldn't take massive amounts of time for her to increase her strength. Something like the insanity work is amazing for building strength, stamina, and overall fitness levels fairly quickly. Also, it only takes about 45 minutes a day.

 

[Griffo]

Instead of jumping to twins right away, why don't you guys work on your fitness and strength levels for a couple of months. If you have a particularly 'tiring' dive and she struggles with a single, she may struggle with a twinset of any size. Not too mention, if you get into trouble and she needs to execute a rescue, there very well could be issues. If she is in reasonably good shape, it shouldn't take massive amounts of time for her to increase her strength. Something like the insanity work is amazing for building strength, stamina, and overall fitness levels fairly quickly. Also, it only takes about 45 minutes a day.

Probably good advice, however we both exercise regularly and are not exactly unfit. But twin 12's, plate, weights, can light etc add up to 2/3 of her body weight. I'm not sure how smaller women manage it. Particularly when you have rough swells trying to smash you against the ladder. (P.S this is the type of ladder I was referring to http://harmonia.meccahosting.com/~a0006199/images/dock ladder.jpg)

 

[ScoobaChef]

Oz, is she diving wet or dry?

 

[elan]

Get small cylinders and later add a bottom gas stage.
Those ladders negotiated easily. Get a rope and drop a stage in the beginning of the dive. After the dive pull the rope back.

Assuming you are diving dry the change in dry weight might not be as dramatic as you generally drop lead too. My dry weight with an AL30 pony and single HP100 was about the same as double HP100

 

[Griffo]

I think I have a gear acquisition problem.