c/commercial-divers

Took me 4 dives to realize my weight belt was on wrong

Was kicking like crazy on a pipeline inspection off Galveston. Kept drifting up. Buddy finally grabbed my belt and spun it so the weights sat on my hips not my lower back. Night and day difference. Anyone else have a basic gear setup click after years of doing it wrong?

Overheard a diver say his reg set free-flowed at 90 feet and it got me thinking

I was grabbing coffee at the dock last Thursday and overheard this older diver talking about how his reg started free-flowing during a hull inspection on a tanker. He said he just stayed calm, switched to his backup, and finished the job. Made me realize I never actually practice switching regs under real stress. I do it in training pools yeah, but never when the pressure is on and I'm actually working. That guy probably saved himself a lot of hassle by keeping his cool. Has anyone else had a close call like that on a real dive and found a good way to practice for it?

Hit 1,000 hours underwater without even realizing it

I was going through my logbook last night and counted up my dive hours... came out to 1,003 total. That number just hit me different. I remember struggling through my first 100 hour mark back in 2019 on a bridge job in Norfolk. Didn't think I'd stack up that many so fast. Has anyone else looked back at their logbook and been surprised by a milestone?

Lost comms on a 60-foot dive in the Gulf of Mexico and had to rely on tug signals for the rest of the shift

I was working on a pipeline repair near Venice, Louisiana when my hat comms went dead halfway through the job, so I switched to three tugs on the rope for the remaining 40 minutes underwater which was sketchy as hell cause one wrong pull could mean abort or ascend has anyone else trained for no comms like that?

Rant: Why I stopped using dry gloves and went back to wet gloves after a job in Alaska

Last winter I was working on a pier repair up in Dutch Harbor. Water temp was around 35. I had these fancy dry gloves, the $400 kind with the silicon wrist seals. First dive, the seal pinched weird and I got a slow trickle down my arm. Second dive, the whole wrist seal blew out at 40 feet. I was done for the day, had to borrow a backup set from another diver. Meanwhile the guy next to me had basic wet gloves, was in and out all day long, no issues. I know dry gloves are supposed to keep you warmer but I swear they just leak and make you miserable. Switched back to wet gloves with a good wool liner and I'm way more comfortable and less stressed. Am I missing something or has anyone else had this experience?

Pro tip: Stop cranking your regulator all the way open before every dive

I was paired with a new guy on a bridge inspection job in Norfolk last month and he cranked his regulator wide open before we even got in the water, wasted like 10 minutes purging gas until I showed him the sweet spot. It's a bad habit that chews through your bottom time and annoys the hell out of everyone waiting on deck. Anyone else notice new divers doing this or am I the only one who learned the slow open trick day one?

I finally hit 1,000 hours of bottom time on a job in Galveston Bay last month

I was doing a pipeline inspection for Shell and realized during lunch that I was at 998 logged hours underwater. By the end of the shift I hit exactly 1,000, which felt like a huge milestone after 6 years in this trade. Nobody else on my crew seemed to care, but it got me thinking about how many dives we actually do in a career. Has anyone else kept track of their total hours underwater?

Watching a guy in Galveston change his whole dive setup made me rethink my approach

I was sitting on the dock last Saturday just waiting out a surface interval and this old timer came over to rinse his gear. He showed me how he runs his umbilical through a carabiner on his weight belt instead of just letting it hang loose. Has anyone else tried routing their hoses different to manage drag better?

Hit 500 commercial dives last week in the Gulf, still feels weird

Was just counting logs the other day and realized I passed 500 dives without even noticing. For context I started in 2019 doing inland work in Texas, mostly bridges and dams. Now Im out in the Gulf doing platform stuff and it just happened. No big celebration or anything. Was there a number that made it feel real for you guys? Like when you first felt like you actually belonged in this trade?

Found a way to clear a blocked lift bag without surfacing

Had a bag stuck at 60 feet last Tuesday and realized if you pull the dump valve cord sideways instead of straight down it breaks the seal every time, anyone else got a trick for stuck dump valves?

Reached 1,000 hours logged underwater last month

Kinda hit me weird when I added it up, never thought I'd hit four digits that fast. Anyone else keep a log or just me?

Velcro strap trick for mask straps that always slip

I got sick of my mask strap sliding up during a 6 hour job on a bridge pier last month. Tried sewing a piece of industrial velcro onto the back of my hood, and it locks the strap in place perfectly. Anyone else got a fix for this other than buying a new mask?

Pro tip: check your drysuit valves before the season starts

I was talking to an old dive supervisor out of Port Fourchon last week who told me he spends 30 minutes on valve maintenance before every 6-month rotation. He showed me a seized inflation valve that nearly got a guy in trouble on a 100-foot wreck job. Makes me wonder how many of us just jump in without checking that stuff first.

