SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MAINTAINING GEAR YOURSELF
What exactly is a save-a-dive kit? Most of us have a pretty good grasp of what bits and pieces to carry with us when we go diving. A few O-Rings, duct tape, some assorted spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers, and a few low- and high-pressure port plugs. Some of us carry spare hoses, O2-compatible lube, and enough spare parts to perform a quick rebuild on a wing, a regulator’s first or second stage, or even a solenoid overhaul on a CCR. Who can blame us, right? There’s nothing worse than being on a day charter or remote dive site to find you’re grounded because of a broken or missing “whatchamacallit.”
However, in some parts of the world, being a good Samaritan can get you in trouble. For example, instructors are told not to touch another diver’s gear unless they are a certified tech for that brand of gear. They are warned not to supply a different hose to a student during an equipment workshop unless they’re a technician. Doing so opens them up to liability if something, even something unrelated, goes pear-shaped.
The story with CCRs can be more draconian. Fitting a CCR with a third-party accessory, such as an aftermarket BOV or a quick-connect on a diluent line, can void the unit’s CA marking.
The situation is complicated by fear of litigation, and some dive shops are even unwilling to lend customers the specialized “scuba” tools needed on some first stages to replace a yoke fitting with a DIN one.
One answer, I guess, is to buy gear that can be fixed with a rock and a railroad spike. An alternative is to carry an equipment tech, like a sort of diving roadie, with you on every trip… or to become that tech and look like the travelling poster child for Snap-on tools.
The simplest way to avoid grief is to get ALL your gear serviced by a pro and hope nothing goes wrong out in the field.
And then there’s the rest of us who choose something in between and within our personal comfort zone.