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MILWAUKEE – A great wooden steamship that sank more than a century ago in a violent Lake Michigan storm has been found off the Milwaukee-area shoreline, and divers say the intact vessel appears to have been perfectly preserved by the cold fresh waters.
Finding the 300-foot-long L.R. Doty was important because it was the largest wooden ship that remained unaccounted for, said Brendon Baillod, the president of the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association.
“It’s the biggest one I’ve been involved with,” said Baillod, who has taken part in about a dozen such finds. “It was really exhilarating.”
The Doty was carrying a cargo of corn from South Chicago to Ontario, Canada in October 1898 when it sailed into a terrible storm, Baillod said. Along with snow and sleet, there were heavy winds that whipped up waves of up to 30 feet.
The Doty should have been able to handle the weather. The ship was only five years old, and the 300-foot wooden behemoth’s hull was reinforced with steel arches.
But it was towing a small schooner, the Olive Jeanette, which began to founder in the storm after the tow line apparently snapped, Baillod said. The Doty probably sank when it came to the schooner’s aid. All 17 of its crew members died, along with the ship’s cats, Dewey and Watson.
As a maritime historian Baillod spent more than 20 years researching the shipwreck. He knew that swaths of debris had washed up afterward in Kenosha, about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. But he found news accounts that it had last been seen closer to Milwaukee, near Oak Creek.
Meanwhile, a Milwaukee fisherman in 1991 reported snagging his nets on an obstruction about 300 feet under water. The observation was largely forgotten for decades until diving technology improved enough to enable exploration at that depth.
A number of explorers did some preliminary scouting on the lake’s surface in recent months, using deep-sea technology to find a massive submerged object. Divers waited until last week to descend, when the weather was just right.
As soon as they got to the lake floor they knew they had found the Doty.
“It felt so good to solve this,” said Jitka Hanakova, 33, a diver and captain of the charter boat that led the exploration. “This ship has been missing for so many years and it’s one of the biggest out there.”
Divers found the ship upright and intact, settled into the clay at the lake’s bottom. Even the ship’s cargo of corn was still in its hold.
The Doty is so well-preserved because it’s in a cold, freshwater lake. It’s also far enough below the surface that storms don’t affect it.
Those same factors mean the crew’s corpses are likely intact as well, Baillod said. Their bodies are probably still in the boiler room, where the sailors must have huddled as the ship went down, he added.
While details of the sinking remain unclear, Baillod said the most likely explanation is that rudder chain snapped while the Doty was turning around to aid the Olive Jeanette. That would have left the 20-foot-tall ship at the mercy of 30-foot waves that would have dumped tons of water on the fragile wooden hatches.
“When the rudder broke (the crew) must have known they were going to die,” Baillod said. “They probably had a good hour to contemplate their fate until the cargo holds collapsed.”
There are no plans to raise the Doty, which is now the property of the state of Wisconsin. The ship will remain preserved indefinitely where it is, rather than exposing it to air that would cause it to rot away within a few years, Baillod said.
Few divers are expected to disturb it. It’s in such deep water that only a small group of highly experienced divers can access it, Hanakova said.
Thousands of ships remain submerged in the Great Lakes, some vessels scuttled and others the victims of shipwrecks. Lake Michigan has about 500 dive-worthy ships still to be found, Baillod estimated.
He said his next target is the largest known missing ship: the car ferry Pere Marquette 18. He said it went down in 1910, about 20 miles from the southeastern Wisconsin shore.
The new technology that made finding the Doty possible can also help locate the Pere Marquette, he said.
“What’s nice about finding these ships is, it contributes to our cultural history,” he said. “Many people are disconnected from history so it’s nice to reconnect to our past — to maybe look out today and think of the wooden steamships that were out there 100 years ago.
My View From The Helm
It’s Tuesday, Dec 29th and I’m sitting at one of the main salon tables writing on my netbook. I’m trying to find a wifi signal, but will probably just take my netbook to town later and connect on a friends account there.
