#AskMark: Caring for Gear on a Liveaboard, Draining Full Face Masks & Attaching Cylinder Strobes

@markusm.9368

#AskMark: I’m used to rinsing my equipment after every dive but, how do you look after your gear on a liveaboard?

Freshwater is limited on a liveaboard but, there is still plenty to wash your essentials after a dive. For dive cameras and masks, there are often freshwater troughs on the dive deck to soak them. Have a chat with the dive guides or the crew because you don’t want to mix up the troughs and they’re only for cameras or masks, if you throw everything in it will contaminate the water.

For the rest of your gear you’ll usually find a small hose or even a shower on the dive deck to wash your essentials when you exit the water. They’re not for washing everything thoroughly, just a quick spray of delicate gear like your dive computer and your second stages to wash the salt water off. After the last dive you can wash all of your gear more thoroughly and dry it off before you pack it away. Dive gear can survive a few days without a thorough wash down so focus on the most-delicate gear.

@woland5376

#AskMark: How do you drain water from a Full Face Mask? Is it the same as a traditional mask? It’s more similar to if water gets inside your second stage, when you exhale or purge your regulator the water will be pushed out of the bottom. Full Face Masks are effectively a mask with a second stage built into the front. And down around the chin, at the lowest point, you’ll find a one-way exhaust valve which acts like the exhaust on a second stage. When you exhale that gas flows out of this valve and bubbles away.

Should some water find its way inside the mask it will drip to the lowest point by your chin and get caught by the valve. The next time you exhale, any water will be displaced out of the valve. You can remove and replace a FFM in the water and press the purge button to clear the entire mask, so a small dribble of water inside the mask isn’t an issue.

@martink72

#AskMark: How do I attach a flashing light to my cylinder so that my buddy can see/ find me even in poor visibility or at night? The typical lanyard always lets the light fall downwards and obscures it.

There are a few options, and you can choose between making your strobe float, making it more of a #FlappySnagHazard, or you can secure it tightly to the valve so that it doesn’t flop down one side. To secure it in one place I would look at Ranger Bands or zip ties that you can use to strap the strobe where you want it while using the lanyard as a safety if the band fails.

Many signal strobes are designed to float but, if yours doesn’t, you can add a small float on the lanyard. Something small and compression-resistant such as a cork threaded onto the lanyard will help to hold the flash as high above you as possible. Some divers opt for small bath toys that float and can take the pressure of scuba diving or some kind of fishing float to help hold your strobe above you that your buddy can see. I would prefer to have the light secured in place though to minimise risk of it catching on something.