Tech Tip: Cylinder Stage Straps

Cylinder straps (aka stage straps) provide an efficient means of using bolt snaps to attach the cylinder to your harness hard points (D-rings or sidemount rails). In some designs the strap may also be used to help carry the cylinder. The strap itself is a piece of round cord or flat webbing that creates secure attachment points for two stainless steel bolt snaps. The strap encircles the cylinder's neck and is secured at the cylinder's base by a stainless steel hose clamp. A fabric sheath on the clamp is used to prevent the clamp from causing damage to the cylinder or abrasion against the diver. Elastic hose retainers are used to dress the regulator hose neatly against the cylinder.

Metal to metal stage rigging, brass alloy, and boat style snaps are no longer considered best practice among experienced divers. Even the best snaps can jam, but brass snaps are prone to jamming if not carefully maintained. The boat snap (aka "suicide clip") is very effective as a line trap, and notoriously ineffective as a reliable attachment device.

It's also proven to be a bad idea to clip yourself to bottles that have the clips permanently attached to the tank using metal-to-metal rings or clamps. Should a jam or entanglement occur, a diver might find it impossible to free themselves from the bottle.

Straps and stainless steel marine-grade snaps that can be cut free in case of entanglement are now the accepted form of stage bottle rigging.

Cunningham Pier, Geelong

Pier Dive | Shore access

Cunningham Pier | © Bernard Spragg

Depth: 3 m (9.84 ft) to 10 m (33 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

In the central harbour area of Geelong there is the historic Cunningham Pier. It features mostly introduced marine pests and stinking anerobic mud. The depth under the pier is 3 metres, dropping down to dredged 10 metres on each side. The pylons have silt covered sponges, ascidians and sea cucumbers struggling to survive against the Northern Pacific stars and sabellid fanworms.

Nearby are the remains of Steampacket Wharf, the remains of Yarra Pier, and the wreck of the sailing clipper ship Lightning.

Location: Geelong
MELWAY Ref: Page 452 C2

Protected from southerly and westerly winds. See WillyWeather (Cunningham Pier) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Corio Bay Map | #169; Parks Victoria

Spearfishing is illegal within 30 metres of any pier or jetty and in Marine National Parks. See Spearfishing Laws.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

Cunningham Pier, Geelong Location Map

Latitude: 38° 8.534′ S (38.142239° S / 38° 8′ 32.06″ S)
Longitude: 144° 21.725′ E (144.362077° E / 144° 21′ 43.48″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-03-22 14:21:53 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Lightning, 266 m, bearing 96°, E
Geelong, Corio Bay.
Depth: 3 to 10 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.