Hardhat diving is normally the realm of commercial divers, but many recreational divers are interested in trying it at least once, if only to gain a greater sense of connection with their roots. Vintage dive gear in good working condition is hard to come by, but Dave Sutton, who is an experienced commercial diver and who was once the manager of Lakeland Divers in New Jersey, purchased a Mark V hardhat rig in order to allow recreational divers to familiarize themselves with the gear. A number of Sutton’s students then came together to form Northeast Diving Equipment Group (NEDEG). The group has been offering hardhat diving experiences to all certified divers since 1993.
A Truly Unique Experience
Every Labor Day and Memorial Day weekend, NEDEG holds working equipment rallies at Dutch Springs in Pennsylvania. The group also sets up a display at dive shows including the Beneath the Sea expo in New Jersey, and they provide summertime dive demonstrations at festivals and fairs including the Middlesex county fair and the Long Island Seafood Festival.
At the Dutch Springs working equipment rallies, divers get the opportunity to enjoy a truly unique experience – diving in a historical and vintage gear, including Russian and Chinese hardhats and the famous Mark V helmet which was used by the US Navy between 1916 and 1984.
The helmets can only be used with a constant volume suit, which has a breastplate to which the dive helmet is attached by assistants. Surface supplied air flows through the suit and the helmet, free flowing into the helmet through a valve the diver controls and exiting through a constant exhaust. Since the gas completely inflates the suit, creating buoyancy, divers must be heavily weighted.
The combined forces of the air pressure straining against the water pressure outside the suit and the heavy weights make these vintage hardhat diving rigs very hard to move about in – and it’s impossible to get kitted up or make a dive without help. Two to three tenders aid participants in donning the gear, taking about half an hour to get each person into the water. Once dressed, the diver and suit weigh close to four hundred pounds. If the diver stumbles and falls, it takes a team of at least four people to get him or her back into an upright position.
In addition to the vintage gear, divers can try modern hardhat diving gear used for hazmat and other demanding underwater work. Either way, diving in a hardhat is definitely a unique experience that won’t soon be forgotten – and it’s a lot of fun, too. The overall goal of the Northeast Diving Equipment Group is to educate the public about the importance of surface supplied hardhat diving, both in a historical context and in today’s commercial diving fields. They happily provide presentations to museums, schools, dive clubs, and other groups, and are working to set up a permanent exhibit at the New Jersey Maritime Museum in Beach Haven. Called “The Evolution of Diving,” this display will hold not just vintage dive gear, but modern items we’re all familiar with – as well as some high tech equipment that’s less common.