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Guernsey 2006
- Thread starter portinfer
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 90 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Decided that a short gun rigged for night diving is a good idea, having been testing one I was given, for a while now. Having broken that cheapo one I bit the bullet and bopught a new one. Got a Beuchat Mundial 75cm from Micks fishing. Stainless 6.5mm spear, 16mm rubbers, artic wishbone, 28mm ali tube stock etc. £50 cash. Checked Scubaland and other net sites. Some were cheaper but by the time you add postage £50 was a very good price. Especially as it was a walk in, in stock, take away. Micks also got 90's and 100's. seem nice guns and Micks got spares as well.
Dave
Dave
Well another stunning night dive by Dave, Tom and Andy. Gin clear viz and no swell......not
8-10' viz but the real killer was the swell again, the bottom was constantly moving back and forward. We tried deeper, shallower, on the sand, on the reef.......nothing caiught and very little seen
Tom bailed out after 3/4 hour Dave and I stuck out the full hour.
Seems that diving is going to be out for the next week, we have the tail end of hurricane Gordon to look forward to with 15' swells and force 10 winds being forecast.
Andy
8-10' viz but the real killer was the swell again, the bottom was constantly moving back and forward. We tried deeper, shallower, on the sand, on the reef.......nothing caiught and very little seen
Tom bailed out after 3/4 hour Dave and I stuck out the full hour.
Seems that diving is going to be out for the next week, we have the tail end of hurricane Gordon to look forward to with 15' swells and force 10 winds being forecast.
Andy
Yes not a good one. In fact, with the proviso that out diving is better than doing most other things, then this was still a crap dive. I really saw very little. A few smelt, crabs and one very small lonely red mullet. No flatfish not even a tiny sole. I think Andy's right and the swell was the killer. Feel sorry for Andy as we have had such fun night diving and so far he has had nothing but bad luck. Still, always next time.
Sam there's lots of threads about double rubbers but basically most euro style guns can be overpowered and while they gain range the accuracy goes to hell. Generally you need a rail and a stock with more mass to absorb recoil before you can up the power too much. Also most high power guns use thicker spears. 6mm and 6.5mm spears tend to bend under high load and go off course. I built a hybrid gun with a wood stock and 7mm spear, powered by a set of 20mm bands. Still experimenting with that. The other way to go is the mamba route. The maori mamba guns fire a 6.5mm spear up to 15 foot with great accuracy. There should be a few of those around soon as 4 were bought last year and another 3 (I think) are on order.
Dave
Sam there's lots of threads about double rubbers but basically most euro style guns can be overpowered and while they gain range the accuracy goes to hell. Generally you need a rail and a stock with more mass to absorb recoil before you can up the power too much. Also most high power guns use thicker spears. 6mm and 6.5mm spears tend to bend under high load and go off course. I built a hybrid gun with a wood stock and 7mm spear, powered by a set of 20mm bands. Still experimenting with that. The other way to go is the mamba route. The maori mamba guns fire a 6.5mm spear up to 15 foot with great accuracy. There should be a few of those around soon as 4 were bought last year and another 3 (I think) are on order.
Dave
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Yeh cheers for the great dive Jinxy!
At least I did see one sole, albeit only 8 inches of it.
Sam, I wouldn't worry about upping the power to those lengths. Its rare that you have the viz over here to be able to make use of that sort of range, and even if you did it would be very hard to hit the size of fish we aim at.
At least I did see one sole, albeit only 8 inches of it.
Sam, I wouldn't worry about upping the power to those lengths. Its rare that you have the viz over here to be able to make use of that sort of range, and even if you did it would be very hard to hit the size of fish we aim at.
Andy.R said:
It just goes to show how narrow the window is for us... first the tide has to be at the right time ( for us wage slaves anyway) then the weather has to be right, the swell, and finally decent vis. Then you have to be in the right place at the right time, depending on the time of year, with the right gun, the right weight, the right fins, and the right camouflage (possibly). At least we don't have to worry about the right bait. I'm sure I've missed something... and Tom, no doubt this is the week the Mambas will arrive.
