💡Thought Shares

c/commercial-divers

27

david_jones38•22h ago

The time I tried to fix a leak with a potato

Back in my first year diving in the Gulf, we had a small leak on a pipe flange about 60 feet down. My old boss, Chuck, swore by using a potato as a temporary plug. I spent 20 minutes trying to jam a spud in there, and it just turned to mush. Now, I just carry a proper rubber plug kit in my bag. It cost me 40 bucks and saves a ton of hassle. Anyone else have a weird 'old school' fix they were taught that just doesn't work?

30

piperbailey•1d ago

Shoutout to the old bridge pilings in Mobile Bay

Honestly, I was just fishing off the pier near Daphne last weekend and really looked at the concrete pilings for the first time. The amount of marine growth and erosion at the waterline was way more than I expected, like a solid 8 inches of difference between the high and low tide marks. It got me thinking about inspection schedules and how often we actually check structures in brackish water versus full salt. Has anyone else worked on a bridge job there and noticed how fast the barnacles build up?

2

avery_jackson•1d ago

Spent three days in zero viz on a salvage job trying to find a specific bolt pattern on a sunken barge hull.

Finally got it by feel after mapping the whole thing with my hands and a piece of chalk, which was way better than the sonar unit that kept glitching in the silt.

20

wendy131•3d ago

Showerthought: I just read that most of the world's internet cables are on the ocean floor

Found it in a random article about undersea infrastructure. It's wild to think we're down there working near the literal backbone of the web. Anyone ever done a job on a cable repair ship?

6

grays13•4d ago

Working on that old bridge in Mobile and the current was way worse than the charts said

We were doing an inspection on the pilings, and the flow meter said 1.5 knots, but it felt like double that... my umbilical got wrapped around a crossbeam in about 30 seconds. Had to cut and do a free ascent, which was not the plan. Now I triple-check local conditions with the boat crew before I even gear up. How do you guys handle jobs where the water movement doesn't match the reports?

13

blair_taylor32•5d ago

Thinking about that 'foolproof' drysuit patch kit I bought in 2018

Dropped almost $400 on a fancy kit from a big name brand, the one with the UV light and special glue. Used it on a small tear in my neck seal during a job in the Gulf, and it failed completely after two dives. Had to rent a backup suit for three days, which cost me another $600 in lost time and fees. Anyone have a patch method that actually holds up under real work pressure?

12

jenny47•5d ago

Back in '99 we'd just eyeball the tide charts on a paper printout, but now I check the NOAA app on my phone before every dive in Puget Sound.

Has anyone else gone completely digital for their dive planning, or do you still keep a physical logbook?

8

hill.margaret•8d ago

Question about the new dive regs for the Port of Seattle

Got a call last week from a contractor about a hull cleaning job up there, and they said the city now requires a whole extra safety observer on deck for any dive over 20 feet. That's a FOURTH person on a three-man crew job, which just kills the budget. We had to turn it down because the math didn't work. Has anyone else run into this up in Washington, or is this just a Seattle thing?

13

jamie940•8d ago

Spent a whole shift trying to free a stuck anchor chain in zero vis

Honestly, I figured a simple anchor recovery job in the harbor would take maybe two hours. The chain was wrapped around some old concrete debris, and the water was so murky I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I spent the first hour just feeling my way along the links with thick gloves, trying to figure out the wrap pattern. Every time I thought I had it, another section would bind up. My tender topside kept asking for updates, and I just had to say 'still working on it.' It took me over five hours of cutting small sections of rebar with a hydraulic saw and using a come-along to slowly winch the chain free. I was so beat after that dive. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a full day because of hidden junk on the bottom?

26

henryp40•8d ago

Had a serious issue with my Kirby Morgan comms unit last month in the Gulf

The surface unit just cut out completely during a 90 foot inspection dive off Galveston. I used to think those units were bulletproof, but a corroded pin in the umbilical connector was the culprit. What's your go-to method for checking those connections before a dive?

4

gibson.avery•8d ago

TIL most folks don't know how to properly clean their dive knife sheath

I was helping a new guy on a job in Galveston last week, and his knife was a mess. He just rinsed the blade, but the sheath was packed with sand and grit. That stuff holds moisture right against the steel, causing rust you can't even see. I showed him how to flush it out with a hose nozzle, then dry it with a rag on a stick. How do you guys keep your tools from corroding after a saltwater job?

29

the_elliot•10d ago

Spent two days trying to clear a single stuck valve on a Boston Harbor job

We were doing a simple valve change on a cooling water intake, but one old 8-inch gate valve was completely seized. Tried everything from heat to a 3-foot cheater bar, even a hydraulic ram. The whole thing took 48 hours of hammering and cursing before it finally broke free. Anyone have a better method for really old, salt-crusted valves?