Well, we had a fantastic trip to Holbox Island. We left on the morning of the 26th. We had three of us aboard. Besides me and Gary, we had a local part time ex-patriot Mark with us. He’s about 60 years old and is the typical hunter fisherman type Minnesota guy who slits his time between a lakeside home near Brainard and Isla Mujeres. We had a pretty good breeze and after breaking the anchor free, were able to hoist sails and sail right out of the harbor. After a few miles, there is a pretty tricky reef section that you have to be careful of. Mark steered the boat while Gary and I stood on the front and looked for obstacles. At no time on the three day trip did the water under the 4’ keel exceed 25’. Most of the time, the water was in the 10-15’ range, and that is even when miles beyond the shore. After we cleared the reef, I took the helm and pretty much drove the boat the entire trip. The normal setup was Mark on the back of the boat continually clearing seagrass from his fishing lures. Gary would either be stretched out on the front of the boat getting sun, fishing, or coming back to work with me on trimming the sails. I drove the boat and kept watch. Gary is a pretty good teacher. He basically would tell me something, then go back and lie down and glance around every once and a while to make sure everything was under control. He knows the boat like it’s an extension of himself.
No sooner did we get going than the fist sea turtle popped up right in front of me. I actually went right over top of him. (Remember that this is a catamaran and there is about a 5’ high by 15’ wide space between the pontoons. We then saw a bunch of flying fish and dolphins started to run with the boat. At times, there were as many as dozen dolphins running alongside. I tried to take a picture, but trying to maintain a course and keep the sails full took enough effort and taking pictures at the same time was difficult. When the boat is in less than about 9’ of water, the depth finder would go wacky and there would be no display. That is just how it works. There was no display several times. When we would glide over a sand bar or something, Gary would stand up front and tell me which way to steer. Because of the winds from the North (Nortes), the water was not crystal clear, and although very blue, you could not see the bottom. This also messed up the plan to try to pick a few lobsters. When we reached Holbox Island, we rounded the point and there were a bunch of pink Flamingos on the beach. We were still a mile out, so I could not get pictures of them. We have some pretty powerful binoculars, and you could still see them pretty well. We picked a nice spot and turned in. When about 500’ from the beach, we began the process of setting the anchor. At times, it takes a lot to get the anchor to bight. Often a combination of hitting the engines in reverse, or even Gary diving down to set it himself. Setting and weighing the anchor are one of the most involved processes on the boat. Gary always makes it a point to dive on the anchor after it is set to make sure. We also have an anchor alarm on the the GPS that will tell you if the boat moves, but that does no good when there is nobody on board. We watched a boat in our Island Mujeres drag anchor the other night and hit some other boats. Not a good thing.
We finally got everything set just around Sunset. It was mostly an evening of sitting around drinking beer and eating. I think we made some sort of Tacos that night. We have quite a bit of food on board and we each have been taken turns making meals. I think I’ve made the least because I am always at the helm, so those guys cook and I eat while steering. The refrigerator I got going last week is still running like a champ and keeping the beer and everything else nice and cold. I think we were all asleep by 10:00.
The next morning, we got up and Mark and I rowed the dink to shore. Gary dove in off the back of the boat and by the time Mark and I got going, made some headway, and managed to clear the surf without swamping the boat, Gary was already 100 yards up the beach looking for shells. We all walked quite a ways down the beach that morning. There is absolutely nobody there. This is the typical Carribean beach you see in the movies. White sand beaches, smooth bottom, palm trees with dense foliage beyond, and this morning, very small waves. As a matter of fact, the water was almost glass that morning. I made it a point to take my camera, and got a few pictures. On the way back, I swung wide of the boat and had Mark take a picture of me with the boat and the beach in the background. The boat is very pretty when anchored in blue water with a sandy beach in the background. Everything around here looks like a Corona commercial.
