Abalone Diving With Homemade Snorkel

November 12, 2015

Question: I made my own snorkel using a flexible hose that is about five feet long. No air supplying motor or any device is attached to it. It’s just a long flexible hose with a check valve in it. If I use it while abalone diving, would I be in violation of any regulations? I am aware of the regulation prohibiting the use of SCUBA gear or surface-supplied air. (Chris L.)

Answer: Although this would be legal, using this type of snorkel would be very dangerous because you must be able to displace used air in your snorkel. You could be seriously harmed from breathing from a long snorkel because the air volume in the snorkel makes it difficult to displace exhaled air. Rebreathing used air can cause death or great bodily harm to a diver. This is why you do not see longer snorkels sold by dive shops.

 

That's crazy

What gets me is that it is 5 feet long. If you can't dive 5 feet I don't think you should be in the water to begin with.

I am a sick bastard.....but I want to watch him try! 

Darwin Award

Check valve, One way air, in only? but if water gets in???!! Disaster waiting in the wings

Breathe in through the mouth (snorkel) and out through your nose...  Easy to figure out, but not letting water in the snorkel would be absolutely critical to success.

It does seem lame that someone would go to the trouble for 5 feet, but theoretically you could make a 20 footer...  I've been considering how this would work in order to sit among salmon until they got comfortable enough to swim around me.

I'm close to declaring it impractical!   

Breathe in through the mouth (snorkel) and out through your nose...  Easy to figure out, but not letting water in the snorkel would be absolutely critical to success.

It does seem lame that someone would go to the trouble for 5 feet, but theoretically you could make a 20 footer...  I've been considering how this would work in order to sit among salmon until they got comfortable enough to swim around me.

I'm close to declaring it impractical!   

I think the air bubbles from your exhale would scare away all the salmon. I think you would need a dual chambered snorkel, 1 for the inhale, another for the exhale.

hilarious    It makes sense in physics. Is it practical?
What about a hose of 100ft long? Then I can beat Jim in underwater hold time