c/commercial-divers

Spent $200 on a Kirby Morgan band mask that saved my teeth on a harbor job in Portland

I was doing bottom work in the Willamette River last month and a piece of debris slammed into my faceplate. The band mask took the hit and I walked away with just a headache instead of a mouthful of broken teeth. Anyone else had a cheap mask fail on them underwater?

Burned $300 on a fancy drysuit zipper that failed on my third dive near Seattle

Bought a top-tier metal zipper thinking it'd outlast everything, but it corroded and jammed in two months. Anyone else swear by plastic zippers for Puget Sound work instead?

Vent: My supervisor told me my harness checks were too fast for safety

He said I was going through the pre-dive checklist like a robot and missing loose straps, so I slowed down and actually found a frayed buckle I would have skipped over... has anyone else had to relearn their routine from a harsh critique?

The topside compressor got quieter over 6 months and I should have checked sooner

Spent $200 on a drysuit repair kit and it totally backfired lol

So I got this fancy vulcanizing patch kit for my drysuit thinking I'd save cash on shop repairs. The latex glue was a pain to spread and the patches peeled off after two dives in 45 degree water near Seattle. Ended up paying $350 at a shop to fix the same leak plus the damage I made worse haha. The kit aimed to patch small tears but the instructions were super vague and my glue job was lumpy. Now I'm stuck with a half-used kit and a lesson learned that some jobs are better left to pros. Anyone else try DIY drysuit fixes and regret it?

Hit 500 feet on a single commercial dive and it changed how I plan my air

Overheard a marina manager say something about anchor chains that stuck with me

I was grabbing coffee at the dock in Port Townsend last week and heard this old-timer telling a new guy that "your chain is only as good as the last 3 feet." Been thinking about that ever since. He was talking about how the section near the anchor takes the worst beating from rocks and sand. Has anyone else had a chain fail right at the connection point instead of somewhere in the middle?

The day I found a lobster pot full of cash near Portland Harbor

I was doing a bottom survey off Portland last November and came across a crusty old lobster trap that had a waterproof bag inside it. Opened it up and there was like $600 in twenties and a note saying 'thanks for returning my gear.' Made me think twice about skipping salvage checks. Anyone else ever find something wild on the ocean floor?

Got my diver harness caught on a boat cleat off the coast of Galveston last Tuesday

I was doing a hull inspection on a shrimp boat, about 20 feet down, and my chest harness snagged on a rusty cleat that was sticking out. Took me a solid 45 seconds to realize I wasn't just hung up on kelp, I was literally tied to the boat underwater. My tender thought I was waving at him but I was trying to signal for help. Has anyone else had their gear catch on something dumb like that?

Why does nobody talk about how bad cheap lift bags are

I used those $60 lift bags from that online surplus store for a 40-foot salvage job last month. Nearly lost the whole load when one ripped at 50 feet. Has anyone else had a bag fail on them like that?

Can we talk about buying a cheap used Kirby hatchet from a pawn shop?

I picked up a used Kirby hatchet off a pawn shop shelf for $40 in Savannah last spring, thinking a quick sharpen would be fine for cutting marine growth off ropes. Instead, the head flew off on my third swing underwater and I lost the whole thing in the murk. Has anyone else had a cheap tool fail on them like this and cost you more than you saved?

That cheap dive computer cost me 300 bucks extra

I bought a no-name dive computer off Amazon for $150 thinking it would do the job. After 6 months the O-ring failed and flooded on a 60-foot wreck dive in San Diego. Had to cut the dive short and pay another $200 for a rental for the rest of the week. Has anyone else had a budget computer crap out on them like that?

Unpopular opinion: that expensive drysuit repair kit was a total waste

I dropped $80 on a branded drysuit patch kit last fall after a small tear on a job near the Seattle pier. Followed the instructions to the letter, even let it cure for 48 hours. First dive in Puget Sound, the patch peeled off at 40 feet. Ended up using a cheap bicycle tire patch for $4, and it's held fine for 6 months now. Has anyone else found a better workaround than those fancy kits?

Debate: Cold water vs. hot water deep diving... has anyone actually tracked the safety difference over 10 years?

I started diving in 40-degree water off Newfoundland in 2008 and had way more near-misses from cramps and gear lockups, then I moved to 80-degree Gulf work in 2010 and noticed a huge drop in incidents, but my older mentor swears cold water keeps you sharper and more cautious, what's your take on which environment actually impacts safety more over a long career?

