rig hook ?

[joens]

Any of you rig divers ever make your own rig hook ? we are setting up a boat for rig diving and I was thinking about making the rig hook. Any advice would be appreciated.
Joens

[ROCK BOTTOM]

I have straightened out several of the long aluminum rig hooks. I now use a 5/8" nylon line 100 feet long with an eye spliced in one end, and we just throw it around a bit on the rig. Once tied properly, you will never surface and wonder where your boat went.

I have actually been on the ladder getting into the boat when a lesser line snapped. Yeah, I probably shouldn't been diving in 6' seas.

Rig hooks are nice when the water is calm but I don't trust them. In calm weather, I also use a 3/8" poly pro line with a shackle on one end. We throw the shackle over a cross pipe and catch it with a boat hook. I only do this with polypro because it is cheap enough if you have to cut it.

[Mark Blanchette]

Raymond on the Wild Dolphin used an aluminium rig hook with a "strongback" welded to the arc part of the hook and didn't have a problem.

[ROCK BOTTOM]

MB,

Rig hooks with a strongback do not protect you from the occasions when the hook jumps off of the pipe. This can be a big problem when you only have two guys on the boat and they are both in the water. The Wild Dolphin always has a Captain and a mate on board. Private boat owners do not always have that luxury.

The EZ Rig hook with its short hook design that is disconnected with the pull of a cable that reverses the hook is not much better of a design either. I recently picked one up from approximately 60 feet below the surface attached to the rig.

[Mark Blanchette]

Rock Bottom:
Is a line tied to the rig the only way?

[Cross Member]

There are no perfect rig hooks, just alot of trial & error. Rig hooks are alot like anchors - size and configuration depend on boat size, available storage space and sea conditions. If you use a rig hook, make sure you have adequate shock absorption somewhere in the line between the boat & the hook which will help keep the rope from breaking & the hook from straightening. A short rope attached to a fixed structure in heavy seas can become very dangerous, especially with the hook on one end. There are commercially available shocks and some I've seen just use a group of bungee cords.

[ROCK BOTTOM]

Mark,

In rough seas, I have seen boats drop divers off next to the rig, pull away and wait for them to surface before returning to pick them up. Other than this, you will have to tie up to the rig. You cannot use the safety lines dangling from the rig to tie up on.

I grew up using rig hooks and for most people fishing (diving) on calm days, a rig hook with a snubber installed on the line is more than adequate. Without the snubber you will definitely straighten out the hook.

Unfortunately, as I stated prior, I end up diving on days when the weather is less than favorable. Under these circumstances, I would never use a rig hook. I have seen them pop off of the pipe in rough seas. Cross member above talks about a short rope being dangerous, I agree, but I don't like having to swim against the current thru the murk for long distances. I would rather use a heavy line and tie up on a cleat.

Z

[Captain]

This is what I use to tie up to rigs. I ran a 50 foot length of 1/2 inch nylon line through a 10 foot lenght of 3/4 inch white PVC pipe, I then ran the nylon line through a length of garden hose long enough to make a 2 foot diameter loop and spliced the line togther. I then pull the line back to jam the end with the loop tight against the end of the pipe and tie a overhand knot at the other end of the pipe to keep it tight to the pipe. Then splice a loop on the other end of the line to tie off to the boat. The garden hose keeps the loop open and the PVC pipe makes it easy to reach out and slip it over anything available on the rig.