keylimepie(Offline)

I'm still tinkering with my harness, attempting to get it right, and wanted to know whether it is either desirable or essential that you can reach your valves when standing (eg on the deck of a boat)? I can reach them now when standing (although for some strange reason I find it more difficult to reach with my left arm) and can reach them underwater to do shutdowns. However, I also want to be able to get out of the harness in mid water, for getting back into a rib. I can just get out of it now in mid water, but it's a struggle, and I'd like to be able to do it quicker/easier. Obviously if I slacken the harness a tad it will be easier, but that might make it more difficult to reach the valves when standing on a boat. There'll be a happy medium somewhere, I'm sure, but do I need to be able to reach the valves whilst standing out of water?

Dave

PS Any tips on dekitting mid water would be most welcome.

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GLOC(Offline)

If you can touch the valves standing up (while attached to the tanks), great!! More than I can do. The test we did on fundies was to touch the top of the BP with each hand and then you would be able to touch the valves when horizontal in the water.

With my plate set up that way, I have no problems doing shutdowns.

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JohnKendall(Offline)

It depends on the cylinders as to whether you can reach the valves while standing. I'm not sure I can, although to be honest I've never tried.

As to dekitting Midwater? Why? I can understand doing it on the surface, but why midwater?

If you mean on the surface, then:

Get someone on the rib to hold your valves.
Dump gas out of your wing
Get out of set.

Shouldn't be any more difficult than on the bench. If you have issues, you can also try the over the head method, however its probably better to get someone to show you that than try it from t'internet.

HTH
J

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Bob Cooper(Offline)

I can understand why you might want to de-kit on the surface (getting into a RIB for example), but I can't understand why you would want to de-kit mid-water???

If your harness is set up right, you will be able to 1) reach your valves to do a shut-down 2) get in and out of the harness on the boat/shore.

To get out of the harness on the surface (getting into a RIB), the trick is to deflate the wing. This may make the rig negative. So, you need to keep hold of it! Once you are out of the rig, inflate the wing and it will float (if it is correctly weighted).

Hope this helps...

B

rjack(Offline)

Use a 1-2m leash with a bolt snap hanging off the RIB. The ropes around the "gunwales" work great for this. That way if it gets away from you when you deflate the wing it stays closeby.

Richard

keylimepie(Offline)

Yes, sorry, I mean on the surface. That's how I did it, Bob, and realised it was negative - no probs so long as you don't drop it.

Anyway, from what you are saying, it is not essential to be able to reach your valves when standing up on a boat?

Dave

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Blog updated 20.01.2007: http://davestwinsetdiving.blog-city.com/

Bob Cooper(Offline)

Not essential, but a useful skill nevertheless.

Bob

GLOC(Offline)

I presume you mean to do a flow check before you jump in. Being the short-a**e that I am, I use the extra length of the ECS to boost the tins up when I am sitting down and do the flow check then. If I stand up, the 40kg (ish) on my back slides down slighty and so I can't reach the valves without the tins resting on something.

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Images of Life Photography
DIR
Team Foxturd
Travels Underwater and Further Afar

If you don't have the time to do something right, where are you going to find the time to fix it? - Stephen King

SeaJay(Offline)

I have a hard-sided boat with a wimpy ladder - so I dekit before exiting, too.

For me, I have a line cleated on the boat with a stainless bolt snap on it.

When I come up, I grab the snap and attach it to a chest D-ring.

Then I roll over on my back (there's usually a strong current, so it helps to do this) and switch to my backup and clip off my primary.

While on my backup, I slide the primary loop and the backup's bungee over my head, preventing entanglement.

Last, I release the buckle on my harness, and pull it and the crotchstrap apart.

Raising my arms simply allows me to float out of the rig. I usually roll over during the process, sorta "dropping" out of it. I spit out the reg when I'm free and clear.

For extra Rule 6 points, I grab my rig's webbing as my hand brushes past it and pull myself back to the boat. This helps if the current's really ripping.

A big boat ladder - and exiting with all of your gear still assembled properly - is a much better solution, but this technique seems to work well when that's not available.

neilh(Offline)

Is there a reason you don't use the primary SeaJay? I would have thought the long hose would give you more wriggle room?