Holbox Beach
Around 10:00, we pulled up the anchor and were able to hoist sales and get enough momentum to sail away without ever starting the engines. We did not make as good of time that day, as the winds were a little weak. It was another afternoon of watching dolphins and the guys trying to find some fish. Gary got some little something or other that I think was used for bait. We hit the small town of Holbox just a little before Sunset. We had pretty good luck setting the anchor, so it was just a short while before we were ready to go to town. Holbox is pretty small now, but people say it will be the next Cancun. It certainly has the beaches for it. There are already a few all inclusive resorts South of town that we sailed past, plus some smaller hotels in town. There are quite a few restaurants, mostly small places. There was a wedding taking place on the beach when we tied the dink up at the peer. We walked around and eventually went to a pretty popular pizza place. Gary and I each had a pretty good pizza, and Mark had a plate of three huge tacos. After dinner, we went and walked around town some more. We then went back to the boat to hang out. The three of us went to the front of the boat to stretch out and listen to the live music coming from the wedding band only about 500’ away from us. The boat has two pretty good woven trampolines where you can lay out over the water. It is a great place to just lay around. I think we were asleep by about 10:00 again.
The next morning, we woke to a nice strong breeze. Mark used his cell phone while in Holbox and found out that he had relatives in Cancun, so he wanted to get back and visit them With the wind, we decided to try to sail all the way back to Isla Mujeres in one day. We were immediately able to make 7 knots (8mph) which is pretty good speed on a sail boat. The seas were very active and the boat was really rocking and rolling. We made good speed for several hours. By afternoon, the winds died off a bit. We needed to charge the batteries anyway, so we started the engines and motorsailed for a few hours. Continuing at about 6-7 knots. By about 4:00, we had a nice storm front and after clearing the reef, turned off the engines and were able to sail the rest of the way. We were coming into the harbor at almost 10 knots. It does not sound fast, but I think most people would have found it pretty scary. But this boat, loves that kind of speed. I’m just glad I had the wheel to hang on to. Most of the time I steer the boat with one hand or even my feet, but I was standing up paying 100% attention. We had small boat traffic, car ferrys, all sorts of stuff. When we were just into the heart of the harbor, I turned to the wind, and Mark and Gary worked on dropping the sails. Well, we had a few fouled lines etc, and to make a long story short. It was a pretty exciting end to a great trip. The closest way I can describe it in a few words is to picture a hockey player skating along the ice at full speed, then makes a hard hockey stop right before he hits the wall. We were not in any danger, but it was pretty exciting. It was what Allen and I refer to has loading a snowmobile. We did not want to mess with tying up at the docks, wanting to just have Mark hop off. Because the wind was so strong, we had just a second. Mark stood on the point with a hand on the rail, Gary nosed to boat in, Mark made a successful 3’ leap, I threw his bags onto the dock, and Gary turned and we headed out to our anchorage spot. We decided to take a spot a little bit close in and it took a lot to get a bight. Gary and I layed around a while, then went to town for some food.
Mark was actually hanging around the dock when we landed and took us for some Ceviche at a hangout of his. Very good. We then met up with the local ex-pats and watched Monday night football. Actually a pretty good game, so it was fun and I was able to stay awake. We went back to the boat, went to sleep, and now It’s the next morning and I’m typing. Right now I am listening to the local harbor guys giving the weather. We are going to town in few minutes for breakfast, and I’ll mail this.
That is all.
Isla Mujeres
At the helm Enroute to Mahahual
January 4th, 2010: Tonight we are on Utilla Island, a part of Honduras. We left Mahahual, Mexico about 1pm yesterday afternoon. It was an interesting trip of strong winds, a little bit of storm, and long lulls of no wind. The trip took about 28 hours. Utilla is a small community, mostly supporting the diving industry. We are actually here to pick up another member of our crew, a nice guy from Austria. We also picked up a guy from Matahual that works with the cruise ship industry to arrange on shore excursions. He is interested in expanding into Utilla and the neighboring island, Rotan. He is actually a pretty good sailor, and I have been picking up a bit from him. We also lost a member of the crew, an Italian that got so sea sick that he left after one night. Tomorrow, we all go to Rotan if we can get the customs agent here to check us through. Basically, we want to check in and out of Honduras at the same time. We passed Belize last night, but did not stop. If you look at Utilla on a map, you can see that it is easier to go straight here, than to go to Belize. The most I saw of Belize were a bunch of fishing boats on radar as we were about 20 miles from Belize city. We had a great dinner tonight. Honduras is pretty much what you would expect it to be. The best part so far was the great wind we got right near the end of the journey. For once, I was not at the wheel, so I was able to stand at the rail and feel the strong winds, high waves, and watch the landscape go buy. It was a great ride. Our new crew member is working with a dive shop here that has a nice dock, so we were able to just tie up right at that dock and go into town. Tomorrow, I am planning on walking in for breakfast and maybe a haircut. I saw a tiny little barber shop tonight, but it was already closed. Rotan should only be about a 5 hour sail. You can barely make it out on the horizon. Rotan is much larger than Utilla, something like 60,000 residents. The plan is to spend a day or two there, then head for Panama. Panama is about five days away. The big unknown is if we are going to have to wait to go through the canal.