Sam
There are alot of configurations that you can use with any gun.
You can play around with rubber dimensions quite alot.
You can vary the rubber type (some is more 'snappy' than others) and the diameter (I think commonly 17mm to 22mm - but mostly around 17/18/19mm).
Then there is the stretch....there is a formula for working out the basic stretch range:
(Stretch length x 2) / 3 to 3.5 = length of rubber
Use 3 for a long rubber or 3.5 for short setups.
Let's say you use a 90cm gun with a rubber stretch length of about 87cm
(87x2)/3= 58cm for the longest setup
(87x2)/3.5 = 49.7cm for the shortest setup
You may find that 49.7cm is a little hard to load and when you fire there is not enough mass in the gun to control the recoil. It might be easier to start from the longer length and adjust down until you find a length that suits you and your gun. This is easiest if you are tying your own bands and using a 4cm dyneema wishbone.
There are some guides on doing that here on this site and it is pretty easy - I thin you only need to know the three very specific knots and then you are there. I bought lengths of rubber from subprof.com - I think it was 17mm black Cressi rubber. There 20mm G-20 has a good rep.
Easy to tie once you have got the hang of it and cheap too - no excuse not to change the rubbers every season. Also all you need it a 5 or 6cm length of dyneema to re-tie the wishbone if you snap one.
The articulated screw in rubbers are like fast food in my opinion
I know a few people who have had the screw part break or the metal wishbone slice up a hand... also the dyneema wishbones don't scratch wooden guns Anyway... each to their own and I think this argument has been aired alot here on deeperblue - search function should bring it up if you are keen to explore this further...
Good luck
__________
Ed
There are alot of configurations that you can use with any gun.
You can play around with rubber dimensions quite alot.
You can vary the rubber type (some is more 'snappy' than others) and the diameter (I think commonly 17mm to 22mm - but mostly around 17/18/19mm).
Then there is the stretch....there is a formula for working out the basic stretch range:
(Stretch length x 2) / 3 to 3.5 = length of rubber
Use 3 for a long rubber or 3.5 for short setups.
Let's say you use a 90cm gun with a rubber stretch length of about 87cm
(87x2)/3= 58cm for the longest setup
(87x2)/3.5 = 49.7cm for the shortest setup
You may find that 49.7cm is a little hard to load and when you fire there is not enough mass in the gun to control the recoil. It might be easier to start from the longer length and adjust down until you find a length that suits you and your gun. This is easiest if you are tying your own bands and using a 4cm dyneema wishbone.
There are some guides on doing that here on this site and it is pretty easy - I thin you only need to know the three very specific knots and then you are there. I bought lengths of rubber from subprof.com - I think it was 17mm black Cressi rubber. There 20mm G-20 has a good rep.
Easy to tie once you have got the hang of it and cheap too - no excuse not to change the rubbers every season. Also all you need it a 5 or 6cm length of dyneema to re-tie the wishbone if you snap one.
The articulated screw in rubbers are like fast food in my opinion
I know a few people who have had the screw part break or the metal wishbone slice up a hand... also the dyneema wishbones don't scratch wooden guns
Anyway... each to their own and I think this argument has been aired alot here on deeperblue - search function should bring it up if you are keen to explore this further...Good luck
__________
Ed
Got a birthday coming up... great means I can justify myself buying more gear. Perhaps a lucky weather/viz charm might be useful eh Tom?
I'm thinking about a better suit. I bought a cheapie 90€ (£60) one piece 5mm suit in the summer. Its OK but is a bit 'leaky' round the zip, I will suffer when the water begins to cool down. Looking around I see there are lots of 5mm suits available in the £100 -£200 range.
Anyone any experience of which to definately avoid?
I'm looking at an off the peg rather than custom. (had a bad experience in the past and I'm a pretty regular shape anyhow)
I am considering an omer cammo one of 6.5mm on the jersey site @ £149.
6.5mm maybee too hot in the height of the summer, but will be better early season till the water warms up.
Is cammo really a big advantage in a suit (other than looking pretty damn professional)?