Vent: Why do people keep forgetting to purge their regs before a deep dive?

Honestly, I see it all the time on jobs out of Port Fourchon. Guys will gear up, hit the water, and get down to 100 feet before they realize their regulator's breathing like a straw. I started checking my own setup after a buddy of mine had a free-flow at 120 feet last summer because he didn't crack his tank valve slow enough. It's not just a rookie mistake either, I've seen guys with 10 years in skip that step. If you purge your reg on the surface and listen for that smooth hiss, you catch moisture or debris before it becomes a problem underwater. How many of you actually do a full purge check before every descent, or do you just wing it?

3 years ago I got my hose tangled on a shrimp boat anchor off Gulf Shores

Was doing a hull inspection maybe 30 feet down and somehow wrapped my air hose around this giant anchor chain. Took me like 10 minutes of twisting and spinning underwater to get free. Felt like a fish on a line. The captain topside was laughing when I surfaced. He told me "you looked like a confused octopus down there." Has anyone else had a weird entanglement story?

That dive shop in Morgan City that still pressure tests helmets with a garden hose

I stopped by a little outfit off Highway 90 last week and the owner was hooking a Kirby Morgan up to a garden hose and cranked it to maybe 10 PSI. He said real test tanks are for the 'deep water boys' and half the guys running pipe in the bayou are fine with a bubble check. Has anyone else run into shops doing dodgy gear checks like that?

Surface air supply vs. full scuba rig for inshore hull cleaning jobs

Had to pick between running a hookah setup or lugging double tanks for a week of barnacle scraping on a pier in Port Angeles. Which do you guys lean on for shallow work under 30 feet?

Finally figured out my old drysuit valve trick

I used to fight with my drysuit dump valve every single dive, trying to get it just right by feel. Took me about 8 months and a near float-up on a job in Puget Sound to realize I was overtightening the ring. Now I just give it a quarter turn past snug, no more constant adjustments underwater. Actually saved me around 15 minutes of fiddling before each dive. Anyone else have a simple fix that cut way down on their setup time?

My old Kirby Morgan reg froze up on me last week in the Gulf

I was doing a pipeline inspection near Port Fourchon and my second stage started free flowing out of nowhere. Had to abort the dive and waste 2 hours of bottom time just to swap out the regulator. Anyone else had these older models start acting up after a certain depth?

Had a harbor safety guy lose his mind over my dive knife placement

Guy stops me on the dock in Port Fourchon and goes 'you're gonna cut your own hose with that thing', pointing at my leg sheath. Dude was dead serious, like he'd seen it happen ten times. Any of you guys ever actually had a sheath knife cause a hose failure or is that just office paranoia?

Wasted $450 on a drysuit zipper repair that failed in 2 weeks

I took my Viking drysuit to a local repair shop in Norfolk back in March. They told me a new zipper would be $450 installed. I paid it and got it back 5 days later. First dive after that was a harbor inspection job. Water started leaking through after about 20 minutes. I surfaced and found the zipper tape was already pulling away from the shell. When I called them they said I must have snagged it on something. Total excuse and they wouldnt fix it under any warranty. Ended up shipping it to DUI in Buffalo who actually know what they are doing. That cost me another $200 plus shipping. So now I tell everyone go straight to the manufacturer for zipper work. Has anyone else had a local shop botch a drysuit repair like this?

Spent the morning diving under a shrimp boat in Gulfport and learned why you never trust a zinc anode past 6 months

Had a $3,000 day go totally sideways in the Gulf last Tuesday

I was doing a simple pipeline inspection off Freeport, Texas, and the vis was maybe 2 feet tops. Got tangled in some abandoned rope and my knife was on the wrong side of my harness, took me 15 minutes to wiggle free. By the time I surfaced the client was already yelling about losing half a day to what he called 'rookie nonsense.' Anyone else ever have a routine job turn into a nightmare because of one small thing you overlooked?

Had a current rip my mask off near Port Townsend last week

Was doing a hull inspection on a 40-ft trawler near the Port Townsend ferry dock when a tidal shift came through faster than I expected. The current yanked me sideways and tore my full face mask right off, had to surface blind and feeling around. Now I always double check the local tide tables before I even suit up, and I'm thinking about getting a mask strap with a secondary lock. Anyone else ever lose gear to a sudden current shift?

The difference 6 years and a new compressor made on my old Kirby Morgan band mask

I got my old KM band mask back in 2018 and always had a slow leak around the nose block. Replaced the skirt twice, still had it. Then last month I got a new Bauer compressor instead of the old kinked up one I was using. First dive with the new air and the mask sealed perfect. Turns out my old compressor was pumping moisture and oil into the lines and ruining the rubber. Anyone else have weird problems that went away after swapping out their air source?