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The Pieces |
A Wet Suit Drying Rack
by
Larry "Harris" Taylor, Ph.D.
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All rights reserved.
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After every day of diving, it is a good idea to rinse and dry your dive gear. This article describes an assembly of 1.5" PVC pipe that I use to dry my personal gear. It is but one of a number of possible configurations, but the beauty of PVC pipe is that it is easily adapted to fit the needs and imagination of the individual user. This particular arrangement uses several short pieces (which increases the cost because of joints) instead of a single longer vertical shaft. The use of smaller pieces allows the entire package to be stored and transported in the standard yellow goody bag.
I also prefer the use of male/female joint combinations (instead of press fittings) for strength. Below is a picture of the individual pieces. Each "T" is composed of three short straight pieces glued into a PVC "T" fitting. These short pieces then are fitted with an end-cap or joint, depending on the desired configuration. The size of each piece will depend on the size of the facility where there drying rack is to be used. (i.e.. the shower stall or bath tub dimensions will obviously be the limiting factor).
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The Pieces |
The base is assembled from the 4 "T" assemblies shown at the fat left of the above illustration. The two "T's with capped ends are the end pieces. The two "T' 's with male/female ends are used for the internal support for the vertical shafts. The assembled base is shown below. My base has a total width of 14".and a length of 36".
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The Base |
I use two vertical shafts; each ending in a capped "T" piece. I use the shorter one (single 16" straight piece; one end female, the other end male) for the b.c. and the taller one (three 16" pieces) for the wet suit and chaps. The assembled rack is shown in the below left illustration. The rack, in use, is shown in the illustration, below right.
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The Assembled Rack |
The Rack In Use |
After every day of diving, I throw all my dive gear to be rinsed into the tub and turn on the shower. After 20 minutes or so, I individually rinse each piece and hang the gear on the wet suit rack. After the gear is dry and stored, I disassemble the rack and store it for future use.
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About the Author:
Larry "Harris" Taylor, Ph.D. is a biochemist and Diving Safety Coordinator at the University of Michigan. He has authored more than
200 scuba related articles. His personal dive library (See Alert Diver, Mar/Apr. 1997, p. 54) is considered by one of the best sources of information in North America.
All rights reserved.
Use of these articles for personal or organizational profit is specifically denied.
These articles may be used for not-for-profit diving education