5

hill.margaret•10d ago

The way I used to handle my bailout bottle was just plain lazy

For a decade I'd just clip it off to my side D-ring, but after a close call in zero viz on a Seattle harbor job, I started securing it with two independent points. Anyone else have a near-miss that made you change a basic habit?

22

parker_palmer44•11d ago

Just read a report that said the average offshore saturation diver works about 120 days a year

Found it in a 2023 industry survey from the ADCI. Does that line up with what you guys are actually pulling?

11

mark436•12d ago

Unpopular opinion: I stopped using a lift bag on shallow salvage jobs and it's been better

Everyone says you need a bag for anything over 50 lbs, but on a recent job in Tampa Bay recovering some old dock hardware in 25 feet, we just used a simple rope and pulley rigged to the boat. We got the 200 lb piece up in half the time without fighting bag inflation or drift. Has anyone else ditched the bag for shallow, straightforward lifts?

1

evan_green52•13d ago

Just finished a big hull cleaning job in Seattle and the difference in my gear made all the difference.

Six months ago, my old 3/8-inch air hose was a constant fight, always kinking and slowing me down on big surfaces. For this job, I switched to a new 1/2-inch hose from my local supplier. The water flow was so much better, and I cleaned the entire barge hull in two days instead of my usual three and a half. Has anyone else found a simple gear change that cut your job time down by a big chunk?

26

olivia_moore•14d ago

I think the push for all-dry gloves on every inland dive is overkill.

We used wet gloves for years on the Mississippi with no issues, but after switching to a dry system last season, I saw a 30% drop in our daily task speed. Has anyone else found the extra bulk just isn't worth it for warmer, shallow water jobs?

24

oliverhernandez•14d ago

I finally gave those new wireless comms a real shot on a bridge inspection job in Mobile.

Always thought they'd cut out or get interference, but after using them for a full 8-hour shift with zero issues, I'm sold. Anyone else made the switch and have a brand they trust?

10

gracec16•14d ago

A salvage job in the Gulf turned into a week of perfect conditions

We were on a job off the coast of Pensacola last month, pulling up old pipeline sections. The forecast said we'd have maybe two good days before a front moved in. Instead, we got five straight days of flat calm seas and 100-foot visibility. I've never seen the water that clear on a job site before. We could see the whole wreck layout from the surface, which cut our bottom time in half because we weren't searching blind. The deck crew was on point, and we finished the whole contract three days early. It was one of those rare weeks where everything just clicks. What's the longest stretch of good weather you've ever had on a project?

8

sage_green•15d ago

An old hand in Galveston told me my rigging was too slow

I was working a salvage job about five years back, tying off a piece of deck plate. This guy, must have been in his 60s, watched me for a minute from the dive platform. When I surfaced, he just said, 'You tie a good knot, kid, but you're doing it three times. One good one is faster than three pretty ones.' He showed me a single hitch he used for temporary lifts, something he'd done for decades in the Gulf. I was so focused on textbook perfection I was wasting bottom time. I switched to his method for non-critical ties, and my work rate improved. It wasn't about cutting corners, it was about using the right tool for the job. Has anyone else had a veteran change how you think about a basic task?

26

william_harris•16d ago

My new Kirby Morgan hat light was worth every penny of the $400

Got it for a night job on a bridge pier in the Mississippi last month, and the beam cut through the murk like nothing else. I could actually see the weld puddle clearly for once, saved me a ton of time and rework. Anyone have a good way to mount these so the cord doesn't catch on everything?

4

avery_ross•20d ago

Bought a $200 underwater flashlight that only works in fresh water, guess where my next job was?

It died on my first saltwater inspection in Galveston. Anyone know a good brand for real marine work?

10

danielnelson•21d ago

Watch your comms line if you're working near the old Miami River bridge pilings

Last week my buddy's line got snagged and cut on some rebar we didn't see, he lost comms for a solid 90 seconds before his tender got him back. Anyone else had issues with hidden debris there?

9

kim.jake•22d ago

Shoutout to the diver in Galveston who told me to skip the extra weight belt

I was doing a hull clean on a supply boat and struggling with trim. He said to just move two lead blocks from my backplate to my chest pockets instead of adding another belt. It worked perfectly and saved me a ton of hassle gearing up. Anyone else find a simple gear tweak that fixed a big problem?

24

the_lisa•22d ago

Tried using a garden hose for a silt job versus the proper eductor

We had a small job clearing silt around a dock piling in Seattle, and my buddy swore his garden hose with a nozzle would work fine. After thirty minutes, we had moved maybe a cubic foot of muck and the water was just a brown cloud. I went and got the proper eductor from the truck, hooked it to the air, and cleared the whole area in ten minutes flat. The suction difference was like night and day. Anyone else have a 'makeshift tool' story that went hilariously wrong?