Got called out on my umbilical handling last month

Working a salvage job off Galveston, the lead diver watched me surface and said, 'You're coiling it like a garden hose, that's asking for a kink.' He showed me the big over-under loops they use on the boat. I switched to his method and my line management is way cleaner now. How do you guys handle your umbilical on deck to keep it from twisting?

4 comments

4 Comments

fionamurphy2mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you were coiling it like a garden hose on a real dive job? That's wild. Thomas.river, a tight coil on a pin is fine for dock line, not an umbilical under load. The over-under method exists for a reason, to stop those exact twists.

thomas.river2mo ago

Garden hose method works fine if you know what you're doing. Big over-under loops just take up more deck space for no real gain. A tight, neat coil on a cleat or pin is faster to deploy and just as safe. Seen guys do the fancy loops and still get a twist because they stepped on the line wrong. Sometimes the old way is just simpler.

keith1642mo agoMost Upvoted

Seriously, it's just rope on a boat. Who cares how it sits on the deck?

keith16414d agoMost Upvoted

Wait hold on, I was the one saying it didn't matter before but now I'm coming around to the other side. I've watched guys do the big over under loops and it honestly looks like a waste of time to me. If you coil it tight on a cleat and just throw it off, it lands fine nine times out of ten. And that tenth time, you just give it a quick shake and it's sorted. The deck is already a mess with tanks and gear, I don't need a giant pile of hose taking up half the space. It's the same with garden hoses at home, nobody does over under loops on their lawn.