I’ve attached a couple of pictures. One of them shows our boat where it was tied up in Mahahual. You can see the cruise ships in the background. Mahahual is pretty much 100% dependent on cruise ship .
Crystal Blue Pier Mahahual
Well, I am sitting out at a picnic table behind the dive shop that is hosting our boat and it is getting pretty cold. I think I am going to go crawl into my bunk and get some sleep. The last email I got from Hal sounds like he does not need me to start work for another month or so, so I am going to continue on the trip for now. I should be able to check back in within the next couple of days while in Roatan. Maybe even make a couple of skype calls.
Later.
Sunrise in Mahahual with Bill P
Greetings,
Today I am in Mahahual, Mexico. Gary worked the boat here for four months last spring, so there are many friends.
We left Cozumel Sunday night around 6pm and sailed through the night to arrive here around 3 pm yesterday. There is a tricky reef here that Gary has expert knowledge of. He actually set up a buoy system here before he left, but now it is gone. We had to slowly pick our way through with me on the bow and him at the helm. Very tricky. There was actually a brand new nice catamaran that was just purchased in Cancun stuck here with some front end dame caused when they tried to leave. Gary went on to their boat this morning and guided them through and then they brought him back in on their dingy. And that boat was only 80% of the size of ours. There are probably only a handful of people that can take a big boat through, and Gary is one of them.
On the way down, Gary and Jen were on watch from 6-2am. After a short nap, I took over the helm until a little after sunrise. Ido the Israely was with me keeping me awake. The sea was pretty rough, raining hard with no visability, and cold. I had my rain gear on. We were tossed around so much that Ido got seasick about 4am and there was nothing I could do to help the poor guy. I had to pretty much stay focused on what I was doing. Seeing practically nothing, I had to rely on the radar and the depth gauge. The big hazzard is the cruise ships, but they are impossible to miss on either the radar or visually, being lit up like cities. The last hour was very hard for me with Ido out of it. It takes a lot of effort to hold a course when the wind, waves, and seas are all different directions. Some times I was sailing a 55′ cat sideways and on a 20 degree list. By the time Gary came up at Sunrise, I was happy to let him take over for a while. As he steered, I laid in the hammock a few feet away and helped keep him awake. Jen came up a while later, and I crawled back into bed. I got up a few hours later, took the helm back from Gary and brought us all the way to the reef, then gave it to Gary to get us through.
Matahual is a pretty little town. We had it all to ourselves last night, visiting all of Gary’s old friends. There was a lot of drunken hilarity, mostly at the expense of Ido. He is only 22 years old, but already put in several years as an Israeli commando. He got sick of the whole thing, left Israel, and has not been back for six months. The rest of us spend a lot of time laughing at him,which is pretty strange since he could probably kill us with his bare hands if he chose to.
This morning was nice as well, but the first cruise ship just unloaded a short while ago, so the whole town has already gone tourist. I hate tourists, but the town sure needs the business.
We are hoping that Gary’s friend, the port captain can clear us to leave the country this evening. If so, this will be our final stop in Mexico. The next stop is Utilla, an island on the north side of Honduras. We will leave this afternoon for that, another sail through the night, being there late tomorrow.
After that is Roatan.
I think that is all for now. The tourists are now crawling all over me, so I’m ready to go back to the boat.
