Too Wide???

[kwayne88]

Ok, here is a question. Bought a nomad before i went to mexico last month. Tried it out there and found the following problems. As I am a little larger than the average bear, both in width of sholders, back and glutamus maximus, found the butt plate wasn't wide enough, e.g. the tanks sat up on my back and if i had a long cord on the lower clip to allow them to hang at my side, they almost went to the ground. Tried a clip on the waste strap near the back but was too far around and not low enough. Would it be best to rig up my own butt plate ( probably a butt strap ) that is a little wider so the tanks hang more on my side? Has anyone else had this problem and if so what was your solution.
Thks in advance for the help.

[Jerry]

Dive Rite makes a larger butt-plate for the larger sidemounters.

Jerry

[RN]

...and if i had a long cord on the lower clip to allow them to hang at my side, they almost went to the ground.

Not sure I understand what you mean here. The correct length cord should put the bottles at your side when clipped to the door handles when you're horizontal.

[kwayne88]

Not sure I understand what you mean here. The correct length cord should put the bottles at your side when clipped to the door handles when you're horizontal.


if i clip to the door handles on my butt plate with a cord long enough for them to hang at my side, the cord will be six inches long. my ass sticks out that far from the door handles on the butt plate. with a cord that long the tanks hang so low when i walk to the water (i realize this will not happen often but sometimes....) i can hardly move. and god forbid i use al 80s without a weight on them, as was suggested in mexico. they start floating above my back, and I probably looked like an ohio class boomer towing a sonar array.

thanks jerry for the reply about the larger butt plates. will have to see if it will work.

[aainslie]

One alternative is to forget the buttplate and use D rings fairly high on your waist strap.

[Line Squirrel]

if i clip to the door handles on my butt plate with a cord long enough for them to hang at my side, the cord will be six inches long. my ass sticks out that far from the door handles on the butt plate. with a cord that long the tanks hang so low when i walk to the water (i realize this will not happen often but sometimes....) i can hardly move. and god forbid i use al 80s without a weight on them, as was suggested in mexico. they start floating above my back, and I probably looked like an ohio class boomer towing a sonar array.

thanks jerry for the reply about the larger butt plates. will have to see if it will work.

Just FYI - I don't believe it's recommended to walk with the weight of the tanks on the door handles, the Nomad or the Armadillo. The concern is the weight will eventually pull the screws out. You could hang them (the tanks) from the neck when you walk but you would need to clip them to the D-rings up on your shoulder not the bungee's for the walk to the water.

I know that doesn't solve your problem with the tanks floating though.

Sounds like the wider beaver tail will work but ask someone about the weight on the door handles.

[Webmaster]

You're rigging it so that it's comfortable and streamlined in the water, not walking about on land. Like Andrew said, you can also use a higher attachment point. I'm pretty good size, and my attachment points are D-rings at my waist, no buttplate required. I just have to have a bit of extra hardware to extend the tanks out so that they hang correctly parallel to my body.

One of the benefits of sidemounting is that you don't have to necessarily walk around out of the water with both tanks at the same time. If you feel the need though, you'll probably want to put some clips on the tank necks that you can clip up short to shoulder D-rings to support them out of the water.

You still won't exactly be the most graceful thing in world but you can at least haul them a ways.

Marbry

[RN]

Walking the tanks to the water!?! That's what a hand truck is for! I've walked my tanks out of the water a few times, but even with them in the correct position, it's pretty uncomfortable. Besides, I went sidemount for a variety of reasons, and one of them is bad knees and ankles. The tanks should be attached and detached in the water. As for the 80s, yes, they need weights. I use 3lb weights and they seem to work well for me.

[kwayne88]

thks for all the advice. never thought about hanging the tanks from the d rings. guess i had blond day.

[aainslie]

Actually, an alternative to putting weights on the 80's is to shift their attachment point as you dive. Start with them clipped high (i.e. near your ass) and move them to a low D ring (i.e. where one normally has D rings on a classic doubles rig) as they become positive.

[RN]

Actually, an alternative to putting weights on the 80's is to shift their attachment point as you dive. Start with them clipped high (i.e. near your ass) and move them to a low D ring (i.e. where one normally has D rings on a classic doubles rig) as they become positive.

I haven't tried that, but I would think the tanks would still become positive and "hang" above you. No matter where the clips are secured, they would still act like a hinge. Moving them may restrict the amount of movement of the tank, but with the weights, the tanks are always at the side just slightly below the body.

[Webmaster]

You may as well weight the Al 80's since you'll have to wear extra lead to account for not having pretty negative steel tanks anyway.

Marbry

[flyczek]

Andrew, I am intrigued by your method. Tell me though, how do you offset the positive buoyancy without weighting the tanks? Are you carrying weights elsewhere?