Who do you trust with your gear?

[Mossman]

Let me turn the question around, why would one let others set up the rig?

Why indeed? The practice isn't standard among local dive boats in the U.S. where divers bring their own gear and usually even their own tanks. Everyone sets up his or her own stuff and the DM stays on the boat, maybe saving someone if they have the decency to try dying on the surface. On the other hand, the practice is very standard among tourist dive ops where many or most divers may be renting gear, because the divers show up at the boat and the gear is already set up.

So what about those of us who are used to setting up our own gear at home when we go on vacation, why would we let someone set it up? Sometimes, it's expedience. Here's an example: I've dove with Ed Robinson's on several trips to Maui. When you meet them at 6:30 a.m., the boats are sitting on a trailer in a parking lot. You hand your gear up to a DM on the boat and then check in and stand around drinking coffee until they put the boats in the water. They like to take off right away, and often it can be a bumpy ride. It's more efficient for them if the gear is already set up by the time the divers hop aboard. They've never had a problem figuring out the quirky upside-down topology of my reg, even with the one-from-each-side SSI configuration of the second stages, and even distributed the weights the way I like them.

When dive ops keep the gear for you overnight for multiple days of tourist diving, you'll show up the next day and the gear will already be set up for you. Again, it's efficiency, since you're ready to go as soon as you arrive. All it takes it a few quick checks to make sure everything is OK.

Other times, it's just a sincere offer by someone in a third-world country probably poorer then me who sincerely wants to earn a tip. In that case, I'll watch them set it up, and if there are any glitches, I can point them out and correct them along the way. This can lead to friendly exchanges of information and a more rewarding experience overall than the reception I might receive if I yelled "hands off my gear, dammit, no one touches it but me, especially none of you dirt poor third-worldians who are gonna screw it up just like you screwed up your entire country!" and followed it up with a slap to the face of the offending DM. (There are situations where the latter technique is warranted, but it's not usually a good way to start off)

 

[Mossman]

The reason I prefer to do my own is that the boat crew tends to drag and clang and bang the regulators, drop stuff on them, stomp on them, set the tank to high, mount the tank crooked or backwards etc. In one case they dropped one of my tanks overboard. I also do NOT want any air put in my BC--NONE--please boat crew---do not put air in my BC--ever. N

Geez, is it so hard to let the air back out? Maybe you need some of them bungie thingies.

 

[Meng_Tze]

.."hands off my gear, dammit, no one touches it but me, especially none of you dirt poor third-worldians who are gonna screw it up just like you screwed up your entire country!"...

Hmm, I have not seen this in these details, but have seen the attitude....

 

[Mossman]

I trust no one with my gear. As a matter of fact, I don't like anyone even touching my stuff. It doesn't hurt my feeling to tell someone to leave my dive gear alone. Dive gear is expensive, and regulators and BC's should be handled with care. I see far too many divers handle their gear in a carless manner, dropping regs and dive computers on the deck, throwing BC's around etc. I could go on and on. All these things are life support,more specificially, my life support. No thanks, I'll put together and tear down my own setup, in the meantime leave my gear alone almtree: Bob

You'd think that, being "life support" stuff, that they'd make it less fragile. I mean, throwing a BC around? That's liable to break something.

I've been on dives where you get picked up by a Zodiac, hand your gear up to someone who tosses it on the floor as you pull yourself over the side and wait for the next diver. The gear crashes around with all the other gear in a great pile as you zoom over the giant swells back to the mother ship where the crew somehow manages to get your gear untangled from the rest back aboard, air filled, and all set up and ready again for your next dive. I have a lot more respect for gear manufacturers after surviving a few trips like that.

I miss my old Cochran computer, where you had to thump on the transmitter in order to make it do anything. Got a lot of frustrations out that way, but I never did manage to break the thing.

And anyone knows the best way to stop a second-stage from free-flowing is to smack it.

I think this "life support" stuff that is manufactured to survive hundreds of hours flawlessly operating in extreme conditions is a bit hardier than you believe it to be.

 

[Mossman]

Hmm, I have not seen this in these details, but have seen the attitude....

After a red-eye when I'm hungover and haven't had my coffee? Not me. I'm the quiet guy snoozing in the corner while they set everything up, with orders to wake me when it's time to jump in. I'll do my final gear check on the way down, thank you.

 

[Walter]

I've dove with Ed Robinson's on several trips to Maui. When you meet them at 6:30 a.m., the boats are sitting on a trailer in a parking lot. You hand your gear up to a DM on the boat and then check in and stand around drinking coffee until they put the boats in the water. They like to take off right away, and often it can be a bumpy ride. It's more efficient for them if the gear is already set up by the time the divers hop aboard.

I don't drink coffee, I can hop up and put my own together while you're drugging youself.

When dive ops keep the gear for you overnight for multiple days of tourist diving, you'll show up the next day and the gear will already be set up for you. Again, it's efficiency, since you're ready to go as soon as you arrive.

I take my gear to my room and I arrive a little early in the morning to set my own up with no loss of efficiency.

Other times, it's just a sincere offer by someone in a third-world country probably poorer then me who sincerely wants to earn a tip.

If the politely offer and accept it when I politely decline, they'll get a tip from me. If they insist, they lost any chance of a tip.

In that case, I'll watch them set it up, and if there are any glitches, I can point them out and correct them along the way. This can lead to friendly exchanges of information and a more rewarding experience overall than the reception I might receive if I yelled "hands off my gear, dammit, no one touches it but me, especially none of you dirt poor third-worldians who are gonna screw it up just like you screwed up your entire country!" and followed it up with a slap to the face of the offending DM. (There are situations where the latter technique is warranted, but it's not usually a good way to start off)

That's not the way one should treat people. If you don't want them to set up your gear, politely turn their offer down. If you do want them to set up your gear, you wouldn't yell, "get your dirt poor third-worldian butt over here and set up my gear now!" You'd politely ask them to set it up. Don't be ridiculous with your examples.

 

[Thalassamania]

Let me turn the question around, why would one let others set up the rig?

Just lazy I guess.

No really, there are different traditions, a lot of what I do and have experienced is heavily influenced by the commercial diving world where there are Tenders to help you dress in and out. That provides an opportunity to previsualize the dive and put your head in the right spot. Other divers have their own dressing ritual that provides for them the same kind of focusing. I have to agree, however, that I'm not having some random DM or deck hand as my Tender. When I'm on a new ship I have to do it myself (which is fine) unless I have a chance to train someone to perform those tasks.

 

[almitywife]

Originally Posted by almitywife
...if i trust anyone its hubby - no one else...

so you are saying you either have NO life insurance or if you do, your husband is NOT the beneficiary, right?

hahahah

hubby is going to order his rebreather this weekend.....and god help anyone that trys to touch it or set it up...... i will personally rip their arms off if they try

 

[Cacia]

anybody that will do it. I don't really mind if the first stage is upside down.

I have revised my air check to watching the gauge as I purge/ huff though.

I might start visualizing the o-ring before really deep dives, someday soon.

 

[Charlie99]

Let me turn the question around, why would one let others set up the rig?

There are two circumstances where I routinely let others set up my gear.

The first is doing chartered boat trips out of boat ramps. The gear gets loaded onto the boat while the boat is still in the parking lot on the trailer. Just one or two people are up on the boat and they set up the gear before launching the boat. There will be more than enough time to check gear on the ride out to the dive site.

The 2nd common instance is where I'm on a dive boat where I'm renting tanks and weights as part of the dive trip. The DM will often swap out tanks during the surface interval between dives. I'm happy to sit around, offgas, avoid unecessary post-dive exertion, and enjoy the surface interval.