What are people doing for diving from yaks?

Frisbee · October 2011

I've just bought a "used only one time" Wilderness Systems Tarpon 100 that was actually only used once. I've got 80cuft tanks and alot of US diver gear....
In this section of the forum I'd like to find out how people rig then to dive.
I'm PADI certified but figure I'll only dive in less than 25 ft and probably mostly less than 15 unless i find something out there (blind hog/ acorn). I'll be diving off of the lower half of Brevard county. Probably fishing too but that's another part of the forum so I'll broach that subject in the no wake zone.
I think lugging a BC and all the extras would be cumbersome. Do any of you secure a tank to your yaks and use a long airhose and tie the yak off to your waist/ankle?
Do any of you do something different?
if you do use a long air hose EXACTLY how do you rig it?

Of course if you got a better way I'd be happy to see it.

Capt_Gerry · October 2011

A friend of mine dives using a kayak and swears by it. Depending on the conditions he will either secure the kayak with a grappling hook style anchor (no current) or secure to to him as he drifts like towing a dive flag. He will dive down on the first dive and secure the kayak by hand. Make sure you strap everything down, you never know when a rouge wave with wash over the top and it would really suck to be missing a paddle. You know how that saying goes. I never really got into the details of how he does this but I do know he puts his gear on in the water and takes it off prior to entering the kayak. Leave your fins on before getting in as this will help greatly. I have no experience diving this way so I'm sure you will learn as you go thru trial and error. I have heard of Kayak diving specialty courses so you might want to research those it might provide you with some good information.

Mr. Demeanor · October 2011

If you have a rod holder on your yak one of my flagpoles might be the ticket for your dive flag display.
Link below in sig.

quatin · October 2011

I use brownies 60foot kayak dive hose. It's a 60 foot air hose so the tank stays in the rear well of the kayak. You drag the kayak by the air hose, which has two swivel sections and attaches to your weight belt. You can build a second drag line to an anchor trolley, but make sure you secure both lines together. As for the flag, I have a 5 foot 1/2inch PVC pipe with the dive flag attached. I insert it into a foam rod float and the whole thing fits in a scupper hole.

kayak_guru · November 2011

I have an ocean kayak trident 15 that is fairly easy to get in and out of. I was planning on getting the 50 ft hookah line, as i don't Go more than 25 ft deep either. Has anyone here Launched their kayak in the keys area? If so could you please lend me a hand with some good info on some good launch sites?
All info would be appreciated...

joemr1288 · November 2011

I have a question relating to this. I was thinking about getting a kayak here in the future to do just this. However I was wondering if it would be possible to setup a dive hookah on a kayak as opposed to tanks??

snook87 · January 2012

Waste of money and risking your safety. Better off getting full dive gear! I just sold my Kayak system when I found out that when I was 60 feet down my tank was getting empty, nearly died cause I didnt see a air leak from a coupler that was 40ft up the hose and was draining my tank faster then I normally use. At the mouth you dont have a regulator to tell you when your running low. Its great for scrubbing your boat or for emergency dives under your boat but to spend time under water for fun, its just not a good idea.

Bmflorek · March 2012

Diving without a pressure gauge is not a wise thing, but there is a solution, get a "Spare Air". For those who don't know, it is a small air bottle with a mouth piece (2nd stage) that will give you plenty of air to surface should your tank get empty or your first or second stage malfunction. Someone else mentioned not using a BC, IMHO ... Bad idea. If something were to happen to your connection from kayak to you, can you swim to shore without a BC? I'm still learning the whole kayak thing, but I am a former Rescue & Recovery Diver (fire dept). I ALWAYS, dive with a completely redundant air supply, a pony bottle with a regulator ... Just me

quatin · May 2013

With an unbalanced regulator, you can feel when you're about to go out of air. With a 60 foot hose, you'll also get a lot of extra "breaths" as well. I use a dive watch and just plan on surfacing with a lot of air left.

I thought about getting a Spare Air bottle, but with a 60 foot hose, I can only dive around 30 feet at which point I might as well do a CESA to the surface.

Hookah diving has it's limitations. It becomes dangerous when you push the limits. Diving 60 feet on a hookah rig, especially on a 2 piece hose has bad idea written all over it. I would definitely bring a Spare Air or a pony bottle doing that.

Trollaltdelete · May 2013

I dive using a hooka all the time in the keys, and I agree with the deep part. Don't dive deeper than you can easily come up if you run out of air. I have had the hose kink and the air cut out, and you will still get a breath or two from the pressure in the line. At 25-30' it is very easy to just head to the surface. I would not go deeper without carrying a spare air or pony bottle.

I have not done it from a kayak, but I would just pull the kayak from the hose, like we do with the hooka compressor float. Should work pretty easy.

I do know people who lobster with kayaks and hooka rigs on a tank. They snorkel around pulling the kayak, and use the hose when they find bugs that are harder to get to

What are people doing for diving from yaks?

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