Do you HOOKAH???

[Dano]

First off, I would like to thank all of those who gave me their opinions and experiences with the dingy questions. They were veyr helpful.

Anyway we are looking at scuba diving options now. We are both certified divers for 20 years, for mainly vacation diving. We have looked back at the archived threads on diving off of a Mac. Seems to be a lot of questions on the feasibility off of this boat, which is what we thought there would be. We have done a lot of research into the Hookah-type dive systems and are wondering if anyone out there has some feedback on this. We realize a lot of the plus' of a regular scuba system, however we see a lot of difficulties also. Have not thought about Hookah diving for a long time. We will primarily be diving in the Sea of Cortez, and are not looking to do any deep diving, mainly 30' or less. The hookah system that we are entertaining is the R260XL witch is a floating unit, and there would be two people. Obviously everyone knows that you NEVER dive alone. I have read enough on this site to know that there are some very experienced divers out there, and a wealth of knowledge, so all input is greatly appreciated. I have to admit I have gained more useful knowledge in the last 10 days off of this site than I did in four years of education at a BIG TEN university. Thanks in advance.
Dano & The Pirate Wench

[Luke]

I have a Brownies Third Lung. I order parts from their corporate office in Ft. Lauderdale. Dive shops can service the hoses and regulators. Note: they do not use SCUBA regulators.
I am not strong enough to lift the compressor into the boat myself--need two strong people to get it into the cockpit.

Luke
Dreamchaser
26X

[Bransher]

A few times back in the 60's, but I was always paranoid about the feds finding out. Worked up quite an appetite too.

[delevi]

I thought a Hookah was a middle eastern water pipe passed around after dinner during drinks

[waternwaves]

If you use a topping lift between your mast and boom, you will have no problem lifting the compressor back into the boat. I use a nylon strap with block and tackle to lift dinghys, people MOB drills, Release the outhaul line, slack the sail forward, slip loop for the block around the boom and over the block and coiled rope. You can even use the boom vang in an emergency....the only disadvantage I have with the boom vang is I keep the biners on it....., and therby lose a few inches in the lift. The vang chock makes it so even the admiral can get me out of the water (if she has to) sling around the shoulders.....But baby it aint comfortable.

For hardware lowered and lifted .... its nice and slow and steady ... two center knotted slings and one biner work great.

Oh by the way....... I dive off the X with the bimini bungeed to the backstay for ingress egress......and the dinghy lashed to the transom,

easier to go from the dinghy to don and doff.

oh and 10 dollars of indoor outdoor carpet every couple of months for the cockpit to cut down on tank/glass scratches. Oh.......And I bet you are wondering how we keep them from rolling when the boat heels...

all tanks are strapped together and necks are by the companionway hatch. I had a friend who put them under the table on his S boat...... but I dont like to handle them anymore than necessary. Since I rent now.... I find it easier with varying gear from different shops...

Now if I just had a better place for the weight belts than under the table.....

[Divecoz]

IMHO and limited use, and as a NAUI Instructor, so you know I have dove a few times .
We used them for boat cleaning and repair . They are great for that. WE only had about 40+ feet of hose and that will limit their use a lot.
Seeing as your not in a big hurry to purchase , see if one of the electric drives might not work better for you.
On Edit:
I just did a quick search and it appears the one I used had a very short hose at best .

[waternwaves]

Dive.....

so when are you going to patent that towsled/rebreather.....

[Divecoz]

W&W I need a couple engineer types from Texas to sacrifice in the R&D stages. I'll go look over in the Pub area.

[johnnyonspot]

Haven't used one since college. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.