Beginner needs advice

[Raptor22]

I just got my first speargun, and I'm not really sure what it is. It is a rubber powered gun that says "Aqua-Craft" on the side. The closest thing I've foung on the net is Aquacraft's pnewmatic spearguns. It need the powerbands, slide ring for the shaft, and all the rest of the stuff for the trailing line. Some aquaintence of my dad's gave it to me.

I'm also new to freediving, and the only experience I have is snorkeling alot in the pool. I'm gonna take a trip to santa cruz with scouts on monday and will try to fix the speargun for then. Could I get away w/out fins and a weight belt?

Any advice would be appreciated.

--Alex

 

[Spearooo]

my 2 cents

You could. but the fins are almost a must. you don't need anything fancy but it will make all the diffrence. Weight belt is something i think every freediver should have and make sure it is the appropriate amount of weight it ,will greatly improve your bottom time but I would not use one without fins. Maybe try to borrow a pair. I couln't picture myself diving without fins i'd feel helpless. like trying to run and not moving
I suppose you could give it a try but youll probably wish you had a pair ten minutes into it.

hope this helps a bit

 

[Murat]

Ahh....


Goin spearing without fins like skydiving without parachute ( sorrey for that poor comparision, i drink a beer and time is running over). Fin is a MUST ! ! ! Even its good if you get descent soft scuba fins. I am not using weightbelt coz i don't wear wetsuit. But i am struggling at the bottom to not float. Also if you don't use it you have to go all the way down with your fins like me. All these hassles means extra O2 consumption. Got it ? ? ?

 

[Windrifter]

Here are a couple low-cost things you could do. Diving w/o a wetsuit would only require very little weight to keep you from being overly buyant. You could get a basic wt. belt and 4 to 6 lbs of weight for very little money--like $15. (I got the same with 6 lbs for $11.) You could then rent fins for a day from a local dive shop for like $6.

 

[poacher]

It would be possible to do a bit of shallow water spearing without a pair of fins -but not easy ,unless you can find fish in water shallow enough to get them from the surface or spot fish or a likely cave and drop your gun then swim down without gun pick up gun from bottom and swim closer to fish with one hand and bare feet without spooking fish - very difficult but not impossible
You would be much better off with fins even cheap ones will do for a start but long blades are heaps better and a weight belt may be unneccessary if you dive in speedos but with a suit youll need weights to get you to be only slightly bouyant at the surface if you are floating like a bobby cork youll struggle to get down waste air and scare the fish.
Regards Peter

 

[Raptor22]

Well, I just got a pair of cheap $25 dive fins from the local sporting goods store. I wont be diving with a wetsuit, so i'll just put rocks in the pockets of my board shorts as a temporary thing until I get some money (I already owe my mom like $20).

I'll be diving in santa cruz island in southern CA for a week, and I've heard that from a kayak you can see the fish near the surface, and there are lots of cave, so my bottom time wont be so important. Would it be smart to somehow attatch my speargun to the kayak so that I can just let it go so A big fish wont take it...it'll just tire himself out?

Do I get more of less boyant as I descend?

--Alex

 

[Raptor22]

Carbon Fins

I was just wondering why carbon fins are so expensive. I mean, carbon fibre is pricey, but like $20 a sq. ft. I have decent amount of carbon background (spars, etc) from the R/C aircraft world, and it is really easy to work with. Would it be a viable alternative (performance-wise) to impregnate carbon in the fin? It would be real easy, and alot cheaper than having the factory do it for you. Hell, the instructions for molding carbon propellers could be expanded to make your own fins using existing plastic ones as a copy.

--Alex

 

[poacher]

Raptor
asyou get deeper ypu get heavier or less bouyant as the air in your lungs compresses to half the volume at 10m or 33ft as on the surfaces and your actual weight is the same but you displace less water so you will sink more.
Try diving without the rocks in you pockets unless you are very bouyant by nature if your like me and can easily sink in a pool by relaxing and letting out half a breath youll go allright for a beginning dive in shorts with no weights, maybe add some on a belt when you get some experience, you dont want to struggle to stay on the surface resting when your a beginner.
Regards Peter

 

[Raptor22]

Originally posted by poacher
Raptor
asyou get deeper ypu get heavier or less bouyant as the air in your lungs compresses to half the volume at 10m or 33ft as on the surfaces and your actual weight is the same but you displace less water so you will sink more.
Regards Peter

That's what I thought, since liquids have a definable density, but I'm used to the atmosphere, wich (obviously) becomes more dens as the pressure increases.

