I went with the Kirby Morgan because of the parts availability on the boat, but the Ultraflow's exhaust valve angle would've been better for the current we were working in, has anyone else been stuck with a mask choice that worked fine on paper but felt wrong underwater?
I used this $20 vinyl patch kit from Amazon for 2 years on my old drysuit. Thought it was fine because it held air on the surface. Then last month during a wreck dive off Port Angeles, a patch let go at 60 feet. Water flooded my suit fast and I had to abort the dive in a hurry. Turned out the adhesive doesn't bond well with cold water over time. Anyone else had a repair product fail on them deep?
I see everyone dropping big money on special scrubbers and pressure washers for cleaning boat hulls and docks. But last month on a job in Charleston, I grabbed a regular garden hose with a simple brass nozzle and turned the pressure up. Worked just fine for knocking off light barnacles on a small Boston Whaler. The customer didn't care and I saved around $200. Has anyone else found a low cost trick that other divers seem to hate on?
Went on a job off the coast of New Orleans last month and the whole crew was running those expensive KM band masks. I showed up with my old AGA Divator and got so much flak. But honestly? I had zero issues all week while two guys had to surface because their super expensive masks kept fogging up. One guy's band adjustment stripped on day two. For that kind of money I expect better. Anyone else still using the older stuff and getting by just fine?
Had this crusty supervisor named Gary on a job in Houma 2 years ago. He saw me tossing my lift bag and spare harness into a milk crate and just shook his head. Said I was asking for a tangled mess or something falling overboard. He made me buy those divided deck bins from Home Depot. Dang if it didn't cut my gear setup time in half. Any of yall found other good organization tricks that actually work?
I was about 40 feet down doing a hull inspection when I felt my mask start to flood. Turned out the band clamp snapped clean where it had been corroded underneath the rubber. Got topside, replaced it with a stainless steel one from the shop. Anyone else had a clamp fail on them like that?
I was working on a pipeline job off the coast of Louisiana and this old supervisor walked up, grabbed my lift bag hose and said 'son, if you ever forget to clip your dump valve, that bag will turn into a rocket and kill someone.' He showed me a photo of a bag that tore a hole through a boat hull near Grand Isle. Has anyone else gotten that specific safety talk from a salty older diver?
I keep seeing guys jumping in with just a wetsuit on jobs around the Port of Seattle during July, claiming drysuits are overkill until the water drops below 50F. But I’ve had two guys get hypothermic in 55F water after a couple hours on bottom, one last summer who couldn’t feel his hands during a tie-off. So what’s your cutoff temp for switching to a drysuit, or do you think it’s more about the job duration and depth than the season?
I always kept my dive knife strapped to my calf on the inside of my leg. Did it that way since my first job on a pier in San Diego. Three years of that and I thought it was fine until last week. I had to cut a loose line off a prop and my knife got tangled up in my own leg strap when I tried to pull it out. Took me a solid minute to free it up while my tender was yelling at me over comms. That's when I realized I was making it harder on myself. Now I keep it on my thigh with the sheath facing forward. Any of you guys switch your knife placement and notice a big difference on deck?
Was on a job last Tuesday at the Port of Seattle, just a routine inspection on an intake pipe. Noticed a small leak on a ball valve, figured I'd swap the O-ring and be done in 20 minutes. Took the whole thing apart, put it back together, still leaking. Did that twice more before I realized I put the O-ring in dry. No lube. Spent the first 3 hours frustrated and cold for nothing. Anyone else have a job where you skip the obvious and it costs you half the day?
I always cleaned my exhaust valves by just spraying them with fresh water and calling it good. During a mixed gas dive off a rig near Port Fourchon last month, I got a free flow that nearly ripped my mask off. My tender pointed out the valves were crusted with salt and calcium after I pulled the cover off. Now I soak them in white vinegar for 20 minutes after every deep saltwater job. Anyone else been doing something basic wrong for way too long?
Sea state kicked up from flat to 4 footers in 20 minutes near the Eugene Island block. My lift bag lines came untwisted inside a tangled dry bag and I lost 15 minutes trying to sort them out on a bouncing deck. How do you organize your lift bags so they don't turn into a rat's nest when things go sideways?
