when spring straps break ...

[redacted]

A proper repair should be fairly simple. Use a screw driver inserted thru the end of the coil and out a couple loops down to bend out a new attachment point on the spring. A pair of pliers should do the job of disconnecting the mount and straightening the heavy wire enough to remove the delrin cylinder. Stick the end of the spring in the hole and feed the heavy wire back thru the delrin cylinder and reattach it to the fin. But I suspect the SS has a quality problem that allowed it to corrode where it was stressed by the bend. so don't plan on more than maybe 100 dives.

Have you done Columbia Shallows yet?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

We did Columbia reef, but as I recall it was a fairly deep dive (90 feet or so) with some pretty neat swim-throughs. Did a total of 22 dives ... after a while it's difficult to keep track of what each one was like ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Trickie Dickie 99]

Mares Quatros...better for striding off and not breaking my ankles. Jet fins are nice, but they damage my big toenails for some reason.

so....ya'll all carry cave line right?

I know if my mask strap broke, I'd just fashion a temp with that cave line on my reel. And maybe put the whole deal under my hood. It's fun to whip out the knife anyway.

We had a tourist die here a few years back who jumped in for a night dive and was wearing too large rental fins, which both came off on the entry and his inflator was not connected (missed in the dark)

He could not get off the bottom, and died, in the first few minutes. Not having your "motor" at night or in current can get serious pretty fast.

Couldn't he just drop his weights?

Still, if the guy was found dead, you'll never know the ins & outs.

Onm the subject of Spring Straps, I make my own version - Bungee Straps (don't know if they call it the same in the US, but bungee is simply round-secttion elasticated rope).

They are brilliant, cost me $1.50 each to make, Have so far shown no sign, after 18 months of use, of wear or breakage and for my "save-a-dive" kit, I simply have a couple of lengths of this stuff in 10mm (just under 1/2") diameter and a handful of zip ties.

They are very very comfortable and around 1/50th the price of the springs, yet work just as well and can be renewed/replaced in less than 5 mins.

These are on my old Cressi Spacefrogs. I whacked some on my newer Mares Volo Power fins too, only this time, I threaded a length of clear plastic tubing over the heel, which makes it much easier to grasp, especially with gloves to pull back over the heel and remove when in the water.

Good thing, is that if it's going to fail, you get plenty of warning as the stuff starts to fray well before it breaks, so no nasty surprises with corrosion and sudden breakage, loss of fin & mobility etc.

 

[Splitlip]

Saw someplace (on this Board I think), where the individual simply laced the bungee through the existing stock buckles on a pair of Jets. Simple enough and the buckles don't have to be destroyed.

 

[Trickie Dickie 99]

Saw someplace (on this Board I think), where the individual simply laced the bungee through the existing stock buckles on a pair of Jets. Simple enough and the buckles don't have to be destroyed.

Yeah, the jets have a slightly different buckle arrangement to the Mares, Cressi, Aqualung etc fins. With the latter types, you don't need to damage the buckles/straps, you just click them off holus bolus.

 

[johnnyseko]

Yes, the spring at the break point was clearly corroded. I'm considering sending it back to Manta if they're interested in investigating the failure point. After, that is, I get some replacement spring straps (still deciding which ones I want to replace these with) ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hey Bob,

fyi - I just got a pair of Mantas - same as yours. They did not come with any line inside the spring.

I also broke one on the install.....broke the delrin piece because I thought tightening the pins with a vise would be 'better'.....it exploded in the vise! ooops! Just replaced it with a pc of hockey puck.

 

[stillhope]

I shot some video of my dive buddy's repair technique when his fin strap broke at about 50 feet. He cut off a piece of the line going to his dive-flag float and used that to attach the fin to his foot. With thick gloves it was slow going, it took around 10 minutes. But it beat returning to shore, we still had plenty of dive time after his repair was complete.

 

[vel525]

Saw someplace (on this Board I think), where the individual simply laced the bungee through the existing stock buckles on a pair of Jets. Simple enough and the buckles don't have to be destroyed.

Kidspot on the board did this. Check it out. http://www.kidspot.org/personal/scub...omparison.html

I am currently using this setup and tested on them on the Spiegal Grove down in the keys on a recent trip and they were fine. We had some current and I was a little concerned that the bungee would come undone from the buckle, but they held up fine. I have a set of spring straps I am thinking about replacing the bungee with, but haven't decided yet. In addition to Kidspot's setup I added some zip ties similar to Trickle Dickie 99 for additional security.

 

[kidspot]

actually try this link: http://www.kidspot.org/personal/scuba This URL will hopefully be changing soon as well (got a dedicated name for the page finally) to http://www.mauishorediving.com (not up yet ... but soon )

btw - it's been nearly 2 years and the knots have not yet slipped, nor have any of the bungees broken yet ... obviously these "loaner" fins don't get dove near as much as my primary pair (which has SS spring straps)

Sorry for your loss Bob - hope that is the last pair of springs straps to break on ya' in your diving career.

Aloha, Tim

 

[Splitlip]

thanks guys.