any scuba divers here?

[Per]

I just got my open water during my recent vacation/cruise to the Catalina Islands. Had a chance to dive some of the beautiful kelp forests of California.
Just in time for diving in to untangle (read cut) the mooring lines i got entangled with during exiting the mooring.. saved myself a couple bills i guess. Would have preferred not to have run over the lines though.
Lesson learned...

 

[CPseudonym]

I believe KJ is a diver.

 

[psneeld]

Certified for the last 35 years and do some diving on my own boat as well as a few salvage jobs.

Hope to do more as I cruise more down in Fla and the Keys/Bahamas

 

[hollywood8118]

divers

does this count?
I will neither confirm or deny that lobsters here harmed in the making of this photo.
HOLLYWOOD

 

[swampu]

I was a diver for about 3 years around biloxi after I got canned from my first engineering job. I first learned to go spear fishing got my open water and went to Rescue Diver and stopped. Lost the job and then picked it up again. Cleaning hulls, changing props, cleaning wheels and keel coolers.

 

[Rusty]

I am a SDI/TDI Divemaster. I haven't been diving for a couple of years now. I was working on my instructor certification until work got in the way.

 

[HopCar]

When I was in high school I was a very active scuba and free diver. My first regulator was a Mike Nelson Special, Aqua Lung with two big hoses. Kept a salt water aquarium. Did a lot of spear fishing. When I was finally able to have my boat built, I built it as a dive boat. Huge cockpit and a great dive platform. Unfortunately it seems the only diving I do now is for bottom maintenance.

 

[mahal]

I just got my open water during my recent vacation/cruise to the Catalina Islands. Had a chance to dive some of the beautiful kelp forests of California.
Just in time for diving in to untangle (read cut) the mooring lines i got entangled with during exiting the mooring.. saved myself a couple bills i guess. Would have preferred not to have run over the lines though.
Lesson learned...

Per,

I once hired a diver to remove a mooring line wrapped in my prop. After handing me the receipt the diver told me that if I sent it to my insurance company, they will reimburse me. I did, and sure enough, Boat US sent me a check for the full amount. By the way, the check came around the same time the mooring repair bill from Avalon Mooring Services did.

 

[Rambler]

I've been diving since the early 80's. Fla panhandle, also called southern Alabama, from Pensacola to Ft Walton to PC Beach to Carrabelle, The keys, Bahamas, Aruba, bonaire, and several central american countries. Oh, some fresh water lakes, springs and quarries.

 

[HeyJude]

We've been diving recreationally since '94. Have been to a handful of Caribbean islands, Bonaire our favorite, returning in early Oct for a couple of weeks to assist photographer friends document the coral spawn. We'll carry our gear aboard HJ to facilitate hull maintenance & the better waters around FL. Would love to have a blue water boat capable of exploring the Caribbean like Hobo. We know of one Manatee that routinely goes deep into the islands but the owners have made it a battlewagon.

 

[fstbttms]

Diving? Yes. Scuba? No.

 

[Capn Chuck]

Per, Did my certification dives at the Blue Grotto at Two Harbors in 1982. I still remember those dives today. We carry our equipment on board all the time. Chuck

 

[Larry M]

Be careful who you go with if you spear fish.

 

[Edelweiss]

Yes, sport diver only. Naui certification in 1973, and a PADI Open Water certification probably about 1985.

Haven't been active for a few years. My dry suit has apparently shrunk??

Larry B

 

[jleonard]

Yes my wife and I are both certified divers.
We don't dive regularly any longer, but I have a tank and a regulator with a 50 foot hose aboard for those times when needed.

 

[Shoalwaters]

I have a full set of scuba gear on board, but I also have a 1.5hp oil-less compressor and 40ft of Brownie's air-hose. This allows me to scrape the sea life from my hull and running gear (a never-ending job in this part of the world) without endless trips to get my tank refilled.

 

[Keith]

Yep. NAUI adanced open water + nitrox. All gear on the boat. I had always wanted to get certified, and one day I had to swim under the boat to cut a big line off the prop. Went to the scuba shop the next day to get a good serrated dive knife, and the rest is history.

