'In-water' one-piece harness removal and replacement - how do you do it?

[Helen F H]

Yup, my attempt at this was a complete disaster. First attempt went fine - no problems whatsoever. Second time wasnt so lucky and the shoulder strap got caught on the dump valve.

[John Touhig]

Originally Posted by Lou

Indeed - it is all very well getting yourself out of a one-piece, but 6ft of "dead" Welshness is bloody hard work. Of course, in real life the shears would have come out and the weightbelt would have been dropped and not manhandled onto the lift platform, but still, a valuable exercise.

In the end we just went for the shoulder dislocation option . And you can't blame Caroline for going for the crotch strap.......you were supposed to be unconciousness but you jumped well at that point!

I thought that you both did rather a good job...

I agree the only real way to get someone out of a 1 piece is to cut the harness.

[Martin Burnard]

Hmm I find it easy enough on the surface or have I mis-read the problem .

It goes like this....

Inflate wing on surfacing
Inflate drysuit
Remove weight belt
Lay on back and admire the sky
remove waist/ croch strap
Remove dry suit hose.
Remove reserve reg from under chin.
Remove loop for main reg from around neck (if this is your set up)
Hold bottom of wing and pull down under you, it will slide down your arms and under your bum.
Rollover and you are free.

All very gentle and hassle free.

Or does it just work for me?
Spit out reg when ready

[Robert Cook]

I'll use either of two methods - over the head or twist out if the harness (which is preferred on the surface). You need to be able to do both, because Murphy's Law suggests that when you have to do it underwater, it will be in a restriction where there's only enough room for one method (usually whichever one you dislike). If you're doing it underwater on a rebreather, it helps to mostly drain the counterlung to get the unit somewhere near nuetral first,

Thanks,
Robert

[Andy M]

Originally Posted by Gas Muncher

I agree the only real way to get someone out of a 1 piece is to cut the harness.

Have you tried to cut weight belt webbing??? It is very hard wet, a bit easier dry, but its still rather difficult and takes time. You may not have that time.

Best way to get someone out is to drop weight belt, then float them on their back with just enough air in the wing to keep the diver buoyant and head above water. It is a lot harder if the wing is fully inflated, because that pushes the diver into the harness so you dont want to do that.

Grab each arm and push it under the straps where they go into the bottom of the backplate, then slide the kit away from them.

Make sure you hold onto the kit, as it will then start to sink, inflate it fully after it has been removed from the diver.

[Lou]

Originally Posted by Andy M

Have you tried to cut weight belt webbing??? It is very hard wet, a bit easier dry, but its still rather difficult and takes time. You may not have that time.

Best way to get someone out is to drop weight belt, then float them on their back with just enough air in the wing to keep the diver buoyant and head above water. It is a lot harder if the wing is fully inflated, because that pushes the diver into the harness so you dont want to do that.

Grab each arm and push it under the straps where they go into the bottom of the backplate, then slide the kit away from them.

Make sure you hold onto the kit, as it will then start to sink, inflate it fully after it has been removed from the diver.

Nope - tried it on John, not enough slack in the straps. Another option suggested is dunking them down vertically so that they slide out with their arms above their heads. That scares me in terms of keeping control of them.

I have tried the shears I carry on wet webbing specifically for this as i wear a one-piece and they do cut it fairly quickly, so snipping one arm loop and spinning them out the other still seems the best option.

Lou