c/commercial-divers

Hit my 500th dive in the Gulf last month and it changed my mind about deep water work

I always told myself I'd never go past 120 feet, said it was too risky for my liking. But after logging my 500th dive on a job off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, I realized I'd already been doing deeper stuff for years without thinking twice. The milestone made me look back at what I'd actually accomplished instead of what I feared. Has anyone else had a number like that sneak up on them and shift their whole view of the trade?

Unpopular opinion: a full face mask is safer than a half mask for most gas jobs

Had my regulator fail at 60 feet on a wastewater tank dive two months ago in Portland. I was running a half mask and got a face full of sludge water before I could surface. My buddy swears by full face masks for hazmat because they keep your eyes clear. So which do you guys prefer for contaminated water dives half mask with a good seal or full face setup?

Took me 8 years to realize I was torquing my band clamps wrong on a pipeline job off Louisiana

A old timer watched me crank one down and said 'son, you're squeezing the life out of that gasket' and handed me a torque wrench set to half what I was doing. Has anyone else had a senior diver pull them aside and show them a basic trick that saved them hours of rework?

Vent: Kirby Morgan VS Ocean Reef full face mask, no contest after a muddy job in Corpus Christi

I tried an Ocean Reef for a 4 hour hull cleaning in near zero vis and that thing fogged up so bad I could barely see my gauges. Swapped to a Kirby Morgan 37 the next day, same conditions, zero fog and way easier comms. Has anyone else found a specific full face that just works better for nasty water?

Got told my cutting torch technique was trash by an old hand off Louisiana

He said I was wasting gas by not feathering the trigger between cuts, so I switched to a light touch and cut my oxygen use by 20% in a week. Anyone else have a dive buddy or foreman call out a bad habit that actually made you better?

Used to blackwater dive with just a flashlight and a prayer, now I won't go down without a canister light and backup

Back in the 90s off the Gulf coast, I'd drop in at night with nothing but a $20 dive light and hope nothing huge swam by. Now I run dual 21-watt LEDs after a close call with a bull shark five years ago off Panama City Beach. Any of you old-timers changed your lighting setups after a scary moment?

Had to pick between a Kirby Morgan and a Desco hat for my first big job

I was set to work on a bridge inspection in Mobile Bay about 6 months ago and my supervisor told me I could either use the old Kirby Morgan 37 or a Desco that the crew had been passing around. I went with the Kirby because it felt more broken in and I knew the exhaust valve was solid. First dive went fine but the neck seal started leaking after 20 minutes and I had to surface early. Anyone else have gear loyalty that backfired on them?

Chat with a pipeline inspector on a barge last week made me question if I'm chasing the right certs

He told me he makes $5,000 a week doing NDT inspections in the Gulf and said 'you're killing your back for half that' and now I can't stop thinking about getting my UT Level II - anyone else feel like they hit a ceiling on the physical side?

That 10-hour sewer repair in Portland changed my mind about drysuits

I always figured a good wetsuit was enough for any job until that January afternoon in the Willamette where I was freezing solid after two hours. Switched to a drysuit on day two and finished the whole shift without a single shiver. Has anyone else found a piece of gear they swore by that turned out to be dead wrong for certain conditions?

Unpopular opinion: Kirby Morgan is overhyped for cold water work

I mean, everyone raves about Kirby Morgan helmets like they're the only option, but after 6 winters working the North Sea off Aberdeen, I switched to a Dräger and I'm never going back. The KM 37's silicone skirt gets stiff as a board below 40 degrees, and I spent more time clearing my mask than actually working. Last January, I had a 6-hour shift on a pipe repair job in 38 degree water, and my Dräger kept the breathing smooth while the guy next to me was fighting his KM the whole time. Maybe it's just me, but I think the hype comes from how long they've been around, not how good they actually perform in extreme temps. Anyone else tried both and found a clear winner for cold conditions?

Changed my mind about using a standard wrench on a hydraulic fitting

I was working on a pump skid in Galveston and a fitting was stuck hard. Figured my 12-inch wrench would do it, but after 2 hours of fighting I was getting nowhere. My buddy came over, laughed, and handed me a crowfoot set with a cheater bar. Had it loose in maybe 30 seconds. Anyone have a go-to trick for stubborn fittings on deck?

Shoutout to the dive team on that tricky bridge job in Mobile Bay last fall

We were doing a standard inspection on the pilings, and the lead diver insisted on using the old 'touch and feel' method instead of the new sonar mapping gear we had on the boat. I saw him miss a whole section of spalling concrete because the viz was maybe 2 feet, and the client almost failed the whole structure. I've been pushing for the tech on every job since, but some of the old guard still think it's a waste of time. How do you convince a crew that's been doing it one way for 20 years that the new way is better?

