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Floating Dive Shop - Freediving, Scuba, Snorkel

Nikki Wynn

Nikki Wynn

— 4 min read
Floating Dive Shop - Freediving, Scuba, Snorkel

It’s a no brainer to have a mini dive shop when living on a sailboat. And not once have we regretted the investment. Because we...

  • Dive On Our Own Schedule
  • Avoid The Busy Times and Crowds
  • Dive Remote Areas Where The Are No Dive Operators
  • Handy For Underwater Boat Repairs & Maintenance
  • Make New Friends By Filling Their Tanks

We’re not experts on scuba diving, freediving (which we really love) or dive gear. But if it’s listed here, it means it works for us and has earned its place aboard.

The Curiosity Dive Shop

swimming with eagle rays in bora bora

Freediving / Snorkeling Gear

Nikki – I like my low profile mask and prefer a simple snorkel. But the big thing to note here is my freediving fins. Every pair of fins I tried on were way, way too big and wide for my size seven foot. The SporaSub fins were the only ones I found that fit me. I can wear them with or without socks/booties.

Jason

Scuba

BC/Reg/Octopus/Dive Computer/Tanks

The AquaLung Travel Set was affordable and the perfect compact starter set for us aboard Curiosity 1. It comes with the BC, regulator, octopus and dive computer. We’ve been happy with the whole kit.

For CURIOSITY2, we wanted something easier, more compact and lighter weight. Especially for doing any underwater work on the boat. So, we went all in on the Mantus Mini Scuba Set!

Dive Watch

This has been a big one. It’s an all around beast of a watch which has taken our freediving/scuba game to the next level.

With or without tanks, in saltwater or freshwater, breathing nitrox, trimix or freediving, the computer is made for it all. The surface GPS navigation with full-color onscreen mapping and location reference has already been seriously sweet addition for drift diving and strong current pass dives. We’re able to mark our entry and exit spots. It’s a smartwatch and dive computer combined into one…with too many features to list here.

Breathing Air Compressor

We had a Bauer Oceanus on CURIOSITY 1. But to be honest, we didn't scuba nearly as much as we free dove (it’s a lot less gear to fuss with). So, when it came time to put a compressor in CURIOSITY 2, we decided on a Mantus. It's a tad more compact, lighter weight and more affordable.

We can still fill tanks, go on dives and tackle all our underwater boat jobs like servicing the prop, transducers, etc.

Dinghy Diving

sucba adventures and plastic heartbreak

Don’t forget to bring your dive flag with you: https://amzn.to/3TV8iv8

Make sure you have a solid anchor and plenty of rode for deep water. We love love love our Mantus dingy anchor! Mantus just makes good stuff that works well: http://bit.ly/MantusWynns

📷 Underwater Photo & Video 🎥

We have fallen in love with underwater photography as much as being underwater. Our gear is not top notch professional, but it gets the job done. Expect to see a legit rig/lighting kit added here someday soon (Dear Santa…).

Jason and nikki wynn happy face swimming with whales in moorea french polynesia

Affordable Quality

Our main underwater camera is the Sony rx100v with underwater housing. It’s hands down the best entry-level setup. It’s affordable but leaps and bounds better quality over any consumer action camera.

Sony RX 100 V

Underwater Housing

DJI OSMO ACTION 4

This camera keeps the magnetic mount that we love so much and has a huge 1/1.3″ sensor.  Good low light performance, 10-bit D Log M for enhanced color control, and 160 min battery.

Did We Miss Something?

If we didn’t list a piece of gear that you want to know about or we did but you still have questions, drop us a note in the comment box below and we’ll update the post. If you would like to see a video review or a deeper dive into a specific piece of gear, let us know that too.

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