c/commercial-divers

Scuba bottle bands from the 80s had thicker rubber

Been seeing guys slap new cylinder bands on old tanks without checking the strap groove, and after two bottles slipped on a dive boat off Key Largo in March, I pulled out a band from 1984 that was twice as thick, so is anyone else sizing down instead of swapping to those skinny new ones?

1 comments

harris.vera•3d ago

Tried a rebreather on a wreck dive, honest thoughts after 3 dives

Swapped my open circuit for a used rebreather on a wreck off Pensacola last month. Wish someone told me how much time you waste on pre-dive checks and CO2 scrubber math, plus the bailout bottle handling is a whole different beast. Anyone else switch and regret it or am I just slow adapting?

1 comments

wendyw71•6d ago

Cheap band masks vs brand name, learned the hard way on a harbor job

Last month I ran a 3 day inspection gig in San Diego and used the cheap band masks from the hardware store. By day 2 the seal was gone and I was swallowing silt, my comms sounded like static. Swapped to a proper neck dam and brand mask from my dive locker, night and day difference. The $25 savings wasn't worth risking a lung infection or missing a crack in the piling. Anyone else stick with the cheap stuff and regret it?

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thomas_wright41•7d ago

Old Kirby Morgan regs still beat the new ones for cold water

Swapped back to a 1990s Kirby Morgan EXO mask on a job in Puget Sound last month, and my face stayed warm while the two guys with newer setups were complaining about freeze-up every 20 min. Anyone else keep the old gear around for specific conditions or am I just being sentimental about something that's about to crack?

1 comments

beth559•8d ago

Supervisor on deck told me to 'just feel it' for a valve alignment

Last Tuesday in the Gulf, I had a guy yell at me through comms to align a 4 inch line by feel because the drawings were 'close enough.' I burned 20 minutes guessing, came up, and he had the wrong valve number the whole time. Anyone else deal with deck staff who think muscle memory beats a checklist underwater?

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knight.oscar•11d ago

Dive sup on the boat told me to quit or get tough, still think about that day

Back on a pipeline job out of Port Fourchon last August, my supervisor pulled me aside after a rough bell run and said, "You're either built for this or you're burning my time." I was ready to argue, but he showed me his logbook with 14 years of near-misses and asked if I could handle one more. Has anyone else had a supervisor lay it out that blunt, and did it push you harder or just make you resent the crew?

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the_john•11d ago

Choosing between a full face mask and a regular band mask on a 60 foot rope change

Last week I had to swap out a mooring line off Port Angeles and I kept going back and forth on the full face vs a standard band mask the whole surface interval. I picked the full face because the comms were spotty with the band and I needed to talk to the deck boss about the shackle size. It was heavier and I fought buoyancy for the first 10 minutes, but the clarity beat the fuss. Anyone else find the comms worth the extra drag on a quick job like that?

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pat_perry•14d ago

Dive light batteries dying at 120 feet taught me a hard lesson about cheap lithium cells

I swapped in those discount 3.7V batteries from a random seller for my primary light, and when it flickered out during a wreck penetration in Lake Michigan last month, I realized the voltage sag under load was way worse than anything I'd ever seen from the name brand packs, so does anyone else test their batteries with a load meter before every surface supply dive or am I just paranoid now?

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wendyw71•15d ago

Helmet purge valve stuck at 60 feet, I shot to the surface in Mobile Bay, but was that the right call?

I was doing a hull inspection on a barge near the Mobile River delta when my Desco pot helmet's exhaust valve jammed open and my suit started inflating fast, I dumped my weights and rode it up because I panicked, but the safety guy said I should've stayed and pinched the hose instead, so which is worse: a quick uncontrolled ascent or risking a squeeze trying to fix it on the bottom?

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the_kim•15d ago

Band mask fit check after my last bell dive in Galveston

Noticed a lot of guys skipping the roughneck test on their band masks before splash. I did it on a job two months ago, seal looked fine on land but failed at 60 feet in Galveston. Took me 20 extra minutes to swap the liner, but saved a flooded helmet and a ruined shift. Any of y'all actually do a quick underwater seal check on every mask or just trust the surface fit?

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thomas_wright41•16d ago

Saltwater wreck dive, my drysuit inflator valve froze up at 90 feet

Did a wreck dive off the Florida Keys last weekend and about 40 minutes in my inflator valve started sticking. At 90 feet that got sketchy fast, had to manually dump air using the shoulder valve the whole ascent. Got back to the boat and found salt crystals jammed in the needle valve seat. I've always rinsed my suit after dives but never pulled the inflator assembly apart. Now I pop it open and soak it in fresh water every month, cheap insurance compared to a free ascent. Anyone else had inflator issues with salt exposure, or do you run a different maintenance routine?

0 comments

angelacooper•20d ago

Realized I was breathing wrong during deco stops after 4 years

So I've been diving commercially for about 4 years now, mostly inland and some harbor work near Tacoma. Turns out I was holding my breath during deco stops without even knowing it, just tensing up from the cold or impatience. A dive supervisor on a barge job called it out after watching my tank pressure swing on his gauge. He showed me how to do slow exhale counts and now my stops feel way smoother and my air lasts longer. Anyone else have a basic habit that took forever for someone to point out?

1 comments

oliviac22•20d ago

Took on water at 60ft near Port Angeles, knife caught my hose

Working a salvage job last Tuesday off the Strait, currents were pushing hard. My umbilical snagged on a broken cable, and while I was trying to untangle it, my dive knife swung loose and nicked the hose right near the quick disconnect. Air started hissing, I felt that pressure drop in my chest immediate. Kept calm, signaled topside on the comms, and did a controlled emergency ascent using my bailout bottle, got up in about 4 minutes. Deck crew said I was a shade pale but they got me on O2 and the hose held enough to get me there. Anyone else had a tool strap fail on them mid-dive? How do you secure your gear so it doesn't become a hazard?

