Streamlining in Recreational Diving

Streamlining as I am referring to it here is the art of keeping all your equipment, hoses, regulators and console as tucked in and close to you as possible while you dive. The reasons for streamlining are to keep from getting caught on anything, avoid harming the underwater environment and allow you to conserve effort and energy by lowering drag. The result being fewer incidents of entanglement, (This has the added benefit of reducing the potential of these incidents to become accidents) less wear and tear on equipment and improved sac rates.

To accomplish streamlining divers use many combinations of snaps, clips, bungees and retractors attached to the D-rings of their BCD to keep their octo and/or gauge cluster from dragging through sensitive aquatic environments. Even these methods still allow a potential for an entanglement on the lengths of hoses used by the octo and gauge cluster although greatly reduce the potential to get a bit to close or have an item inadvertently become freed to dangle or drag still exists.

Developments over recent years have made it possible to streamline even further than in the past using integrated octo inflators will allow for the complete removal of the octo’s hose as this type shares the power inflator’s hose. This still retains breathing redundancy in the event of a failure but requires the diver to switch to the breathable inflator and give their buddy the primary second stage regulator. Next step in streamlining is accomplished by the use of a computer with wireless and hoseless remote pressure sensing. This will allow the gauge console and it`s hose to also be eliminated. Instead the diver is left with a wrist computer that supplies all the needed data to safely dive.

At this point your regulator assembly is very simple. coming off the first stage you`ll have the low pressure hose that connects to the integrated octo/inflator and the primary second stage regulator with it’s hose. You`ve eliminated 2 possible sources of hazard.

The point of why to go this route was driven home during a cleanup dive around a pier with steel cables anchoring it. While my buddy with standard type rig needed to be very careful while passing close by the cables I was able to pass closer without any fear of getting caught on it. I have also seen many instances of well tied off gear dragging or getting caught on a swim through. If it isn’t there it can’t get caught.

Final notes:

Those divers that wish to incorporate these observations… Integrated octos are available from many manufacturers and like standard octos performance varies. Use of the integrated octo does require practice of buoyancy control while breathing from the octo and should be a practiced skill to aid in its use during an actual out of air incident.

The use of a wireless integrated air dive computer does require altered planning in case of a wireless failure or loss of sync. The loss of sync is not uncommon but isn’t a problem if sync reestablishes in a timely manner. What needs to be considered is what is a timely manner. This will vary dependent on the last known tank pressure and depth. Lower tank pressure and greater depth decrease the amount of time you may allow to pass before aborting the dive is necessary.

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