I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

Could be dangerous. Why not take a scuba course and buy a small
tank/regulator. That way you'll be more comfortable and have a new sport to
enjoy.

You'll find that so much as a foot under water, you'll not be able to breath
through a hose...

You could do a hookah rig like a brownie, or one of the more expensive rigs,
but if you're going to do that, you might as well get diving gear and enjoy
the sport away from the boat.

L8R

Skip

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

wrote in message
...
I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

http://www.bestmarineimports.com/Powerdive.html

This is one option, but you can pick up a tank, regulator and mask cheaper.
Most YMCA offer very inexpensive diving classes so you can get certified.


wrote in message
...
I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

You can get an oilless compressor NOTE OILLESS and 50-60 ft of air
breathing hose and a regular scuba regulator. You need about 100 psi
to run a low pressure - mouth regulator. A friend just did this with a
small 120 vac compressor - it is just a little too small and it gets
hard to breath down at the 6' bottom of his keel. The comp was about
$100, the mouth reg will be maybe $100+ - look for all this stuff on
eBay.

I have a 50' hose that I use on my regular scuba tank, hi pressure and
lo pressure regulators - the extension hose goes between the hi press
reg on the tank and the lo pres regulator in the mouth.

Biggest issue for any of these is getting the connections to work -
threads - sizes, etc. Make sure that they all fit together before you
buy anything.



On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:35:00 GMT, wrote:

I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

100 PSI isn't enough. The intermediate pressure in a typical SCUBA
system is set at 140-160 PSI.


--
Chuck Tribolet

http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


"Ace-high" wrote in message ...
You can get an oilless compressor NOTE OILLESS and 50-60 ft of air
breathing hose and a regular scuba regulator. You need about 100 psi
to run a low pressure - mouth regulator. A friend just did this with a
small 120 vac compressor - it is just a little too small and it gets
hard to breath down at the 6' bottom of his keel. The comp was about
$100, the mouth reg will be maybe $100+ - look for all this stuff on
eBay.

I have a 50' hose that I use on my regular scuba tank, hi pressure and
lo pressure regulators - the extension hose goes between the hi press
reg on the tank and the lo pres regulator in the mouth.

Biggest issue for any of these is getting the connections to work -
threads - sizes, etc. Make sure that they all fit together before you
buy anything.



On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:35:00 GMT, wrote:

I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

Ace-high wrote:
You can get an oilless compressor NOTE OILLESS and 50-60 ft of air
breathing hose and a regular scuba regulator. You need about 100 psi
to run a low pressure - mouth regulator. A friend just did this with a
small 120 vac compressor - it is just a little too small and it gets
hard to breath down at the 6' bottom of his keel. The comp was about
$100, the mouth reg will be maybe $100+ - look for all this stuff on
eBay.

I have a 50' hose that I use on my regular scuba tank, hi pressure and
lo pressure regulators - the extension hose goes between the hi press
reg on the tank and the lo pres regulator in the mouth.

Biggest issue for any of these is getting the connections to work -
threads - sizes, etc. Make sure that they all fit together before you
buy anything.

Apparently this is right & works pretty well, no tank fills & no rip
off BS from the dive fraternity:-). The advantage being you can't get
too deep because the little oiless compressors just can't supply the air.

The only caution is make sure you install a one way valve in the supply
line, as close as reasonable to the mouth reg. or use a specific hooker
unit mouth reg (they have an extra valve built in). The risk is that if
there's a hose failure at the surface your lungs will be exposed to atm
pressure while your chest is subject to some psi, apparently your tongue
can suffer if no valve is fitted.

K




On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 17:35:00 GMT, wrote:


I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

wrote in message
...


A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

At just a few inches under water the pressure would make breathing through a
long snorkel difficult. At a foot or more it would become impossible. Even
if you had the strength to inhale against the pressure you would be
re-breathing the air in the hose which wouldn't supply you with fresh air.

I strongly discourage any form of compressed air, either from a tank or
surface air compressor, unless you have been trained in basic SCUBA. When
you get right down to the basics, the top 15 feet is the most dangerous,
followed by depths of 100 feet or more. Without the proper training you can
kill yourself working close to the surface of the water.

Rod McInnis

wrote:
I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?

Be careful. If you breathe air that is at a pressure equal to just 6 or
so feet underwater, then hold your breath while ascending to the
surface, you can cause serious damage to your lungs due to overpressure.

Have you actually been UNDER the boat yet? Most houseboats
are pontoon boats, and you get under them no problem and still
breathe. I had to do that once (twice actually) to fix a freshwater
plumbing problem on a rental houseboat. New boat, the factory
hadn't tightened the hose clamps.

--
Chuck Tribolet

http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


wrote in message ...
I'd like to clean the bottom of my boat, while it's
in the water. Is there a fairly easy and economical
way of breathing while a few feet below the surface?
A snorkle won't work because I'll be going under
a houseboat, but am wondering if a hose could
be made to work, or maybe a larger piece of tubing
with a hose attached so it's small enough to be held
in your mouth. Or something...?