If you not diving, than you can work at making your diving a more enjoyable experience. Here are some nifty little jigs that can help make your diving easier. All are made from readily available materials found at any home improvement center. me for more details on any assembly you see here!

SOAK TANK

This little invention is used to soak my gear before it gets rinsed and dried. More prevalent in the summer, lots of floatsom can get into the wetsuit and gear. After I get home from a dive, I first rinsed everything down and then drop it in the tank for about an hour. Then, I take everything out, rinse it down again, and then hang it on the drying rack. It's amazing how cloudy the water looks when the laundry is done. As an added benefit, if you have a pickup truck, tie it down to the truck bed and fill it with water. The truck's vibration during the ride home will provide an agitation action!

The regs go into the tub too, after the weight belt and anything else that could drift down and accidentally hit the purge buttons. I make sure the cap on the first stage is SECURE. I have always soaked my regs in this manner after every dive and have never had a problem. Most manufactures will either recommend this method or hook the regs up to a tank and soak it this with the regs under pressure. Just make sure the first stage cap is on TIGHT and I try not to leave it in the tank for more than an hour.

The valve is used to let the dirty water out of the tank. Once the tank is full, it is too heavy to tip over and empty out. Drill a hole to fit a plastic valve and secure with rubber washers and plastic nuts. That's it!

TANK TRANSPORT RACK

Here is a nifty little jig that will securely hold your tanks in the trunk of your car. The frame itself is longer than the tanks so that if the vehicle you are riding in makes a sudden stop, the frame will take any banging around in your trunk and not the tanks. The small piece of strapping makes sure that the tanks won't slide around in the frame (I used a small piece of trim that I had laying around in the wood pile). I didn't paint it just so that nothing would rub off onto the tanks. I just gave it a light sanding. Put some small strips of 1/2" "hook 'n'loop" on the bottom so the frame won't slide around on the carpet of the trunk.

Cut 5 pieces from 2" x 3" studs (3 of 32" length and 2 of 17" length). Assemble using (12) 2-1/2" deck screws. Pre-drill the holes to avoid splitting the wood. Nail a piece of 1/4" x 1/2" strapping just under the tank necks.

GEAR DRYING RACK

Now that you've cleaned off your gear, you need a place to hang it so it can dry. Sure, there's always the living room furniture, but in the persuit of domestic tranquility, I came across this fixture on the internet. It accomodates all my normal gear except the wetsuit. I just hang that one up on a planthanger off our back family room. It is made from 2 inch PVC tubing. It's surprisingly strong, too! I hang my 34 pound weightbelt from the center bar. I added plenty of bends to hang booties, gloves and hood. The reg is loosely coiled and sits on top. There is a hanger for the BCD. The fins hang off the arms but I would take the fins out of the soak tank first and put them upside down to drain out as much water as possible from the footholds. The outside of the fins will dry fine but there will be a puddle in the footholds if you don't do this little step first.

BUGSTICK

A must for any serious diver in the Northeast is the bugstick. This handy helper is used to coax a lobster out of his hole. It is made from a 3 foot piece of 5/16" rod. First, tighten the rod down in a vise. Round off one end with a file. Then, using the vise, bend the rod to give it a slight curve. This will allow it to be slipped in a bughole easier. Using the vice again, bend the other end into a small triangle. This makes a fine place to thread a short piece of rope for a handle. Also, the flat area across the triangle allows for better control.

To use, simply ease the stick into a bughole BEHIND your catch. Then tap him on the bum to coax him out of the hole.

That's all for now! Please stop by for future additions to Diver Dave's Dive Fixtures Page!