Waiting to hear back from Hal if I have a job and a start date. Talk to you all again in a few days.
Sunrise in Mahahual with Bill P
This morning I am in Cozumel. We are expecting to pick up another person today. The crew has progressed beyond just Gary and me. We are now five, including a Canadian, a young guy from Israel, and a gal from Alaska.
We had a good sail down from Isla Mujeres yesterday. We are running with a ¨Norte¨which although producing a confused sea, has good wind for us. We were able to maintain about 9 or 10 knots all day. I spent most of the time at the helm, and at some times, the back of the boat was as much as 20ft above the front of the boat. I may have some pictures of the view. I also got some pretty good hits where it turned the boat so hard I had trouble keeping the helm and the sails full. Every so often we would get a pretty good wave catch us from the stern, and I would surf the boat for maybe ten seconds or so. It may all sound a little dangerous, but not really. This boat was designed for and has seen much more. Remember that is is 55 ft long and about 30 feet wide. If things go well, and we find our 6th person today, we will sail out this evening for a tomorrow afternoon arrival at our next stop. I´m looking forward to getting at least part of the time at the helm tonight and sail with the moon.
There is also a friend of ours who decided to hop a few ferrys and buses and come down from Isla supposedly in town, but we have not found him yet. We hear from some other guys we ran into here, that he had a couple of fishing rods and wanted to hang along with us for a while. If we find him, a couple of the guys will have to hot bunk. I still have the largest cabin on the boat, having been the first one on. The new guys think I´m some sort of sailing veteran because I am instructing them. It´s good to have more people on the boat because that means more money. If I have to bail out for some reason, I want to at least make sure that Gary has the money to get through the canal. After that, he can just sail home.
As far as tourist stuff, the whole front of Cozumel is cruise ship tourist zone. Once you get away from that, it is a pretty nice island. We all went to the central market today for ¨Cochinitas ¨which are pork sandwiches. The problem is, all of Mexico eats them on Sunday, so it was just too crowded, so we had traditional food. When we were sailing down here, I could not believe how many hotels are in Cancun.
So, once again, this may be my last email for a few days.
Our friend here at OnlineScuba has signed on for an adventure and he has allowed us to post his experiences on our blog. Bill P lives in Las Vegas and is actually an Engineer who has never sailed a boat much less lived on one for more than an afternoon at Lake Mead. But he is a great writer and we love the way he makes us join right in on the fun with his adventure. While this is not a full on Scuba Diving Adventure, it is a trip of a lifetime that I feel is worthy of sharing with our friends. So, lets start with what we have so far and Enjoy:
I just want to let you all know that I may be out of town and out of cell range for an indeterminate amount of time starting this Sunday morning. I have signed on as a crew member on the sailing vessel Crystal Blue Persuasion. The captain has been operating her on the tourist circuit in Mahahual, Mexico and now needs to bring her down through the canal and all the way up to the SF Bay. Not quite sure how much of this lengthy trip I’m going to participate in. This is a 55’ catamaran, so there should be plenty to keep me busy. If you want to see what she looks like, her web site is:
http://sailmahahual.com/the-boat/
As of right now the plan is to take the boat on a shake down cruise to Holbox Island north of Cancun for a few days leaving Monday the 21st. We will then leave for Panama around the first of the year. Right now, I do not know if I will return to Vegas next week for a few days, or if I will stay in Mexico until the voyage begins. It depends on a few things, availability of flights and prepping the boat being among them. Captain Gary knows that I am looking for work and have to leave if I get a gig in Vegas. So, if anyone has a position for me, make sure you contact me immediately. Finding a job is absolutely my number one priority right now. Sailing is only to acquire a new skill while I am unemployed and impoverished. It is my intention to head for the nearest airport and fly home as soon as I get any job offer or interview.
Stacey and Allen will keep an eye on things around the house while I am gone. I should have email access off and on, so maybe I’ll send a few pictures. If there are alternative ways to contact me, Stacey will know how, so call her if you need to find me.