Whoever designed those drain holes must have never tried to flush out silt because everything just cakes up and rusts out in 6 months has anyone else dealt with this on their site?
I was working a bridge job in Charleston about 4 years ago, surface-supplied at maybe 25 feet. This grizzled tender kept slamming the hammer on my hat because he thought I was slacking on a bolt. He said "get that head in there or I'll put it in for you" and laughed. I popped up and told him if he touched my helmet again I'd swim his tools to the bottom. Foreman pulled us both aside and made us shake hands, but that guy never looked at me the same. It stuck with me because some divers think they own the site just because they have 30 years in. Has anyone else run into a tender who acted like they were your boss instead of your safety?
I did a job down there checking anodes on a pier. The vis was fine but that current had me fighting for 20 minutes just to stay in place. My old supervisor never mentioned spots like that. Anyone else run into surprise currents on Gulf jobs?
My umbilical got snagged on some wreckage and I couldn't hear a thing for about 4 solid minutes. I had to rely on hand signals and the backup line pull system to tell the tender I was stuck, and it took way longer than it should have to get untangled. Has anyone else practiced the pull code signals enough to actually use them under pressure?
Bought a set of lift bags off Amazon for $120. Sounded like a deal. First real job in Port Arthur, lifting a 500lb intake screen. One bag burst at 30 feet. Lost the bag, almost lost my gear. Had to abort the whole dive. Customer was pissed. Rented gear from a shop for the redo. That $120 mistake cost me $400 in rental fees and a day of pay. Anyone else have cheap gear fail at the worst time?
I been doing surface supply for 3 years. Finally got a chance to go down in a bell off a rig in the Gulf of Mexico. 120 feet, 40 minutes on the bottom. That chamber ride is something else. Felt like I was back in training but the visibility was better than I expected. Made a small repair on a cathodic protection anode. The supervisor gave me a nod after. That felt good. Anyone else remember their first time in a bell?
I used to swear by my KM-16, spent over $2k on it a few years back. But after a job in Galveston last month where I borrowed my buddy's Ocean Reef, I switched. The lighter weight saved my neck on a 6-hour hull inspection, and the comms were clearer. Anyone else ditch the heavy gear for something simpler on shallow dives?
Ok so I've been diving commercial for about 10 years now. Always used the fancy brand zipper lube from the dive shop. Costs like $15 a tube. Last month my buddy Dave in the Gulf said he just uses dish soap and it works fine. I tried it for two weeks and honestly couldn't tell a difference. But now I'm paranoid about long term damage to the seals or zipper. Who here actually uses the cheap stuff long term and has it held up? Or am I just wasting money on overpriced grease?
I've been using the same silicone spray for years on my suit zippers, but ran out and grabbed some cheap stuff from a hardware store in Norfolk. Figured lube is lube, right? Wrong. That stuff gummed up my zipper so bad I had to soak it in warm water for an hour to get it moving again. Three dives got delayed while I fixed it. Anyone else run into this with random zipper products?
I've been diving for 8 years in the Gulf, mostly platform inspection work, and that number felt way bigger than I expected when I added it up. My supervisor said 'that's cute' when I mentioned it, but I think it matters because most guys I know don't actually track their hours that closely. Anybody else get weirdly surprised by a milestone they hit in this trade?
Thought a dry bag would save me space on a job in Port Angeles. Got 30 feet down and realized it wasn't sealed right. Switched to a Pelican case and never looked back. What do you guys use for sensitive tools?
I was flipping through my logbook to check a valve repair depth from a job back in March and noticed the numbers adding up. Ran a quick total and boom, 1,003 hours logged. I honestly thought I was maybe around 700 or so. Most of those hours are in the Gulf near Galveston doing platform inspections and hull cleaning. I remember my first dive down there I was so nervous I forgot to open my equalization valve and my ears felt like they were gonna pop out. Now 1,000 hours later I can basically do a bottom inspection with my eyes closed. It hit me kind of funny because there was no big ceremony or anything, just a number on a page that I never aimed for. Anyone else find a milestone like this sneaks up on you when you least expect it?
Was working a harbor cleanup job down in San Pedro last week and my old Kirby Morgan mask let in a slow leak at 30 feet. Swapped to a backup that was actually serviced right and finished the shift dry... have you guys ever had a mask fail mid-job?