Had a supervisor in Port Fourchon last fall tell me I need more bottom time before I can run the lift bags solo, even though I've logged 400 plus dives across the Gulf. I get the caution, but when does experience actually count over a gut feeling? Anyone else run into an old timer who just won't budge on their pecking order?
Stopped by a little dive shop in Galveston last month to grab some o-rings for my old Kirby Morgan, and the owner had this beat-up prop from a shrimp boat sitting on the counter. He said he found it tangled in an old crab trap line and spent a week soaking it in vinegar and CLR to get the barnacles off. It got me thinking about how we treat our own gear after a muddy job, like how I usually just hose off my harness and call it good. He showed me how he uses a cheap ultrasonic cleaner for small parts like regulator yokes and hose fittings, and it blew my mind for $80 at Harbor Freight. I tried it on my valve stems and a stuck knob on my dry suit inflator, and both came out like new. Anyone else got a weird salvage or cleaning method that saves your gear from the salt? I need more ideas before my next Gulf trip.
I always thought the fancy zipper wax was a gimmick, so I just used whatever grease was in the shop. Last week on a job out of Port Angeles, my main zipper seized up at 40 feet and I had to abort, which cost me a full day's rate. Anyone else cheap out on this and learn the hard way?
Last April we were working a pipeline job off Galveston. Day three the current picked up and the silt went crazy. I was on the grinder cutting bolts on a riser clamp and couldnt see my own hands. Kept working blind, felt the wheel grab and then the whole grinder locked up. Had to surface with it still stuck on the bolt. Took me an hour of fighting with a wrench on deck to get it off. That same week we had a hydraulic leak on the dive basket and a guy got his umbilical nicked by a drift line. Nobody hurt but it was one of those jobs where every simple task turned into a battle. Ive done this for 9 years and that week made me realize how much of this trade is just staying calm when everything goes sideways. Anyone else had a stretch like that where the weather or current just ruined every dive?
I was going through some old job files from the early 90s and found a side scan sonar printout on thermal paper. Looked like a blurry mess compared to what I get now with my current unit. Back then you were lucky to get any detail at all, now I can pick out individual rocks and cables on the bottom. Has anyone else noticed how much easier survey work has gotten with modern gear or is it just me?
Headed to a rig off Grand Isle last week and noticed the current was pulling way harder than usual near the base. Nobody on surface mentioned it, but I could barely hold position to check the cathodic readings. Has anyone else hit sneaky currents around those older platforms?
Figured I'd upgrade to the band mask for easier comms. First dive, seal popped on the left side at 30 feet. Water shot straight into my face. Had to abort the whole weld inspection. Learned to always test new gear in the tank first before paying jobs. Anyone else have bad luck with band masks leaking?
I was working a salvage job off Galveston harbor about 3 months ago, kicking hard with big scissor kicks like I learned in class. This salty guy, must have been 60, yells at me over comms to 'stop flapping like a dying fish' and just use little ankle flicks instead... I switched it up and suddenly my air consumption dropped by almost 30% on the next dive. Has anyone else gotten a weird piece of advice that totally flipped their diving around?
Spent a whole morning chasing a flame issue on a repair job near the Port of Seattle, swapped every damn fitting before I figured out it was a dried out o-ring in the handle. Anyone else waste half a shift on something that stupid simple?
I always figured dry suit zipper care and valve checks were just gear nerds being extra. Then I took a 50 degree surge down my back during a bottom job at 50 feet off Catalina. Had to abort the dive, lost a full day of work, and the suit repair cost me $180. Now I actually rinse my zipper after every day and check the wrist seals before I splash. Who else learned the hard way?
I always wondered why my legs were dead after 20 minutes of bottom work. Turns out I was doing a modified frog kick instead of a proper flutter or modified flutter for my gear setup. A diver in Port Fourchon watched me for two minutes and said 'dude what are you doing with your feet.' Changed my fin technique that same day and suddenly my air lasted way longer. Anyone else have a basic movement habit that was totally wrong for years?
