What skills do you actually learn in a Solo course?

[The Chairman]

I'am still baflled how I should do this with steel doubles and drysuit. It don't think I would pass this course.

It's way easier than you think if you move your body and not the gear. As long as your buoyant personality stays under the heavy rig, nothing really changes. In a prone position, undo your straps (loosen shoulder straps if possible). Left arm out, spin CW (to your left). You are now facing up with your Scuba unit on top of you. Adjust your tank, cut any entanglements, etc. Now spin the opposite way so your right arm goes in first (CCW). Put your left arm in, reattach straps and you're done. Easy peasy. Remember to keep the floaty parts under the sinky parts and you'll be fine.

 

[soggybadger]

And that means you would have to have enough ditchable weight on your belt so you didn't start heading skyward when you remove your steel tanks because you will lose that negative boyuyancy when you take it off, I normally only dive with four pound of lead in fresh water when I am running a 95 cu/ft steel in no current, I add four more pounds in a current. That is with a 7mm.

I don't have any extra weight and I wear a harness. Are you suggesting that I should over weight myself with unnecessary ballast so that I can swim away from my rig? Why would I need to do this in recreational diving? I can't think of a situation that this course of action would be appropriate. Either my rig is coming with me or its staying and I'm gone. Please could you give me an example of the type of scenario you would want to leave your kit?

 

[soggybadger]

It's way easier than you think if you move your body and not the gear. As long as your buoyant personality stays under the heavy rig, nothing really changes. In a prone position, undo your straps (loosen shoulder straps if possible). Left arm out, spin CW (to your left). You are now facing up with your Scuba unit on top of you. Adjust your tank, cut any entanglements, etc. Now spin the opposite way so your right arm goes in first (CCW). Put your left arm in, reattach straps and you're done. Easy peasy. Remember to keep the floaty parts under the sinky parts and you'll be fine.

Is this what is meant by swimming away from and returning to? I thought that was basic kit removal/ replacement.

 

[The Chairman]

Is this what is meant by swimming away from and returning to? I thought that was basic kit removal/ replacement.

Someone responded that they would fail Trace's class. That's how to pass that skill.

I required the student to be able to remove and replace the scuba unit hovering over the bottom, hovering at a deco stop, and on the surface.

 

[soggybadger]

Someone responded that they would fail Trace's class. That's how to pass that skill.

Sorry my bad. I was still trying to get my head round the earlier post with regards to leaving and returning to you rig. I thought that is what was being discussed with regards to dry suit and twin steels.

 

[MichaelMc]

@soggybadger, from other posts it looks like you might be diving sidemount...? Remove 'rig' seems a moot or very interesting question in that case. Moot as in: you want the left or the right tank, sure here. Interesting in: you want the harness?? I'm not sure how these drills, even just in place remove and replace, translate to sidemount...

Disentangle I understand, unclip and work stuff till free. Remove the harness...?

 

[soggybadger]

Yup side mount. I can understand the reasoning for all of the other skills mentioned but why would you want to be able to leave your rig and then return? Removal to enable you to cut free I get. Is this so that you may leave your primary kit to then free it whilst using a pony for example?

 

[MichaelMc]

It does not look as if any of the agency syllabi have the leave part, in this case just that tropical instructor. I interpret that instructor's task as a demonstration that you can get free and then assess the tangled mess of your rig, or CESA if desired.

To me, if entangled, I'd prefer if the part that is 'me' is as close to neutral as is feasible. Flip about in place under the rig may just entangle me more in the kelp. I'd ideally like to work my way gently free and disengage with out violent quick action. If that is feasible. Hence my questions about being a bit independent of the ballast part of the tanks/rig, and able to swim free of it, if just to hover/hold a foot or so away and assess what it is tangled in. With back mount that means freeing me and any weight belt/weight harness from the backplate/BC. Becoming a balloon does not help that, a weight belt does. I only have two sidemount dives, but tank unclip seems easy, but the get a better view/access on things might be hard if I depend a lot on my tank's negativity; and a bigger tangle also seems easy with me and two tanks loosely connected with clips, bungees, and hoses.

Any views from solo instructors on sidemount entanglement?

 

[soggybadger]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I certainly can understand why you would want to be neutral and free in that situation.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Any views from solo instructors on sidemount entanglement?

My opinion is that the student in sidemount has to remove one cylinder, “address” the entanglement. Currently the “entanglement” is some cave line loosely tied around their cylinder necks. Btw, I’m open to ideas to teach students how to deal with entanglements in a safe, but meaningful way. If my way sucks, tell me but give an alternative.