This is the sort of thing that could entirely fall apart, so I may be right back, but I wanted to put out some information just in case I appear to have fallen off the face of the Earth. If something like six months go by and nobody has heard from me, I’ve probably been killed by pirates off the coast of Nicaragua, so please divide my stuff equitably. (Allen gets the Vette).
That is all.
Bill P.
zeagle 30 years
Dennis G. Bulin, President and Founder of Zeagle Systems, Inc. traveled back and forth many times from his home state of Wisconsin in the 1970s to skydive in sunny Florida. Dennis settled in Zephyrhills, Florida and started Zeagle Systems in 1979 as a one-man operation, building parachute equipment and accessories. His interests shifted from skydiving to SCUBA when he became an active diver. Dennis combined the companys technological expertise in manufacturing skydiving equipment with the knowledge of technical and sport diving techniques to design personal buoyancy control devices and other products for SCUBA diving. The success of Zeagles innovative approach to buoyancy compensator design led the way for Zeagle to become a respected worldwide supplier and manufacturer of diving equipment.
OnlineScuba is celebrating Zeagle’s 30th birthday with a present for consumers. This promotion will run until December 31st , 2009. The objective of the program is to say thanks to our customers and encourage them to buy Zeagle. Visit Zeagle Scuba Gear for more information
Not long ago, one of our readers told me he had paid nearly $100 to have both stages of his
regulator and his octopus serviced to keep up the warranty. Another subscriber, Jeff Reed
(Naperville, IL) tells us he was shocked when the price for servicing two sets for the annual
warranty checkup was $130. “The manufacturer covers the cost of the parts but if they didn’t,
I would just buy inexpensive regulators more frequently and toss them.”
It seems that what Reed paid, $65 per regulator and octopus, is about average. Even if parts are
covered by warranty, labor is most of the bill. Online retailer LeisurePro charges $49.95 for labor.
OnlineScuba.com, based in Las Vegas, charges $50 for labor, plus parts. (Customers who
buy gear from its website get the first year’s service free, including labor.) Harbor Dive Shop in
Sausalito, CA, charges $15 for inspections and minor adjustments, $35 to overhaul the first stage,
$20 to overhaul the second stage, plus parts. Scuba Works in Jupiter, FL, charges $30 to inspect a
first-stage, $25 for the second stage. AirTech in Raleigh, NC, services regulators for consumers mailing
equipment directly (it guarantees a 14-day service turnaround). The charge is $30 per stage, and parts
are retail price.
If you have a more sophisticated – - and expensive – - regulator, it requires more parts, adding to
the cost. “Parts for the first and second stage of a Sherwood regulator are $12 total,” says Brett Holmes,
a repair technician for LeisurePro. “Compare that to a ScubaPro or Apeks regulator, where you’re
looking at $15 to $20 per stage. Toss in an octopus at $15 to $20, and it adds up.” So you could easily
be looking at a $100-plus bill.
Some dive shops take it too far, which Bret Gilliam, former Uwatec CEO and frequent Undercurrent
contributor, told us from recent experience. “I use an Atomic Aquatics titanium regulator that I
return directly to Atomic for servicing every three to five years. When I took it to the local dealer
and told them to do a regular service and replace the diaphragm cover, the bill was over $300.
This regulator is $1,200 retail, so the service was 25 percent of the total price I paid. My jaw nearly
dropped to the floor, but that didn’t prompt the staff to explain the cost. They did tell me they were
giving me a discount because I was an industry pro, but God knows what they charge a regular diver.
When I called Atomic, they said it was unconscionable, and the price should have been closer to $100.”
Watch out for the dive shop that gives you a bad time if you bought your regulator elsewhere.
Jason Caldwell (Norfolk, VA) bought his Mares regulator online at Joe Diver America, after verifying
it was an authorized dealer. At the one-year anniversary, his wife took it to his local dive shop,
Divers Unlimited, for the checkup. “She was told the parts would be covered and I would just be
charged for labor. When I went to pick up my equipment, I was charged $42 for parts. The reply
was essentially: ‘You didn’t purchase it here, and online stores aren’t authorized dealers.’” The store
owner agreed to check with Mares and would refund Caldwell’s money if he was told Joe Diver America
was an authorized dealer. Two weeks later, Caldwell got a voice mail that Divers Unlimited wouldn’t
give him a refund because he hadn’t bought from them. “This happened after I’ve done all my advanced
training with them, and my wife is taking her openwater certification there.”