I was reading through some old Navy dive tables last night, and I found something that really made me stop. The difference between a 30 minute bottom time at 100 feet and 40 minutes is like double the deco time. I always knew it was exponential but seeing the actual numbers on paper was wild. I got the tables from a buddy who dives for NOAA. Has anyone else looked at the old school tables vs the computer calculations and noticed big gaps?
I used to just throw my wrenches in a mesh bag on my belt, figured they'd be fine since they're stainless steel. Then last month on a job in Port Arthur, I watched a guy drop a $400 torque wrench into the mud because his dry bag clip gave out. Am I overthinking this or do you guys actually trust those roll-top dry bags for keeping tools on deck?
My drysuit inflator stuck open and I shot up 20 feet before I got the gas dump sorted, has anyone else had a valve fail mid-job and what did you do to keep from panicking?
I was at a safety meeting in Houston last month when an old salt named Dave pointed out I was holding my second stage upside down while purging. Turns out I was letting water drain right back into the diaphragm. He showed me the right way and my regs stopped acting up on deep dives. Has anyone else had a basic skill blow up in their face like that?
I keep seeing guys at the dock using cheap silicone grease on their band mask seals and then wondering why they leak after 20 minutes. Has anyone else had luck with the AquaSeal paste instead of the generic stuff?
I hit my 200th dive off Port Fourchon last week and realized I've been over-tightening my mask strap the whole time. Been getting headaches for months and it was just from smashing the rubber seal too hard. Has anyone else found a little tweak like this that made a big difference?
Had to abort the job and swim up slow with one hand on the inflator hose, anyone else had a sudden equipment failure like that while underwater?
I was swapping out a valve on an intake pipe near Anacortes for a salmon farm contract. About halfway through the job, I felt water trickling down my neck and realized my hot water hose had split right at the fitting. I had to abort the dive and surface slow, which wasted two hours of bottom time. Lost a whole shift of pay and the repair bill was $340 for a new hose assembly. Anyone else had a hose fail on them mid-job? What do you carry as backup now?
Everyone in this field swears by the high end drysuits, but I had a $3,500 DUI let go at the crotch seam after just 18 months of regular use. Meanwhile my buddy was diving in a $1,200 bare bones suit that he'd patched six times himself and it kept him dry through the same season. After that leak I grabbed a used one off a older diver for $400 and it lasted me two years with just a few glue fixes. I think the markup on these premium suits is mostly branding and not real durability. Has anyone else found that spending less actually works better for them?
Everyone talks about dive counts like they prove something, but my best work came from the easy shallow jobs not the deep record-breaking ones. Has anyone else noticed that the pressure to hit big numbers makes you overlook the basics?
I was on a job in Port Fourchon last week and this guy who's been doing sat dives since the 80s saw me double checking my nitrox blend for the third time. He said "kid, if you're that worried about the numbers you probably shouldn't be in the water" and it hit me different because I realized I've been so focused on the math I forgot to trust my gut on conditions. He was right, I've been burning mental energy on stuff that experience should just handle. Anyone else had a veteran call them out on something obvious?
Went with the OTS because it was $800 lighter on my wallet and I figured I'd regret the cheaper option later. First day on the deck in the Gulf, the mic went staticky after a 45 foot drop and I couldn't get a word to topside for the rest of the shift. Anyone else stuck with a comms setup that crapped out on them?
I keep seeing guys on this job site in Port Arthur running their comms cables right through the same opening as the air hose into a chamber that had a chemical spill last week. Are people not realizing that cross-contamination can mess up both your air quality reading AND your communication signal? Who else has dealt with this kind of setup failing mid-dive?
I was on a platform off Grand Isle in 2004, and the old hands laughed at me for having a full scuba setup, saying real divers just used a surface supply and a good set of lungs, and now I see guys with sonar rigs on their helmets and I wonder if we lost something simple along the way.