Transporting gear to Catalina

[jayaspock]

My wife and I use these collapsible dollies Hand Trucks R Us - Blue Max Mover Folding Cart. If you put your weight bag at the bottom, gear bag on top, and tank on the side it works great and if they ask you to break it down it is really easy. They haven't asked us to break it down in a while but with summer coming I have a feeling that our luck is going to run out.

 

[fnfalman]

I go light, so BC on my back, tank on my shoulder and pulling one of those diving suitcases with the other hand.

 

[blue steal]

I go light, so BC on my back, tank on my shoulder and pulling one of those diving suitcases with the other hand.

I do that for most boat dives and even lighter loads for shore dives.
But for an all day trips to the dive park, I like to bring a few more items.
The 24 gallon looks like it will work well for me, I will check the lid design though and the handle design.

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Ill post a pic of my bracket but have not weave the shockcord through the top of the lid yet to show you what others in my group have done & works out nicely...

View attachment 125208

Hey Slater.
I like the AL piece to support the bottom of the tank. Where did you find that?
I saw where someone used lashing straps to secure the tank, and Harbor Freight has a pair for $4.29.

 

[Slater]

Hey Slater.
I like the AL piece to support the bottom of the tank. Where did you find that?
I saw where someone used lashing straps to secure the tank, and Harbor Freight has a pair for $4.29.

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Lots of local metal supply shops in my area, its just 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 90degree aluminum. Im sure you have some metal shops in your area..
or order from these guys: Welcome to Competitive Metals | Competitive Metals
I used 3/8 stainless hardware from these guys FMW Fasteners - Products
I went overkill on the stainless hardware but then again it was dirt cheap. Went with the Bonded Neoprene Sealing Washers on the top side & the large diameter fender washer to give a nice spread on the bottom side of the plastic lid , regular washer, & lock washer on the bottom.

Looks like the lashing straps would work nicely & solid unlike the shock cord, I have a HF just down the road & ill have to check it out!

 

[geoff w]

A few years ago when we started going to the Avalon dive park regularly, my wife and I started with one large ballistic nylon wheeled dive bag. When a friend came with his large Stanley chest, it looked like such an improvement, so I bought one of the smaller 24" Stanley chests from Home Depot and have been using it ever since. My wife's and my wet gear all fit in one 24" bin, and we carry all the dry stuff separately. The original chrome plated stamped steel latches rusted out in about 8 hours, so I got some stainless latches like New 316 Stainless Steel LOCKABLE HOLD DOWN CLAMP along with some stainless hasps to lock the box and a spring like WEST MARINE Hatch Arms at West Marine to hold the top open.

If you have a HP80 tank and can deal with waiting to get it filled at the park, it fits in the bottom of the box with all your dive gear piled on top. With your weights on the bottom it's very stable and not too much of a pain to wheel to the park. Once there, I lock everything up inside, as well as use the top as a stable base for getting into my BC. I've never had any problems with taking it on the Catalina Express

I've also seen guys just stick the tank on top and hold it on with bungee cords

 

[James@Tank Trolley]

Try using the Tank Trolley. It is easy to slip over the tank and can be taken off easy to store in your dive bag. I've traveled all over the world with mine since 2005. It will roll in the sand too with no problems! Its an essential piece of my dive gear now, Its always in my dive bag. when I rent a tank on vacation, the tank trolley goes on it.
I also attach my BC and gear to the tank and roll it. Lots of weight off the shoulders! (I added a pic of how I do it)
www.tanktrolley.net