Who do you trust with your gear?

[goodeatsfan]

I trust no one..... with my gear setup, that is. BUT if the resort sets it up for me, I'll check it and usually re-adjust the set up.

 

[Teamcasa]

I’m fascinated by this question. I’ve seen it several times with slight variations but the question remains the same. I have to ask this, what exactly do you mean by touch vs setup vs check gear?

For me, I normally dive with my wife. My definition of setup is; regulators are assembled, weights and belts are loaded, BCs are slightly inflated and masks are clean and defogged, fin straps are loose. Once we are ready to dive, the only remaining setup is assembled BC is then strapped to tank, regulators are connected to tanks and air turned on, all air is checked. My lovely bride then double checks that my valves are on. Off we go!

On a boat dive, if the deck hands want to schlep the gear and tanks, fine. If they want to move the BC’s to a different tank, fine. I will still verify the tank position, straps tight and valves are on and I have full pressure. What else is there? Am I missing something? Just what can they screw up, besides dropping a tank on my regulator. (DAMHIKT)

Dave

 

[Blitz]

My gear and my girl...... Two things that I don't let anyone but me touch.

 

[Charlie99]

I find it amusing that so many people won't let boat crews touch their gear (even though it only takes a few seconds to verify proper setup), but they are willing to let those same untrustworthy people take them to sea.

Why do you trust in their seamanship, boat operation and boat maintenance skills -- particularly since errors in those areas aren't easy to catch and correct before causing problems, as are errors in setting up gear?

Charlie Allen

p.s. As you can probably guess, YES, I let boat crews set up my gear. It takes just a few seconds to verify setup, and just few seconds more when ocassionally I need to adjust or change something.

 

[Walter]

How'd your gear get to the boat?

I don't remember, it's been years since it last happened. My guess is I had to return to the shop for paperwork or go to the head.

 

[ArcticDiver]

This is a recurring subject and the posts are always the same. Some allow others to set up; some don't. Most of the wise ones always verify before diving regardless of who set up the gear.

But, being human with all our foibles I'll bet the next time this subject is put on SB the range of answers will be the same.

 

[Teamcasa]

I find it amusing that so many people won't let boat crews touch their gear (even though it only takes a few seconds to verify proper setup), but they are willing to let those same untrustworthy people take them to sea.

Why do you trust in their seamanship, boat operation and boat maintenance skills -- particularly since errors in those areas aren't easy to catch and correct before causing problems, as are errors in setting up gear?

Charlie Allen

p.s. As you can probably guess, YES, I let boat crews set up my gear. It takes just a few seconds to verify setup, and just few seconds more when ocassionally I need to adjust or change something.

Charlie, I agree with you on this. Just to add too it a touch more.

You trusted every driver on the road not to crash into you on the way to the airport. You trusted the pilot, co-pilot, the aircraft and maintenance, controllers and God knows who else to get you safely on the ground. You also put your lives in the hands of the boat, its captain and all who maintained and fueled it. Not to mention the navigation electronics. You also put the most trust into the shop/boat that filled your air tanks.

So if the deck hand moves my BC to a full tank, I’ll just make sure its OK before jumping in. Maybe I’m missing something. Just what could they do to endanger you life more than the above could.

Dave

 

[Mossman]

Charlie, I agree with you on this. Just to add too it a touch more.

You trusted every driver on the road not to crash into you on the way to the airport. You trusted the pilot, co-pilot, the aircraft and maintenance, controllers and God knows who else to get you safely on the ground. You also put your lives in the hands of the boat, its captain and all who maintained and fueled it. Not to mention the navigation electronics. You also put the most trust into the shop/boat that filled your air tanks.

Not to mention the worst risk: you let some "shop monkey" service your regulator. If a DM somehow puts the reg on wrong, it will be pretty noticeable before you get in the water. On the other hand, if something was serviced incorrectly . . .

 

[ArcticDiver]

This discussion reminds me of a statement a professional driver made once:

If a person is nervous about someone else driving it is because they are insecure about their own.

 

[captain]

No, the ultimate sign of a great dive op is when they not only set up the gear for you, they also break it down and wash it. On the Galapagos Aggressor II, Ricardo even cleaned and sanitized my Draeger. Now that's service.

I really can't understand what's so difficult about letting someone who presumably knows what they're doing accomplish the oh-so-easy task of assembling gear. It ain't rocket science. Rebreathers, I can understand. The absorbent has to be packed just right, etc. And I can understand new divers wanting to gain the experience and being paranoid that it's done right because they're not really so sure themselves. But it makes me scratch my head to see divers who profess to have thousands of dives insisting that they're the only ones to assemble their own gear, just because.

Assembling open circuit gear means putting a BC strap around a tank, optionally putting weights in weight-integrated BC pockets, and putting on a regulator. Once someone has put both flavors of regulator on a tank, DIN and yoke, there's absolutely no difference. Maybe the regulator topology can vary (I like mine upside down) but this is a very easy item to check and redo if necessary. Maybe you like your BC straps in a certain place. This is likewise easy to check and redo if necessary. Better yet, show the DM how to do it right, and they will do it right the next time.

So I pose a question to all those experienced divers who insist on setting up their own gear, especially those really silly divers who see their gear assembled correctly and undo and reassemble it just for the sake of being obstinant:

what are you afraid of?

Could be death.