Posts by Dan

You may want to consider two 16mm bands. Loading will be much easier. Learning to chest load with a 20mm band can be discouraging. You'll get more power with two bands.

Where did you get that Jeff?

Reminds me of the milk crate in the inner tube. What happens if you get a fish that won't fit in the bucket?

Welcome to the forum Alex.

A speargun is a personal thing and there's much worse you can do than a Riffe euro. With that said I don't like the euro. I would rather take a Riffe competitor series gun, #3 for our waters.

Cons: Small uncomfortable handle which doesn't allow you to generate good torque when tracking. Wide sideways profile becomes too wide to grip comfortably when the bands are stretched.

Where do you dive?

Don't know about the cut areas. Aquaseal is good to glue many things but it's expensive, $7-$10 for a small tube. In general I don't think it's a good idea to glue as the boogie board surface material varies, and the materials I've seen used don't lend themselves well to gluing. Bolting through is the more secure way to go.

My advice to you is not to waste your time with the Riffe float line, it's not necessary.

This diving board is made from a 42" x 22" Bodyboard.

An important feature that I wanted was an adjustable line retaining system. One of the main requirements for this was a strong hole through the front of the board for the float line to run through. After cutting the hole I had to figure out a way to reinforce it it so the line won't cut into the soft body of the board. I used a short section of PVC pipe of the same diameter as the hole. I also got the end caps for it, and then cut them into rings. I shaped the rings to fit the profile of the board and glued them to the PVC tube on either side of the board using PVC cement.

For the spool I used a frame made from PVC pipes and T joints. It's anchored in the board in the same manner.

For the adjustable line retaining system I used a cleat from West Marine. The cleat is held in place with two bolts going through the board and washers on the other side.

The flag holder is a piece of automotive hose with an inner diameter of perfect size for the flag pole, the pole stays in there with suction alone. The hose is glued into the board with Aquaseal and is solid.

A 15" x 30" bungee net, secured to the board with zip ties, is used to keep fish and other things on the board. A small but important detail was to use a dremmel to grind down the little stubs of zip ties that were left over after snipping them off. They were kind of sharp and can catch on the wetsuit as I'd be handling fish and shoving them under the bungee netting.

The first two pics are with the first line spool I put together.

I replaced the first line spool with this one made of PVC. Also serves as a nice handle for the board.

Do not buy a camera that doesn't require a case.

You're right. And it's really crappy when the last 5 feet of crappy viz take it out of your sight.

I don't get it monster?

I swear that occurred to me but I thought a cheap little gun mounted camera is not going to do that.

No tengo idea, me parecio grande. Que es ese sonido? Diria que estaba llamando al pescado pero tambien sono mientras estabe subiendo.

Clear the browser cache and refresh the page.

Sounds like a nice trip, good luck.

Chinaman snapper - Symphorus Nematophorus

Neat. Although not entirely credible.

I got the masks in my hand and I did some empirical testing.

1. Volume: Same as my omer Abyss mask which at first glance would appear to have much more volume. The test was done by filling the omer mask with as much water as it could hold observing which areas the water occupied. Then pouring the water into the Minima mask. The Minima mask contained all the water from the Abyss mask without spillage. The water occupied the same general areas, nose pocket and lense pockets. Conclusion; the easier compensation due to less internal volume is BS. At least it's not more.

2. Field of view: This was tricky to test but I figured out a way by positioning my face with the mask at a consistent point and position (on the door frame) and counting visible bathroom tiles which I additionally marked with tape. Peripheral view is what I was concerned with. Sideways view was identical to the Abyss mask. Downward view (towards the feet) was significantly less. Conclusion; The smaller frame and consequently smaller lenses diminish downward field of view. At least it's the same sideways, downwards may not make a big difference in the real world.

3. Fit, comfort and weight: The fit was good on my face, same or slightly better than the abyss. I put the mask on and shook my head from side to side. The Abyss mask produced considerably more torque or tendency to shift out of position than the Minima which really stayed put. I confirmed this by weighing the masks. The Abyss weighed 200g and the Minima weighed 100g. Conclusion: The lower profile is advantageous in terms of the tendency of the mask to shift on the face.

Note. Pantoja's assertion about the strap was correct. It has little stretch and as such probably likely to break. Replacing is a little tricky as this mask uses a strap that is not conventional, it is noticable thinner. This means the the conventional strap would have to be cut down. I don't anticipate this to be difficult to do. Also the original strap is not so bad that it can't be used.

Overall conclusion: The only significant disadvantage is the diminished downward view. The lightness of the mask however is a stronger factor which merits giving the mask a further try in the water.

I believe that in his own pod since they know him from the beginning he should be fine, if he makes it. Trying to get it on with a strange female may be a challenge even though he's cute I think he'd be a good candidate for an aquarium where he can be kept out of the sun. I hope he makes it even though evolution obviously doesn't select for albinos.

How would you anchor the hooks in the foam?

Nice drawing. I think it would take too much away from the buoyancy of the float. It barely has enough to keep the flag up as it is. The added weight of a spool or just the rope on top would roll it over for sure.

http://calcasieucharters.com/i…ink+Dolphin+Photo+Gallery

Quote

The photographs displayed above were taken on 24 June 2007 in Calcasieu Lake, Lousiana. (Calcasieu Lake is just east of the Texas-Louisiana border and connects to the Gulf of Mexico.) The pictures of the pinkish dolphin calf were captured by Capt. Erik Rue of the Calcasieu Charter Service, who described his encounter with the unusually-colored animal for ESPN:

The calf's
pinkish appearance is likely produced by blood vessels underneath its relatively thin layer of blubber which create a pinkish-red hue that would ordinarily be masked by a typical dolphin's gray coloration.

According to marine biologist Dagmar Fertl, this event was only the third reported sighting of an albino bottlenose dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico (going back to 1994), and the fourteenth spotting anywhere in the world (the first coming in 1962). Biologists speculate that, in addition to the rarity of their birth, the scarcity of albino bottlenose dolphins might be due to their having poor eyesight, increased sensitivity to sunlight, and a coloration that provides poor camouflaging, factors which could significantly decrease their chances of reaching maturity.