Dropped $800 on a heated vest for a winter river job and it was a total game changer

We were doing a month of bridge inspections on the Ohio River in January. The water was 38 degrees and the topside wind chill was nasty. I was getting through it, but the cold was just grinding me down by the end of each shift. I saw an ad for a heavy duty heated vest that ran off a tool battery and bit the bullet. It cost about $800 with the extra battery packs. Wore it under my drysuit top. That steady warmth on my core changed everything. I wasn't fighting the shivers anymore, so my focus was better and my hands were steadier. It felt like cheating, but good cheating. Anyone else use something like that for cold water work, or did you find a cheaper trick?

Serious question, I heard a diver in Seattle say a full face mask is overkill for most harbor work

I was on a job in Seattle last week, and a diver from another crew said he thinks full face masks are just extra gear for simple harbor inspections. He argued a standard mask and reg is faster to get on and lets you communicate just fine with hand signals. My take is that the extra protection from contaminants and clearer comms is worth the setup time, especially in dirty water. What jobs do you guys think a full face mask is actually needed for?

Overheard a deckhand say 'it's just a light chop' before a dive in Galveston Bay

We were gearing up for a hull clean and the new guy looked green. The deckhand's comment made him push to go down, but the current was way stronger than it looked from the surface. How do you guys judge conditions when someone on deck is downplaying the water?

A deckhand on a Seattle tender told me 'you're just a tourist down there' and it's been bugging me.

We were cleaning up after a job and he said most divers just follow the shot line, do the task, and come up without ever really seeing the site. He said if you don't know what's ten feet to your left and right, you're just visiting. That hit different because my last inspection felt rushed and I barely looked around. Do you guys make a point to scout the area even on simple jobs?

Hot take: I used to think a 5-minute pre-dive check was enough for any job

After a regulator free-flow at 90 feet on a bridge job in Tampa, I now run a full 15-minute gear test before even getting wet. Anyone else have a near-miss that made you slow way down?

Heard a new diver call a Kirby Morgan hat a 'helmet' the other day

It was at a dive school open house in Seattle, and it made me think about how the words we use have changed. Back when I started in the late 90s, everyone I worked with called it a hat, no question. It was just part of the culture. Now, I hear 'helmet' more often, maybe from video games or movies. It's a small thing, but it feels like a piece of the old school way is fading. Anyone else notice these little language shifts over the years?

Looking back, that $800 I dropped on a heated vest for winter harbor work was the best cold cash I ever spent.

It kept me working through a whole New England winter when my old gear would have had me calling it a day after an hour, so what's your go-to piece of gear for staying warm on a job?

That job in the Columbia River last Tuesday was a real mess

We were doing a basic hull inspection on a barge near Longview, and my umbilical got tangled in a sunken log boom on the bottom. Spent 45 minutes just trying to get untangled in near-zero visibility, with the current pushing me the whole time. The topside crew kept asking for updates while I was trying not to wrap myself up worse. I finally had to cut a small section of my comms line to get free, which meant a surface break to re-terminate. Has anyone else had a simple job go sideways because of old junk on the bottom? What's your go-to move when you get fouled up like that?

A salvage diver in Mobile told me to never trust a grinder on a wreck...

We were cutting a section of hull plate on a sunken barge in about 60 feet of water. He kept saying to only use a torch, that grinders could spark and ignite pockets of gas. I argued my grinder was faster and safer for the cut we needed. He just shook his head and told me about a job where a spark from a grinder caused a small explosion in a sealed compartment. Has anyone else had a boss or lead diver push back hard on using grinders for certain jobs?

Finally gave those heated dive gloves a shot after my buddy swore by them in Puget Sound last winter.

My hands stayed warm for a full 90-minute inspection job in 45-degree water, which completely changed my mind about cold water gear, so what other game-changing cold water items am I missing?

A harbor pilot in Seattle told me my umbilical hose routing was a 'snag waiting to happen' and it made me change my whole rig setup.

Tried a new lift bag rig on a salvage job and it almost went sideways

Used a single-point attachment on a 500-pound engine block in 60 feet of water, and it started a wild spin during ascent. Anyone have a solid rigging method for unstable loads?

Spent 4 hours on a simple hydraulic fitting in zero viz

Working a bridge inspection in Mobile, my backup light hose blew a fitting at 80 feet in total mud. Had to feel for the right size in my kit with thick gloves, took forever to get the threads started straight. What's your go-to method for dealing with small parts in black water?