c/commercial-divers

Lost $150 on a drysuit zipper repair that failed in 2 dives

I paid a local shop $150 to replace a zipper on my DUI drysuit and it blew out again on the second dive at Hood Canal. The guy swore he used the right gauge zipper but it was clearly a cheap knockoff. Anyone know a reliable place in the PNW for drysuit zipper work?

Vent: My drysuit cuff seal failed 60 feet down off Catalina last month

Was doing a routine hull inspection on a mooring buoy chain near Avalon when my left wrist seal just split open. Water came rushing in so fast I thought I was gonna lose my shit for a second. Had to abort the dive and do a controlled ascent with one arm clamped against my chest. Anyone else dealt with a sudden seal failure mid-dive? What brand do you trust now?

TIL a drysuit isn't just for cold water - I was totally wrong about that

For years I thought drysuits were only for those icy North Sea jobs up in Scotland or Norway. I mostly work in the Gulf around Louisiana so I stuck with wetsuits thinking dry would be too hot and bulky. Then I did a two week job near Port Fourchon last March where the water was like 55 degrees and I was freezing after 20 minutes on the bottom. A buddy let me borrow his spare DUI drysuit for a day and I couldn't believe how warm I stayed even 3 hours in. Now I get why people wear them in warmer water too - it's not just about temperature, it's about staying dry and being able to layer right. Still adjusting to the extra buoyancy though. Anyone else switch late in their career and wish they did it sooner?

Switched to a Kirby Morgan band mask after 10 years in a hard hat

Used to think hard hats were the only way to go for real commercial work. Tried a Kirby Morgan 37 last season on a bridge pier job in Seattle and now I don't think I'll go back. The comfort difference during 6 hour bottom times is huge. Anybody else make the switch and find it hard to adjust at first?

That time a crab decided my wetsuit was its new home during a dive in Galveston last month

I was doing a routine inspection on a jetty down in Galveston last month, maybe 30 feet down. Came up to swap out a tool and felt something weird scratching my leg. Turned out a blue crab had crawled up inside my wetsuit leg and was just chilling there. My tender was laughing so hard he nearly dropped the comms line. Has anyone else had random sea life decide to hitch a ride on them mid-job?

Talking to an old saturation diver changed how I look at deep water work

Ran into a guy who did 300 foot dives in the North Sea back in the 80s. He told me they used to just suck on hard candy to keep their ears from popping on the way down, no fancy equalization techniques. Made me wonder if we overcomplicate stuff now with all these new courses and gear.

Found a cheap fix for leaking drysuit zippers in the field

I was on a job in San Diego last month and my drysuit zipper started weeping halfway through the day. Tried using the regular wax stick but it didn't hold. Someone on the crew told me to rub a bar of plain ivory soap on the zipper teeth before zipping up. Worked way better than the fancy stuff I was buying at the dive shop. Has anyone else tried soap instead of the expensive zipper lubes?

Visited a dive shop in Galveston last month, weird vibe inside

Walked into this place called Gulf Coast Divers off the seawall. Owner was sitting in back watching YouTube, barely looked up. Had a used drysuit hanging up with a visible tear in the knee seam. No tag, no discount sign. Asked about it and he said "it'll patch fine." You charging full price for damaged gear? Has anyone else run into shops like this?

Serious question, sat diving vs bell diving for deep repairs?

I've been going back and forth on this since a job three years ago off the coast of Louisiana. We had to fix a pipeline at 250 feet, and the supervisor wanted us on a saturation system, but the client pushed for bounce dives with surface decompression. My buddy Jake did the bell dive last month on a similar depth repair near Corpus Christi, said the bottom time felt way safer and he wasn't as beat up after. But I've heard from old timers that sat diving can mess with your head after a week, and the cost for chartering a dive support vessel is insane, like 50 grand a day easy. Last week I did a bounce dive on a failed anode at 180 feet, and my nitrogen hit me harder than I expected, took two hours to feel right again. Which setup do you guys trust for deeper stuff, and what's your call when the client wants the cheaper option?

Just realized I passed 500 hours of bottom time yesterday

I was logging my dives for the month and added up my total bottom time since I started commercial diving 8 years ago. It came out to 502 hours and some change. That number caught me off guard because I never think about it in hours, just in jobs and paychecks. 500 hours underwater doing inspections, welding, and salvage work is a lot of time breathing compressed air in the dark. It made me think about all the close calls I had in those hours and how I'm still here. Has anyone else kept a running total of their bottom time and been surprised by the number?

Surface supply vs scuba for bridge inspections in Portland

I had to pick between sticking with my scuba setup or switching to a full surface supply rig for this bridge job near Portland. The surface supply was heavier to haul around but the comms made life way easier with the topside crew. Ended up going with scuba for the first day since the current was light, now I'm second guessing that choice. Anyone else made the switch and regretted it or was it worth the extra gear to haul?

