Help choosing float/board

[scottwilson]

A carry strap is the way to go. I use a bungie cord The gun clips are crap , I took them all off and now use big game clips and just clip them on.

I slip my fins under the handle in the middle of the float which helps with carrying.

I also slip my lobster net bag, stringer, snickers bar, juice bottle and crab hook down the sides of the tubes, handy storage

 

[devondave]

A carry strap is the way to go. I use a bungie cord The gun clips are crap , I took them all off and now use big game clips and just clip them on.

I slip my fins under the handle in the middle of the float which helps with carrying.

I also slip my lobster net bag, stringer, snickers bar, juice bottle and crab hook down the sides of the tubes, handy storage

Thanks Scott , I've already started some mod's ( the weather being a bit crap for any thing else at the moment ) .
A length of climbing tape each side , joined with a carabiner , means I can carry it like a rucksack , which is much easier .
The sides are a good place to stash stuff , and I also added a neoprene pocket from my old Omer float , to keep a spare mask or VHF in .
For the guns , I found some clips in a chandlers , a bit like half a pair of handcuffs or a beefed-up cable tie with a release catch , they work really well , but I need to get some more of them .
Now if I can just find a way to stick an outboard on it . . .

 

[DafyddRees]

Hope these pictures help Dave. My stringer is clipped onto the nose D-ring with the metal pin going through one of the front handles. I keep a compass and a whistle under the front netting aswell with the flag/lobster snare safely stowed down the side of the of the float. I mount the guns through the front handle as I reckon this is safer, especially with a safety string attached to the gun that is not in use.

 

[podge]

You boys are some good organisers, I just chuck everything on top of mine and away I go.

 

[agbiv]

I still want one of Eckinodominator's new boards. :t

 

[Mr. X]

Thought than "port" was a deck mounted compass for a second there ekinoderminator (by the way, what is an ekinoderminator?).

...On a final note: if it's good for Podge, it's got to be fairly robust! :t

Hey, not the new svelte size-0 Podge! The pie diet obviously works wonders (or gastric bypass?).

BTW I know somebody with a new & unused lifesaver solid buoy for sale, like those below but without handles. No flag, I think there might be a short rope lanyard. Size is comparable to an RA 11 litre solid float. Not sure of the price, probably around £15-£20 + shipping (maybe £20-£25 total?). PM me if interested.

almost everyone in hawai'i uses these

they are strong buoyant, and pretty versatile you can get a bag for them or spear gun straps plus you can fill them with foam for blue water hunting

 

[ekinoderminator]

Thought than "port" was a deck mounted compass for a second there ekinoderminator (by the way, what is an ekinoderminator?).

It is a terminator of echinoderms! I love sea urchin. I had to use a "k" in place of the "ch" because user names can only have 15 characters in this forum.

 

[Mr. X]

Ah, interesting. BTW was looking through some of the links you posted & saw this image of the float you mentioned with detail of the clips, etc.

And here's a link to a similar project, complete with humorous Google translation:
http://translate.google.co.uk/trans...ev=/search?q=Planche+de+chasse+Talarmin&hl=en

 

[ekinoderminator]

I'm skeptical of the water tightness of those points and their longevity. Still, I like the Talarmin.

 

[Marwan]

I have a number of floats, including the sevylor dive hunter and the omer shardana...dive hunter is better in terms of portability (still its not small though, even when deflated) but i found it to add a lot of drag in heavy/choppy seas...i usually dont carry a lot of stuff around, the omer shardana, is an excellent float in heavy seas, gives you safety and buoyancy and i rarely ever feel its drag, its just a space killer in your trunk though...but saved my ass once when surface current got too strong and i drifted away from the reef...i just hoped on and straped my gun until the zodiac picked me up..it was excellent...given that i dont do a lot of shore diving and rarely will enter the water with several guns,,i am using the rob allen 35L inflatable for most sessions..its very tough and portable, and would hold up against anything Big i might encounter

 

[spaghetti]

I have a number of floats

I had no doubt, dear mister gear buying addict rofl

You made a good point about the drag, but for me we have to bear in mind that dragging a float attached to ourselves, even just a simple balloon buoy with a monofilament line, will always be an annoyment. My own personal nightmare is the tangling of the floatline around my legs or ankles. :head

I ended up to leave my float alone, with a 1 Kg lead weight tied to the end of the floatline as an anchor. I hunt the hundred meters around the buoy, and then pick it up only when I move to another place. This system allows me to have my float always anchored at safety distance, but without the annoyment of having it tied or tangled to myself.

There are exceptions, of course. I can't use this system in choppy/wavey sea, or when surface current is very fast. The 1 Kg lead weight is too light to work as an anchor in rough conditions, and a heavier anchor would be a pain in the arse for other reasons...