What Was Your Most Creative Equipment Repair on the Fly?

[cowboyneal]

One time, I was diving in Cuba, and spent some time in Havana on my way to Maria La Gorda. I went on a trip out of Havana, and on the first dive, noticed that my LPI was cracked right up the side including the part around the hose connection (dern airlines). Now, I do not really need it that much, but I was determined to fix it anyway (because it was the second GD one I had from Zeagle anyway). So, off I went through the streets of Havana on a mission. Things are not easy to find in Havana and there certainly are not any dive repair shops. So, in the end, I came back to the apartment with some crazy glue, some duct tape (very little - they sell it in strips!) and some of this ceramic stuff they use to fix toilet bowls. I then cleaned off the LPI, and started in. I put down crazy glue, and held the plastic together until it looked more or less closed. Then I put some more crazy glue over that, two very small strips of duct tape wrapped around, more crazy glue over, then over the whole mess with the toilet bowl fixer, which made my LPI look like it had green gum over it. Anyway, I get down to Maria La Gorda and the guy who is the head of the place (who also, by the way was in the Cuban army at the Bay of Pigs) swore it was never going to work, and what do Americans know about fixing anything and all that (he was kidding with me). There were bets being placed on it, and most were against me. So, out we go, and what do you know, the mess held, and I dove the whole rest of the week with it without leak, incident or anything else (and I took about $100 in bets from various Brits, French and Italians). After I got back, I sent it to Zeagle who sent me a new one and asked me if they could keep it to put it on some wall they have over there - I do not know if they ever did that (or if they even have that - maybe the guy was just joshing me). Anyway, that is my story - what is yours????

 

[cinder4320]

This isn't a repair but related. It happened while diving in the Keys. On our last day of diving we were to do the Spiegel and Duanne. I was tired since it was the end of our trip. I let my boyfriend pack up our gear and we headed off. Once we got to the boat to unload and start gear setup I noticed out boots were missing. We both wear strap on fins and mine are much large than my foot. There was no way they would stay on without boots. No one had extra fins near my size or boots. Right when we were about to panic I realized that the Teva sandals I was wearing would fit in the fin pocket. My boyfriend and i both wore our Tevas to get the fins to fit right. Amazingly it worked. We got a few funny looks but once they figured out what had happened everyone thought it was a great idea. I know double check that we have our boots and everything else for that matter!! So glad I didn't miss those dives as they turned out to be the best!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It's not dive related, but the linkage came loose on my transmission once. I put it back on with a paper clip as a temporary fix until I could get home. I forgot about it and drove with it that way for the next couple years.

 

[HowardE]

My wife and I were on a dive boat in Roatan... She turned on her tank, and somehow the o-ring behind the large nut on her yoke (in the first stage) started gushing. We scour the boat, but there's not a single wrench on the boat at all... If we can't tighten the nut, she won't be able to make the dive.
We took a screwdriver, and a hard weight, and smashed the weight against the screwdriver (like a hammer) and were able to tighten the nut enough to get the seal tight. Re-hooked the first stage to the tank, and voila - no leaks.

 

[eponym]

This happened early on in my diving career, when I was still using rental gear. We're underwater during a dive and my buddy signals to me that I'm leaking air from my inflator hose. Hey, I thought I heard some extra bubbles!

It turns out when he examines it that the leak is at the top of the hose, where it screws onto the BC. And instead of thumbing the dive, I let my buddy unscrew the fitting and then screw it back down. And it works!

So we continue the dive . . .

Bryan

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

What a cool thread. It will be interesting to how innovative we become to avoid scatching a dive! This isn't a repair but it'll work: Arrive at my secret lobster spot a little before sunrise and the conditions are perfect. Gear up then notice switch on light not working :cussing: . I grab standard 6v flashlight out of toolbox and give it a shot. This thing filled up with water but lasted long enough to have a successful lobster hunt!

 

[ItsBruce]

Great idea about using the standard flashlight. ...So precisely where did this take place?

 

[TekDiveGirl]

Duct tape is a divers best friend! My wrist seal was peeling off -- so some duct tape around it and it was good for the rest of the trip. I was going to AquaSeal it - but it was not dry then and wouldn't be in time.

I saw another diver who had a leak somewhere in the lower leg/foot - so he put a trash bag over his leg and secured it with some tape above the knee. It worked swimmingly except the one time he put his toe through the bag putting it on. We figured out a bag was only good for one dive!

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

My exhaust got busted off of my primary, so I dove with my octopus for the rest of my time in Cozumel. When I got back, I used JB Weld to secure my exhaust back to my primary, sanded it smooth, and used a paint-marker on the bead so that it would blend in.

One of my hose protectors was loose and sliding up and down the hose. It's now secured with several wraps of electrical tape and a little superglue to keep the tape from coming unravelled.

I hopped in and my tank immediately came loose, so I descended, kneeled on the bottom, shrugged out of my BC, yanked the cam-strap tight, and voila: I was on my way again.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Great idea about using the standard flashlight. ...So precisely where did this take place?

Exactly somewhere North of the Equator in a very rocky area. You'll recognize this spot from the huge amount of large lobsters that make this area home. Now, you're the only other person in world I've told-so keep it a secret!