Jinxy (aka Andy)
ps the torch saga continues. Those nice people at Kent diving have now sent me 3 new 30watt bulbs, a new reflector and switch assembly and today received a new battery pack!!
I'm thinking about a better suit. I bought a cheapie 90€ (£60) one piece 5mm suit in the summer. Its OK but is a bit 'leaky' round the zip, I will suffer when the water begins to cool down. Looking around I see there are lots of 5mm suits available in the £100 -£200 range.
Anyone any experience of which to definately avoid?
I'm looking at an off the peg rather than custom. (had a bad experience in the past and I'm a pretty regular shape anyhow)
I am considering an omer cammo one of 6.5mm on the jersey site @ £149.
6.5mm maybee too hot in the height of the summer, but will be better early season till the water warms up.
Is cammo really a big advantage in a suit (other than looking pretty damn professional)?
Jinxy (aka Andy)
ps the torch saga continues. Those nice people at Kent diving have now sent me 3 new 30watt bulbs, a new reflector and switch assembly and today received a new battery pack!!
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You're right, Camo makes you look the business - and the fish respect that.
I don't think you can ever have a suit for diving around here that will be 'too warm'. Most of the season will be in the 'parky' temperature zone with a good few months being downright perishing. If you did feel that your sweat was getting you wet you can always just crack open one of your cuffs or face seal to let in a squirt of fresh cool water.
2p
[m]
I don't think you can ever have a suit for diving around here that will be 'too warm'. Most of the season will be in the 'parky' temperature zone with a good few months being downright perishing. If you did feel that your sweat was getting you wet you can always just crack open one of your cuffs or face seal to let in a squirt of fresh cool water.
2p
[m]
When I bought my 5mm cammo Immersion from Scubaland, I also bought a 3mm neoprene vest to go under it for winter diving. Think this is a good option but if you can afford it then 2 different thickness suits for summer and winter is another way to go. I believe Ed has 3 at 3mm, 5mm and 7mm, or at least parts of suits in these thicknesses.
Re makes, my Cressi was an excellent suit and lasted 5 years. Double lined 7mm scuba suits have gone up to 20 years but open cell inside, freediving suits only go 2 or 3 years, which makes my Cressi seem even better. Cressi make a cammo version the Teckna or something. Omer have a good rep and a 6.5 cammo for £149 looks good. Postage can be high. Jersey stuff goes via England
. A lot of "experts" swear by Elios. Spearo Dave has written about the quality of the neoprene in these suits but then again he sells them. Magpie has some Greek (?) conection for suits.
Dave
Re makes, my Cressi was an excellent suit and lasted 5 years. Double lined 7mm scuba suits have gone up to 20 years but open cell inside, freediving suits only go 2 or 3 years, which makes my Cressi seem even better. Cressi make a cammo version the Teckna or something. Omer have a good rep and a 6.5 cammo for £149 looks good. Postage can be high. Jersey stuff goes via England
. A lot of "experts" swear by Elios. Spearo Dave has written about the quality of the neoprene in these suits but then again he sells them. Magpie has some Greek (?) conection for suits.Dave
Yep, custom made 5mm opencell interior by Spiros for less than £100 (including delivery if I remember rightly). I find mine very warm (used in February last year) and comfortable. I think Beardy, or someone on here anyway, has a camo one from him too. Delivery was about 3 weeks from order.
www.diveskin.net
www.diveskin.net
Hi OMD, Dave from spearo uk does a great 2mm neoprene vest from elios. For £30 odd quid it`s a very good buy. . Andy l would spend a extra tenner and get a elios smooth skin top with nylon trousers. The nylon trousers are a must if your doing boat dives... You can pick from 4 different types of cammo patterns. Cheers Andy
Hi OMD, Dave from spearo uk does a great 2mm neoprene vest from elios. For £30 odd quid it`s a very good buy. . Andy l would spend a extra tenner and get a elios smooth skin top with nylon trousers. The nylon trousers are a must if your doing boat dives... You can pick from 4 different types of cammo patterns. Cheers Andy