Got tangled in a wreck off the coast of Louisiana last month

I was doing a salvage job on an old shrimp boat near Grand Isle when my umbilical got snagged on a piece of twisted metal. It took me almost 10 minutes of cutting myself free with a dive knife while my tender kept yelling through the comms. That wreck had more sharp edges than I expected and I learned the hard way to run my lines above the debris field. Now I double check my route before I go down on any wreck dive and I carry a second cutting tool. Has anyone else had close calls like this on offshore jobs?

Rant about that one inspector who thought my drysuit zipper was a fake

Last month on a dock job in Port Fourchon, this inspector with 20 years of red hat time kept lecturing me about my drysuit zipper maintenance. He laughed and said I was wasting money on lube and wax. A week later his zipper blew out at 40 feet and he had to abort a $4,000 repair job. I still think proper zipper care beats any old-timer gut feeling. Anyone else deal with inspectors who act like your gear prep is overkill?

Just learned a crazy stat about saturation diving math I never knew

I was reading through an old industry report from CDC archives about saturation diving incidents from 1980 to 2005. Turns out over half of the major decompression sickness cases happened during the last 3 feet of ascent, not deep down. I always figured the risk was highest at the bottom, but those shallow stops are no joke. Any of you guys check your ascent profiles stricter now than when you started?

Why does nobody talk about the old way of checking your bailout bottle?

I used to just give it a quick glance and a tug on the hose. After a close call in 30 feet of murky water near Galveston, I started doing a full pressure check and valve function test before every single dive. What's your pre-dive bottle check look like now?

I tried a different way to clear my mask in zero vis and it actually worked

We were doing a silt-out inspection on a sunken barge in the Mobile River last month. The water was basically mud soup, maybe 6 inches of visibility on a good day. My mask flooded completely when I brushed against a steel beam. Normally I'd blow hard out my nose, but with the silt, that just stirs up more muck and you're blind for another five minutes. On a whim, I tried something my old instructor mentioned once: I tilted my head way back, pressed the top of the mask frame against my forehead, and exhaled slowly through my nose. The air bubble traveled up and pushed the water out the bottom seal without any of the violent kicking. Cleared it in one go and could see my gauges again immediately. It felt counterintuitive to not blast the water out, but the gentle pressure did the trick without ruining the viz for my buddy. Has anyone else found a low-disturbance method for mask clears in awful conditions?

I know everyone swears by the double dump valve for salvage, but last week in Mobile Bay changed my mind.

We were on a 60-foot barge recovery, and my partner's double dump valve bag got a small tear on a sharp edge. The whole lift went unstable in about 30 seconds because it was dumping air from two points. My old single dump bag, which I still had as a backup, got the job done with way more control. Has anyone else had a close call that made you go back to simpler gear?

PSA: I switched from a standard lift bag to a double dump valve setup for salvage work.

I used to fight with slow, tricky venting on a single dump bag during a tricky river job near Pittsburgh. Now I can control the ascent in two stages, which made a huge difference on a recent car recovery. Anyone else made a switch like that and found it saved your back or your day?

Warning: The current near the old pier in Port Townsend is way stronger than it looks

I was working a hull inspection job there last Thursday and got pushed about 15 feet off my line in under a minute. The tide tables didn't show anything crazy, but the water moving around those pilings creates a real pull. Has anyone else had a close call in that specific spot?

Update: I keep seeing divers mess up their umbilical checks on the boat

Last week in Port Angeles, I watched a guy get suited up and his tender didn't check the hot water hose connection at the helmet. It was loose. The diver got a face full of cold water at 90 feet and had to come up. It's a simple thing, but I see it skipped a lot. Do you guys have a specific order for your pre-dive umbilical check that works best?

My dad, who worked offshore in the Gulf for 20 years, told me last weekend he never once took a 'souvenir' from a job site. Said it was bad luck and disrespectful to the water. I'd always thought that was just superstition, but the way he said it made me pause.

Had a real bad silt-out at the Port of Tacoma last Tuesday

We were doing a basic hull clean on a container ship and my buddy's dredge line kicked up a huge cloud that went zero vis in seconds. I just froze for a second, felt for my umbilical, and followed it hand over hand back to the shot line. What's your go-to move when the water turns to chocolate milk like that?