c/commercial-divers

Shoutout to the old guy who told me to pack extra zip ties

I was doing a hull clean in Seattle last month and this retired diver at the dock said 'kid, you can never have too many zip ties down there'. I laughed it off but sure enough, my light mount broke at 80 feet and I had to use my backup ones to rig it up. What's the one piece of gear advice you got that sounded silly but saved your butt?

I thought those new heated dive hoods were just a gimmick for cold water jobs

We had a job up in Puget Sound last winter, and the water was 42 degrees. My buddy brought one of those battery powered heated hoods, and I laughed at first. After my second dive, my hands were numb even with thick gloves, but he was totally fine and ready to go again. He let me try it on a short third dive, and the difference was real. I could actually feel my fingers to work the tools. Now I'm saving up for one before next season. Has anyone else made the switch and found a brand that holds up for a full 8 hour shift?

I've been setting my bailout bottle pressure wrong for years and a new guy caught it

We were doing a bridge inspection in Mobile last month, and the new diver on the crew asked why my bailout was only at 2,000 psi. I told him that's plenty for a short ascent, but he pointed out our company policy says 3,000 minimum for any dive below 60 feet. I checked the manual and he was right, I'd just gotten lazy and never bumped it up after the pre-dive check. It was one of those things I'd done for so long without thinking. Has anyone else had a simple rule they realized they'd been glossing over for ages?

Honestly, I keep seeing guys skip the pre-dive tool inventory on smaller jobs

Tbh, I've watched three different divers in the last year waste 30 minutes on a bottom time because they didn't verify their wrench sizes before splashing. Anyone else have a hard rule about this?

The harbor bottom in Port Angeles looked totally different after one big storm clean-up job.

We were working on a debris survey last month and the sonar images from before and after were crazy. The client had us pull out over 2 tons of old tires, scrap metal, and random junk that had been down there for years. The 'after' scan from last week shows a flat, clear seabed where before it was just a mess of shadows and shapes. It's wild how much of a difference a single focused project can make to a local environment. Has anyone else done a big clean-up job and been surprised by the final sonar results?

Spent 4 hours on a simple bolt because the thread was stripped inside the housing

It was just a flange bolt on a pump housing in 40 feet of murk. Had to swim up twice for a left-hand tap set and still ended up cutting a new slot with a hacksaw blade. Anyone know a better fix for a stripped internal thread down there?

Tried a new dive light on a night job and got a surprise

I was on a bridge inspection in Mobile last week and decided to test a new 2000 lumen light I bought. About 30 minutes into the dive, the beam started flickering and then cut out completely... left me in the dark with just my backup. Turns out the O-ring on the battery cap was a tiny bit pinched from the factory. I learned to do a full pressure test on every single piece of new gear, even the small stuff, before trusting it on a job. Has anyone else had a brand new light fail like that?

Had to choose between a Kirby Morgan 37 and a 17B for a long harbor job

The job was inspecting pilings in Seattle for two weeks straight, and my shop had both helmets available. I went with the 37 for the better comms and field of view, even though it's heavier. Honestly, my neck was sore by day three, but being able to hear the topside crew clearly over the tugboat noise was worth it. Anyone have a good neck strengthening routine they swear by?

Had a close call with a worn out umbilical last month

We were on a salvage job in the Gulf, about 30 feet down, when my main air supply started to flutter. I felt the pressure drop and my second stage started to breathe hard. I looked back and saw a section of my umbilical had been rubbing against a sharp piece of wreckage, wearing through the outer sheath and into the air hose. I signaled topside immediately and they started pulling me up, but that slow ascent felt like forever. The hose was bulging and I was just waiting for it to pop. We got it on deck and found a two inch section where you could see the inner liner. My tender said he checked it during the pre-dive but must have missed that spot. I now run my hand over every inch of that hose before I go in the water. What's your routine for checking umbilicals for hidden wear?

Switched to a new dive light for a night job in Seattle and it nearly cost me the contract.

I was inspecting a pier piling with a brand new 2000 lumen light, but the beam was so focused I missed a major crack in the shadow. The client's rep on the boat saw it first on the camera feed and pointed it out, which was embarrassing. What's a good wide-beam light you guys trust for close-up structural work?

Appreciation post: I called those new heated dive hoods a gimmick until my last job in Puget Sound

The water was 42 degrees and my old setup was killing me, so I tried one for a 3-hour inspection. Now I'm a believer, but my partner says they're just another thing to fail. Anyone run into issues with them?

Took a 6-month inland dive job over offshore, and my crew called me crazy

Everyone pushes for the big offshore money, but I picked a contract inspecting a dam in Tennessee for way less pay. The viz was maybe 2 feet, and I was in cold, moving water five days a week. Honestly, it made me way sharper on my tool skills and buoyancy control than any open water job I've had. Anyone else find the 'lesser' jobs actually teach you more?

