Debate: Do you stick with surface-supplied or go back to scuba for shallow jobs?

I’ve been thinking about this since a job in Galveston last month. We were doing hull cleaning on a docked ship in about 30 feet of water. The surface-supply setup took an extra 20 minutes to get all the hoses and comms sorted. But my buddy was on scuba with just a tank and he finished faster. Problem is, he had to surface every 20 minutes to swap tanks. I stayed down longer but felt tethered to the boat. Which side do you lean on for shallow work? I’m starting to think scuba might be faster for quick jobs under 40 feet, but surface-supply feels safer. Curious what others do.

3 comments

3 Comments

hugos461mo ago

Galveston job last month changed my mind too. Scuba is faster for quick shallow work.

grant4781mo ago

Jumped on a similar job off Port Aransas last spring and it proved me wrong too... shallow water just doesn't warrant the hassle of full gear. @hugos46 hit it right that scuba cuts the setup time in half for those quick dives. Makes you wonder why we ever bothered with hard hat for anything under 30 feet honestly.

patricia2621mo ago

And that's the thing about Galveston specifically - that muddy bottom makes getting in and out of hard hat gear a real chore. I did a bridge inspection there a couple years back where we were in and out of the water every twenty minutes. Full dress took forever to clean and repack. Switched to scuba for the second day and saved maybe an hour total just on donning and doffing. Plus you don't have to worry about the hose getting tangled on all that old pier pilings and debris down there.