where to sidemount dive

[Normygenius]

I'm going to be the miserable contributor to this thread. I've been diving sidemount before sidemount was a thing. Absolutely it's for redundancy, cave, shore, folks with shoulder/back problems however there are limitations to be considered if you are a boat skipper, especially when it's necessary to drop you on slack and then recover you on tide. You take up more space. You are often slower to kit up. You'll need to don your tanks onboard rather than in water. You'll be slower to hand off your kit when you get back to the boat. You'd better be practised at fiddling with your p-clips because if I need to move fast on-tide to follow dsmb's I need you onboard without faff. If there's a consciousness problem you will be face down. Does your 6-10kg of back mounted irremovable weight prevent you from a rib entry. Lots of issues to consider when boat diving. Just my 2c worth...

 

[halocline]

I use sidemount when the dive calls for it, but I would never use sidemount on a dive that is normally done with single tanks, i.e a recreational dive boat. I’m frequently amused by divers that want to use double tanks on a dive that clearly is intended for single tanks, with other divers all in single tanks. I wouldn’t be amused if I was on such a boat and I had to wait around on the surface for 10 minutes while a new SM diver fiddled with getting geared up.

I love SM in Mexican caves; it makes total sense given the topography and demands of the dive. I took a SM cave class with Nat at Underthejungle and I was very surprised at how much there was to learn, given that I had been diving BM in those same caves for years.

 

[divezonescuba]

…crew doesn't know how to handle your equipment…

I once observed a crew member on a boat from the now defunct Scuba Club Cozumel resort attempt to attach a tank to the back of my XDeep Stealth.

As previously mentioned, you will probably have to tell them to leave your equipment alone and do everything yourself.

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

I once observed a crew member on a boat from the now defunct Scuba Club Cozumel resort attempt to attach a tank to the back of my XDeep Stealth.

As previously mentioned, you will probably have to tell them to leave your equipment alone and do everything yourself.

That's excellent!! hahaha

 

[Diver-Drex]

I use sidemount when the dive calls for it, but I would never use sidemount on a dive that is normally done with single tanks, i.e a recreational dive boat. I’m frequently amused by divers that want to use double tanks on a dive that clearly is intended for single tanks, with other divers all in single tanks. I wouldn’t be amused if I was on such a boat and I had to wait around on the surface for 10 minutes while a new SM diver fiddled with getting geared up.

I love SM in Mexican caves; it makes total sense given the topography and demands of the dive. I took a SM cave class with Nat at Underthejungle and I was very surprised at how much there was to learn, given that I had been diving BM in those same caves for years.

I get what you’re saying. For me, 90’ plus dives get redundant gas. There are plenty of rec boat trips where the first dive is deep, whether others have singles or not, it’s my choice.

I was diving a hole down in Nassau, whole boat full of tourist divers down to 115’. One woman was clearly not comfortable, having some kind of issue and going through gas quickly. I am glad to have been in position to help and still maintain a safety margin for myself.

I use DiveRite ring bungees, I’m ready to dive when I splash. I’ve waited for plenty new divers trying to settle in, equalize, add weight…. no one has had to wait for me.

 

[Bald Wookie]

It is very important to communicate before the dive that for a two-tank dive, you will be renting FOUR tanks.

Just want to ask if this if for a recreational dive? I frequently sidemount up in Canada in the cold on charters and I run a two tank trip with just two tanks. I know that on the first dive, if I'm back with more than half in my tanks (which is 98% of the time) I am well set up with more than enough gas (and more than most others on the boat) for the next dive. I also can't imagine taking up 4 tank spots on the boat.

If this is personal preference and makes you feel safe in diving, please dis-regard this comment

 

[grantmac]

Usually I'll ask for 3 tanks for two dives unless I know the second will be significantly shorter. With nitrox 3 tanks for sure, I don't ever like being gas limited.

 

[divezonescuba]

Back when I was primarily sidemounting, I would also arrange for three tanks on a two tank boat dive.

Toward the end of the first dive, I would breathe off of one tank a little more than the other. I would then change out the lower pressure tank prior to the second dive. So, in a set of high consumption dives, I might start the second dive with 3000 in one tank and 2000 in the other.

Nowadays, I do the same thing, except with independent backmount doubles when I can't get or don't want to pay extra for manifolded doubles.

 

[LFMarm]

I'm going to be the miserable contributor to this thread. I've been diving sidemount before sidemount was a thing. Absolutely it's for redundancy, cave, shore, folks with shoulder/back problems however there are limitations to be considered if you are a boat skipper, especially when it's necessary to drop you on slack and then recover you on tide. You take up more space. You are often slower to kit up. You'll need to don your tanks onboard rather than in water. You'll be slower to hand off your kit when you get back to the boat. You'd better be practised at fiddling with your p-clips because if I need to move fast on-tide to follow dsmb's I need you onboard without faff. If there's a consciousness problem you will be face down. Does your 6-10kg of back mounted irremovable weight prevent you from a rib entry. Lots of issues to consider when boat diving. Just my 2c worth...

Agree that you can be slower. However if you practice, you can be as fast or faster than anybody else on the boat. You typically use as much shape as anybody else because in most boats divers have 2 tanks behind their station. Not advocating that everyone should do it but there are ways to do it very efficiently if you have enough practice.

Personally I dive sidemount all the time to keep up proficiency, even when redundancy is not required.

 

[Bucketlist_bob]

Would you mind DM info for Cuba operation would love to look into that