Follow That Warranty
OnlineScuba’s general manager Bill Gornet says many divers don’t follow their warranty’s
annual-servicing policy, so they’re stunned when they have to pay for parts. “Sometimes they’re not
doing proper maintenance so the mouthpieces have dry rot, hoses must be replaced. Then they’re
looking at $60 in parts.”
“ScubaPro says if you miss one year of servicing, you won’t get free parts ever again,” adds Gornet.
“Manufacturers let things slide in the past, so money was spilling out the back door. Now they’re
following their guarantee rather than letting it slip by the wayside.”
To keep up with the warranty, most manufacturers don’t require an overhaul annually, just an
inspection and replacement of worn parts. Harbor Dive manager Jack Kuhn asks customers up
front whether they want an inspection, adjustment or overhaul. “My philosophy is don’t fix things
that aren’t broken.” But read your warranty, then specify the type of service you want, otherwise a
greedy shop might do a full overhaul.
If you’ve got a problem – - your regulator is free flowing, honking or acting just plain weird – - a
technician will typically disassemble your regulator, clean it, replace the filter, O-rings and seats,
then reassemble it. Rather than spending his time and your time and money diagnosing the problem,
he simply fixes everything.
If your regulator isn’t misbehaving but you want to get it checked out before a dive trip, just ask for
an inspection or a “bench check.” A trained technician can check the interstage pressure,
cracking pressure (inhalation effort) and exhalation effort at the second stage, and flow rate through
the regulator. If there is a problem, he can fix it; if not, you’ve saved money.
A good dive shop will also give you back the old parts he took out during servicing so that you can
see the wear and tear on the parts – and confirm that the technician actually did something with your
regulator. OnlineScuba returns parts in a plastic bag, plus a sheet stating what service they did and,
after running the regulator through an air check, a graph showing how the regulator performed.
How Often Should You Service It?
If you’re out of warranty, perhaps not as often as you think. Of course, manufacturers will say you
should do it annually, as that’s their policy (although AquaLung now recommends every two years).
Kay Wilson of Indigo Divers in Grand Cayman says once-a-year divers should follow through on the
annual more than a frequent diver. “Rubber will ‘dry out’ and the plastics used in its construction will
degrade more quickly than for a regulator in regular use.”
Gilliam says “many regulators, particularly higher-end ones, don’t need regular servicing because
they’re remarkably durable. What’s more of an indicator is how many dives you’ve done with it and
how much use you’ve gotten out of it. The one I’ve used for the past 13 years and for 2,900-plus dives
had never had a problem between. If it has performed well and you’ve done a thorough job cleaning
after use, there’s no good reason why it shouldn’t work at least three years in between servicing.”
Fred Good, past owner of St. George’s Lodge in Belize, has a simple formula to calculate the
cost-effectiveness of annual servicing: “Divide the cost of the regulator by the cost of its annual
maintenance (don’t include the gauges, hose, etc. because these aren’t included in that cost).
Don’t be surprised if this comes out to a number less than seven, and in some cases as low as five
if you purchased a cheap regulator. If the result is five, that means in five years, you will have
spent enough to purchase a second regulator if you had never serviced the first one at all. So it might
be smarter to throw away your regulator and buy a new one every five years.”
To save money and trips to the dive shop, read the owners manual, says Al Pendergrass, senior
technician at AirTech. “It lays out guidelines of your regulator’s warranty, maintenance and care.
That eliminates 99 percent of the questions we have to answer for you.” (You should be able to find
a copy on the manufacturer’s Web site.)
Keep a file with all your gear purchase and servicing receipts, and warranty statements with the
serial number so you can prove you merit free parts — or if for some reason you are improperly
charged or refused service and need to contact the manufacturer for resolution or restitution.
- – Ben Davison