Got called out on my umbilical management last month

We were on a bridge inspection in Mobile, and my tender, an old Gulf hand named Carl, watched me coil my umbilical on deck. He just said, 'You're making a bird's nest for the next guy, Hannah. Lay it in long loops, not tight circles.' I'd been doing tight circles for three years because it looked neat. Switched to his method, and my last two dives, I had zero twists or kinks on the way down. Anyone else have a simple habit they had to unlearn?

The week a simple river job turned into a salvage nightmare

Last month in Mobile, Alabama, we had a contract to inspect some bridge pilings on a slow moving river. The first day went fine, but on day two, my umbilical got tangled in a submerged tree trunk that wasn't on any of the charts. I spent 45 minutes in zero vis, just feeling my way along the line with my knife, trying not to panic. My topside crew was great, talking me through it calmly, but it ate up half the day and we had to call in a second diver with a saw to clear the hazard. It was a good reminder to never trust a 'simple' job. Has anyone else had a routine inspection get complicated by unexpected debris like that?

Got chewed out for my umbilical routing on a shallow water job...

An old hand on the dock in Morgan City told me my lazy loops were a trip hazard for the tender and could snag on deck gear. I started using a figure-eight coil and securing it with a velcro strap, which kept things tidy and safe. Anyone have a different method for umbilical management on small boats?

Back in the Gulf, we had a real issue with silt blinding us during a pipeline survey.

The current would kick up the bottom and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. After a couple of dives going nowhere, I tried something my first dive boss mentioned years ago. I brought down a small, empty plastic jug with the cap on tight and gave it a good squeeze about ten feet upstream of my work area. The little burst of water pushed the silt cloud away just long enough to get a clear look and mark the section. It was a simple trick, but it saved us half a day. Anyone else have a low-tech fix for working in zero visibility?

Had a bolt on a flange that just would not break free. Thought it was a 30 minute job, took me two full days.

Had a real bad time with a stuck umbilical on a river job in Pittsburgh

We were doing a bridge inspection last fall and my umbilical got jammed under a concrete slab on the riverbed. I had about 15 minutes of air left and my tender couldn't pull it free. I had to cut my way out of my harness and do a free ascent, which was not fun in that current. My supervisor was pretty mad, but we got the gear back later with a grapple hook. Anyone else ever had to ditch their gear in a tight spot?

Had a disagreement with a diver on a job in Galveston last week about surface supplied bailout

We were on a 150 foot dive doing a pipeline inspection. My partner wanted to run his bailout bottle with a 40 foot hose, said it gave him more freedom to move if the umbilical snagged. I argued that a short hose, maybe 7 feet, keeps the bottle tight to your body and way less likely to get caught on anything down there. He said the long hose is standard for some North Sea ops. I think it's a huge snag risk in tight spaces. What's your take on bailout hose length for dirty water work?

Showerthought: I spent $400 on a 'pro' dive knife that's been sitting in my gear bag for 2 years

The harbor seal that learned to open our toolbox

We had a regular visitor on a rig off Vancouver for about six months, a curious harbor seal. It went from just watching us to actually nudging open our pelican case with its nose after maybe three weeks. Anyone else had a local critter pick up a weird work habit?

I keep seeing divers skip the pre-dive check on their comms box, and it's a huge risk.

My tender on a job in Mobile Bay last week caught a corroded pin in my umbilical connector that I would have missed, which could have left me without voice at 80 feet.

Bought a cheap 'underwater' light from a marine supply catalog and it flooded at 30 feet

It was a no-name brand light advertised for 'recreational and light commercial use' and cost about $80. I figured I'd try it for some basic inspection work in a harbor, but the housing seal failed completely on the first dive. The saltwater wrecked the electronics, so it was a total loss. Anyone have a go-to brand for affordable, reliable backup lights that can actually handle some depth?

I know everyone says to trust your gauges, but a weird feeling in my gut saved me from a bad situation on a bridge piling job in Mobile.

My primary pressure gauge on the surface read a steady 45 psi during a silt-out inspection dive, but something felt off with my breathing resistance, so I signaled topside for a manual check, and they found a kinked umbilical that the panel hadn't registered, which could have gotten real bad real fast if I'd just kept going. Has anyone else had a time where a physical feeling contradicted your instruments?

Remember when we used to hand signal everything on a salvage job?

We'd spend half the dive just trying to get a simple 'cut here' across, but after a job in Mobile Bay in 2018 where we messed up a cut line, our crew switched to full face masks with coms. Anyone else find the old way almost feels like a different job now?