An old diver in Florida said to always double-check my own umbilical, even if the tender swears they did

I was on a simple hull cleaning job in Tampa last year, and the tender gave me the thumbs up. I remembered the advice and ran my hands down the line anyway. Found a small, sharp piece of metal on the dock edge that had nicked the hose. It wasn't leaking yet, but it would have been bad at depth. Who else has a piece of simple advice that saved your skin?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.thomas12h ago

Used to think checking gear twice was just wasting time until a cold morning on Lake Michigan. My buddy, who swore he checked the boat plugs, missed one that was just finger tight. Took on a ton of water before we even left the dock. Now I'm with @xena582, my own eyes and hands do the final check every single time. That little extra step feels dumb until the day it saves your whole trip.

xena58214h ago

That "run my hands down the line" check is so key. My old boss always said to trust your own eyes and fingers over someone else's word, especially with gear. It's a habit that costs nothing but means everything.

ray_sullivan6h ago

My uncle ran a charter boat for twenty years out of Sheepshead Bay. He told me he never did that hands on check everyone talks about. Said if you set up your gear right and trust your crew, you don't need to double guess every knot. Seems like a lot of extra worry for maybe one problem in a thousand trips.