Michael Guerrero
Contributor
Try it on a boat in lightly rolling seas and then repost.
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For me with all my experimentation I am still way ahead on saving money. Plus it is fun to make stuff. Total cost for 2 cold water wings: Fabric $8 (plus $6 shipping), Grommets and setting kit $10. I might even post a tutorial in the DIY section.
Please, please, please!
Have a great trip!You will just have to wait....
Try it on a boat in lightly rolling seas and then repost.
What is the issue? I've done this with more than lightly rolling seas. Wasn't any different once I secured the valves
I certainly agree that sm in a boat can never be as stable. Mind you, I am NOT a sm expert, but in my experience in somewhat choppy seas, my HP100's were snug enough against my body that it wasn't all that noticeable . I will admit that I had just a GoPro and not my then large camera setup (Canon 5DM3 in Aquatica housing - I have since downsized).I spent a week last year diving off a NC boat with a buddy who was using steel 100s in sidemount. Watching him go from his bench to the entry point did not look nearly as stable as I felt doing the same thing with backmount doubles. His tanks were swinging all around him as he tried to hold onto the overhead rails and shuffle to the exit.
I suppose he could have asked to have one tank lowered in for him on an equipment line and then put it on in the water. That would have made it a little easier to get from his bench to the entry. But, the boat's deck is 5 or 6 feet above the water. In really rolling seas, how do you lower a tank in on a line without having it bang the side of the boat? And what if the boat doesn't have anything to use as an equipment line? Extra step and planning of bring your own? I didn't know enough about SM to suggest the option. He probably did but never being on that boat before, he probably didn't want to feel like he was asking for special accommodation by asking, as he was the only SM diver on the boat. So he just sucked it up and dealt with it. Also, if there is a stiff surface current, it seems like getting in and having to swim to a cylinder on an equipment line and clip yourself to it without being carried away would be a little bit of a challenge. At least, more of a challenge than just dropping in negative with BM doubles, and latching onto the granny line at 15' feet immediately.
I'm definitely not saying you can't dive SM from a boat in rolling seas. I'm just saying that it does look more challenging than doing the same thing with BM doubles.