Thanks for the inko everyone,
Alex

By the way, does anyone have an inkling of what kind of speargun that might be?

 

[OceanSwimmer]

Raptor22,
It sounds like you will be attempting 2 new activities at the same time-- freediving and spearfishing.

At the risk of sounding like your mom, I want you to make sure you have someone 'spotting' you (eyes on you) while you hunt and freedive. This isn't a sport where you 'just do it' -- be smart and live to enjoy a life-long activity....you're going out Monday, right? When you return, get on this board and read everything you can about freediving safety. We want you here a long, long time

----Remember what the disclaimer says on DeeperBlue?

"The sports and activities discussed in these forums are potentially dangerous and may subject you to many risks. Do not rely on information obtained from this website or forums. Deeper Blue accepts no liability for any injury or death to readers or visitors of this site."

This isn't placed on the forum to exercise your eyes....

Okay, had to say that on behalf of the 'moms' out there....every spearo has one.....and she wants you to dive smart & dive safe!

OceanSwimmer

***Check the current thread posted under Beginning Freediving called SWB warning bells.

 

[Murat]

Originally posted by OceanSwimmer
***Check the current thread posted under Beginning Freediving called SWB warning bells.

I am also new to freediving. I have limited experiance but what i heard from other advanced speros is SWB is not generally happened to the beginners. Isn't it? If i feel that i am out of o2 i just surface. I think more experianced spero has will power to push the limits that can cause SWB.:hmm

 

[Raptor22]

leaving now, and I already planned for a buddy. I read alot of that stuff, and I'll try not to kill myself or anything.

Be back on friday,
Alex

 

[Murat]

Hey Raptor,

To avoid the swb, surface as soon as you feel uncomfortable. You can develop your skills later when you feel more comfortable in the wild environment of ocean and aware of the both technical and environmental dangers. But first step is safety don't risk your life for anything and enjoy this sport during long years...

Take care...

 

[ivan]

Originally posted by Murat
I am also new to freediving. I have limited experiance but what i heard from other advanced speros is SWB is not generally happened to the beginners. Isn't it? If i feel that i am out of o2 i just surface. I think more experianced spero has will power to push the limits that can cause SWB.:hmm

Hi

Murat when I began freediving I remember having far more sambas when learning then i do now, the reason then was cos I was reading about all these big guys doing 8min breatholds and diving to 300ft and saying to myself just push it gotta try and be like the big guys :naughty It doesnt work.

I think that what you say about the more experienced guys being more at risk then beginners is partly true. Experienced divers generally know or have worked out there limits and tend to stay within them, but the risk with these guys is that they are often in deeper water than beginners and if you get into trouble you have a much longer trip to the surface then if you are playing in 30ft of water. And its the long trip back that gets ya.

cheers

 

[Raptor22]

I'm Back!

Well, the scouts kinda made my experimentation a bit hard. I mean, we couldn't just kayak out (the part of the island that is by camp is illegal to fish on) to the fishing spots with a few guys; an adult had to be with us even though we are all experienced swimmers. THat way, only when the adults felt like going could we go, and those times were usually when i was gone.

One of the adults used my speargun instead of his polespear when I was gone without asking, and when he got back the bump that is on the shaft that keeps the slide ring from coming off the butt of the spear was in sort of a bevel shape so that when the gun is fired the slide ring gets jammed on there. It takes alot of pounding to get the spear back in the gun, and it scares all the freindly and plentifull island fish away.

That way, the gun became almost useless to someone like me who cant hit anything with the gun (I havn't had any practice). That pissed me off, as the fish were everywhere and all the other first time spearos where getting several fish an hour with their cheap polespears. Most of the fish you could get almost close enough to touch them.

All in all, my experiece wasnt really fun, but I'm not going to give up and I will continue to try spearfinshing when hte gun is fixed and circumstances are better.

--Alex

 

[Murat]

Hey Raptor,


I am glad that you come back without any injury or something...

Little advice, get more reliable gun and carry extra shaft on your float like me