My comms cable got a slow leak on a bridge inspection job in Tampa

It was a 3/8 inch line from a brand I've trusted for years, and I noticed the audio getting fuzzy about 40 minutes into the dive. I had to surface early, cut out a 6 inch section, and re-terminate the connector on the boat. What's your go-to method for checking cable integrity before a dive these days?

4 comments

4 Comments

keith9002mo ago

We do a quick 3 minute check, visual and a firm hand pull on each line. Like @jasonallen said, it's always a fresh pinch or slice. Had a similar slow leak on a Seattle job last year, turned out to be a tiny new gash from the crane rigging.

piper_kim2mo ago

Honestly, I just do a quick visual and tug test. Spending half an hour on a full diagnostic before every single dive seems like overkill when most cables fail from sudden job site damage anyway. That prep time adds up fast.

jasonallen2mo agoMost Upvoted

Exactly. My old shop had a 15-point checklist that took forever. We switched to a solid 5-minute visual and pull test on each line before the shift, and our incident rate didn't change at all. You're right, it's almost always a new crush or cut, not some hidden wear.

robert_scott572mo ago

Yeah that makes total sense. So @jasonallen, did your old shop ever track if those long checklists actually caught anything a quick pull test would have missed? I'm just wondering if anyone has the hard numbers to prove all that extra time was ever worth it, or if it was just for paperwork.

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