Wasted $300 on a cheap drysuit zipper repair kit

I tried to save money by fixing a leaking zipper myself with a $60 kit from Amazon. Took me two hours to put it on, and it failed on my first dive in Puget Sound last month. Water got in fast and I had to cut the dive short after just 15 minutes. Ended up paying a shop $240 to do it right. Has anyone else had bad luck with those DIY zipper patches?

Unpopular opinion: surface supply beats scuba for most inland work now

I used to swear by scuba for bridge inspections, but after switching to surface supply for a 3-week job on the Mississippi last month, my bottom time nearly doubled and I felt way safer. Anyone else seeing a bigger shift toward surface supply gear for river and lake jobs?

Hot take: twin-hose regulators aren't obsolete for deep work

I switched back to a twin-hose setup for jobs below 120 feet after fighting with my second-stage freeflow on a wreck off Cape Cod last October. Am I missing something, or are the new single-hose purists just not doing enough actual bottom time?

Rant: Kirby Morgan vs Guess work on comms gear

I had to pick between spending $800 on a new Kirby Morgan headset or rigging something with a cheap radio and a lot of tape. I went with the Kirby Morgan because my last DIY setup cut out at 60 feet during a harbor job in San Pedro. That silence scared me half to death. Has anyone else had a close call with budget comms that made you shell out for the real thing?

Just realized I've done over 200 dives this year and never counted before

I was going through my logbook last night getting paperwork ready for a client and I added up all my dives since January. Came out to 207 so far. That blew my mind because I never really kept a running total. I just show up, do the job, and go home. Most of those are inland bridge and dam inspections in Ohio, with some harbor work mixed in. A bunch of them were shallow ten foot dives for trash screen clearing but they still count. Made me wonder if other guys track their numbers or just let it pile up like I did.

Heard a safety guy say 'just hold your breath' on a job site last week

I was gearing up at the dock in Port Fourchon and overheard this new safety coordinator tell a tender to 'just hold your breath for a second' if his mask fogged up during a check. I had to walk over and ask if he was serious, because that's how you get someone hurt 80 feet down. The tender laughed it off but I saw him later talking to his supervisor about it. Has anyone else had to deal with a safety guy who clearly never dove a day in their life?

Picked the Kirby Morgan over the Ocean Reef for my first deep water salvage job

Had to choose between a used Kirby Morgan 37 and a brand new Ocean Reef Neptune for a 90-foot wreck salvage off Galveston last month. I went with the Kirby even though it was older because the local dive shop guy said it's built like a tank for real work. First day down there, the comms stayed crystal clear while the other new diver's Neptune kept crackling. Anyone else trust older gear over shiny new stuff?

Surprised by how much weight a single lift bag can handle underwater

I was reading through the NOAA dive tables last month and found out a standard 50-pound lift bag can actually move up to 200 pounds if you inflate it right. That blew my mind because I always thought the rating was the max. I use them for salvage work near Galveston pier. Has anyone else tested the real limits on their lift bags?

I think relying on the old Kirby Morgan band mask is holding new divers back

Last month at a job off Galveston, I watched three guys fight with their old SuperLite 17s while I ran my EXO in half the time. Everyone swears by the KM stuff, but have you actually timed how long it takes to rebuild one of those things compared to a modern full-face?

Hit 500 hours underwater last month and it felt like a bigger deal than I expected

My drysuit zipper gave out 40 feet down near Port Alberni

I was doing a hull inspection on a barge last Tuesday when I heard this weird grinding sound. Next thing I know, the zipper on my drysuit split open right at the chest. Water came rushing in like someone turned on a garden hose. I had to signal my tender fast and abort the dive, then spent the next 2 hours shivering in the truck waiting for the backup suit. Has anyone else had a zipper fail mid-dive like that?

Nearly drowned on a 30 foot wreck in Tampa Bay last week because my backup reg froze up

I was on a routine dive inspecting a mooring line on a 30 foot wreck, about 15 feet down, when my drysuit inflator stuck open. I tried to switch to my backup reg to fix the issue, but the damn thing was frozen solid from the cold water. Had to abort the dive and do a controlled emergency ascent, which threw my whole schedule off. Anyone else had their backup gear fail when you needed it most? How do you check for stuff like that before the dive?

Got yelled at by an old diver in Port Arthur about my drysuit valves

I was on a job in Port Arthur last month prepping for a platform inspection. Old timer named Ray came up and started yelling at me because my exhaust valve was on the right side instead of the left. He said having it on the right dumps bubbles right in your face when you tilt your head and messes with your buoyancy control. I always just used whatever valve setup the suit came with but he showed me how switching sides made a huge difference in visibility. Has anyone else run into old school divers with super strong opinions about gear setup?

New guys keep skipping the surface interval on air dives

I see it all the time now, guys jumping right back in after a 40 minute bottom time on air like nothing happened. Back when I started in 2004 off the coast of Galveston, we had a hard 2 hour minimum between dives, no exceptions. You're just asking for DCS if you rush it, especially in cold water where your tissues hang onto nitrogen longer. Has anyone else noticed newer divers ignoring the tables?