 

[charles]

Scuba, certified 1981, US Customs Officer at crossing back into US last week saw my Dive Card, picture ID, and asked what it was, it is stapled in my US PASSPORT as I only dive "foreign" now.
CCC

 

[Great Laker]

I got certified by LA County years ago, and they were quite well respected nation wide. Our checkout dives were in the Pacific, not a pool. My wife is certified NAUI (trained in a gravel pit in TX). We have been fortunate to have been diving across 3 continents. Shark Point off Phi Phi Island in Thailand is one of our favorites. We keep fins, masks and snorkels on the boat. No need to bottom clean in the Great Lakes.

 

[KJ]

Scuba

Per,
Congrats on your "Open Water Cert." Welcome to the world "under da sea". It's one thing to see the underwater world on Discovery and Nat'l Geo, and something totally surrealistic about experiencing it for yourself.

One of the reasons it took me so long to find my boat was that I had to have a cockpit design to accommodate my diving. I also wanted extra range (fuel) as I will be going to some remote areas.

Get yourself down to the Caribbean for some spectacular warm water diving (I have a picture of my dive computer taken in Roatan, Honduras, where the depth reads 92ft and the water temp is 85 degrees).

I am curious as to what models of air compressors for tank refills are being used by folks that dive off their own boats.

One piece of advice. When you are ready to buy your own gear, spend as much as you can on the best regulator you can buy. Your life could depend on it.

I've included some pics from some of my dives. Happy Diving KJ

 

[charles]

While you are in Honduras Bay Islands, check out Guanaja, Island. What one has to dive 100-125 feet in Cayman, is at only 50 ft MAX
CCC

 

[O C Diver]

Would have replied sooner but was running dive charters the last 2 days.
Started diving in '73.
Became an instructor in '80, instructor trainer in '92, still actively teach.
Do it all: warm, cold, shallow, deep (300'+), rebreathers, wrecks, caves, etc.
150 to 200 dives a year, 7,000+ total.
Haven't had a job outside the dive industry since '78.

But then you all probably figured I was a diver by my screen name.

Ted

 

[ben2go]

Would have replied sooner but was running dive charters the last 2 days.
Started diving in '73.
Became an instructor in '80, instructor trainer in '92, still actively teach.
Do it all: warm, cold, shallow, deep (300'+), rebreathers, wrecks, caves, etc.
150 to 200 dives a year, 7,000+ total.
Haven't had a job outside the dive industry since '78.

But then you all probably figured I was a diver by my screen name.

Ted

I completely missed that.I though you were OCD with an iver problem. :lol:

 

[amapola]

We're PADI advanced certified since 1990. We've been all over the Caribbean but our favorite place is Bonaire. We've been there 14 times.

 

[Larry M]

...our favorite place is Bonaire...

Bonaire is pretty amazing. We stopped for 3 weeks on our way to Trinidad. The diving was great right off the back of the boat.

 

[KJ]

Bonaire is pretty amazing. We stopped for 3 weeks on our way to Trinidad. The diving was great right off the back of the boat.

Do you have your own compressor and tanks on board? KJ

 

[HeyJude]

Someone above mentioned having a 50' hose connected to onboard tank. I know tech divers get their extended hose somewhere, can knowledgeable persons reply with a source(s)?

 

[Shoalwaters]

Someone above mentioned having a 50' hose connected to onboard tank. I know tech divers get their extended hose somewhere, can knowledgeable persons reply with a source(s)?

My hoses are yellow, in 20ft lengths, and snap together. Inboard connection is to either oil-less compressor or scuba tank with regulator. The link below is where I got mine.

Brownies Third Lung Accessories Kayak Diving Hose Kits

 

[Jeffrey S]

I'm a certified diver. We carry multiple tanks onboard along with a compressor that can be rigged up for air delivery for diving on the boat itself. I dove for TowBoat US on the Penobscot Bay for 3 summers cutting lobster pot lines off tangled boats - that was quite a hoot and paid for all the dive equipment I could ever use in a lifetime.

 

[h2orescuemedic]

This is my first post.

I have been scuba diving for years, 3 years ago i took the next step and got my instructor. I have only taught a few classes mostly friends and fire department guys. A coworker and my self took the instructor test so we could bring all the guys on dive team up to the same level with out costing the fire district a lot of money for everyone to go out for the training.

The down side is most of my scuba diving is either training or working very little is playing anymore. If you dive for fun don't get your instructor it will only turn into work.