1 comments

diana_park•22d ago

Hot take: I stopped using a dive tender for shallow harbor work

Three years ago, I ran a 40-foot hull cleaning job in San Diego without a tender on standby and honestly, it went smoother than any of my tended dives. I know the OSHA folks would hate it, but for 15-foot vis and zero current, that extra guy just stands around burning deck time. Has anyone else dumped the tender on benign jobs and dealt with the backlash, or am I the only one who thinks the rule is overkill?

1 comments

wade438•23d ago

My $900 dive torch died on a night job, could've been bad

Picked up a budget LED torch last spring for a harbor inspection in Seattle. First 10 night dives it was fine. Then it flickered and shut off at 40 feet in zero visibility. Cost me the shift and a scare with a mooring line. Spent $1,600 on a new sealed unit from a proper shop. Anyone else learned the hard way that cheap lights aren't worth the risk? What brand do you run for deep work?

1 comments

dylan265•24d ago

Spent $2,400 on a custom drysuit that leaked from dive one, should I repair or trash it?

I ordered a made-to-measure drysuit from a local shop in Norfolk back in March, paid $2,400 upfront, and the first flood I did left my left leg soaked within 20 minutes. The shop says it's my fit issue, not their seam work, but the water came right through the wrist seal, which is pretty basic stuff. Is it worth chasing a warranty fight or should I just eat the cost and go back to a shell suit like everyone keeps telling me?

1 comments

alice445•24d ago

Overheard a deckhand say 'check your own gear' and it stuck with me

We were on a barge off Port Fourchon last Tuesday and this old deckhand told the new guy to never trust someone else's pre-dive checks, even the divemaster's. He said he once found a cracked first stage on a 'checked' tank that would've flooded at 80 feet. Has anyone else had a close call from relying on someone else's equipment inspection?

1 comments

amymiller•1mo ago

Switched from a drysuit to a hot water suit for the North Sea, never going back

Spent 5 winters shivering through 40 minute bottom times until a supervisor in Aberdeen told me to try a hot water suit, now I can stay down for 2 hours and actually feel my fingers. Anyone else make the switch and struggle with the extra umbilical weight on the first few dives?

1 comments

luna_sanchez•1mo ago

Took me 6 hours to find a leak in a drysuit zipper seal that I swore was fine

Everyone says drysuit leaks are easy to spot just pump it up and listen. Well I spent 6 hours last Saturday at the shop in Port Fourchon spraying soapy water on every inch of that suit. Turns out the leak was in the zipper seal itself a tiny pin hole right where the rubber meets the metal. I checked that area 3 times before I finally saw bubbles. Drove me nuts because I kept thinking it was the wrist seals or neck. Has anyone else dealt with a leak that hid in a spot like that? What trick finally found it for you?

2 comments

corad84•1mo ago

Visited an old oil rig platform off Louisiana last week and noticed something wild about the barnacle growth

I was down near Grand Isle doing a hull inspection on a retired platform, and the barnacles on the legs were way thicker on the north side. The current and sun exposure must have made a huge difference. I took some pics to show the guys back at the shop, and my supervisor said it's common in areas with strong tidal flow. Anyone else see big differences in marine growth depending on which side of a structure you're working on?

2 comments

corad84•1mo ago

Flooded my drysuit in 30 feet of water off Port Fourchon

Was doing a pipeline inspection near the mouth of Bayou Lafourche. My neck seal let go during a roll check. Water just poured in. Felt like a ice bath down my back. Had to abort the dive and surface slow. 40 minutes of prep wasted. Now I check my seals with a mirror before every entry. Anyone else had a seal fail on them mid-dive?

2 comments

colemiller•1mo ago

Spent $85 on a custom drysuit zipper repair kit and it saved me a whole week of downtime

Had a zipper blow out on me in Port Fourchon last month during a 2 week shutdown job. The nearest repair shop was 3 hours away and wanted a week turnaround. Found this field repair kit online, watched a youtube video, and fixed it in my hotel room in like 2 hours. Still holding up fine. Anyone else carry emergency repair gear or just risk it?

2 comments

paige_harris•1mo ago

A dive supervisor in the Gulf told me my knot tying was way too slow and it forced me to switch to a different technique

He said I looked like I was knitting a sweater down there and after I timed myself and saw it took 45 seconds to tie a basic clove hitch, I spent 2 weeks practicing the half-hitch stack method and now I'm down to 12 seconds, has anyone else had to totally re-learn a skill they thought they already had?

1 comments

nancyd85•1mo ago

Switched from a Kirby Morgan to an AGA mask after a near-miss in Port Fourchon last March and I'll never go back.

My exhaust valve froze on a 60-foot dive in 52-degree water, started flooding my hood, and by the time I surfaced I was shivering so bad I couldn't sign my own logbook - has anyone else had a mask fail on them in cold water?

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wendy_murphy16•1mo ago

Saw a diver skip his pre-dive gear check on a 90 foot job last Tuesday

Kid was in his 20s, new to the crew. He suited up real fast. Popped his helmet on without checking the one-way valves. I called him out. He rolled his eyes. Then he hit 50 feet and his comms started crackling. Water got in. Had to pull him up early. Whole job got delayed an hour. You guys ever seen someone skip a basic step and almost cost everyone the day?

2 comments