Object on Boat

As a yacht person - note the political correctness there - I can't imagine having an object on a dive platform.

What could happen is a wave tilting the boat and knocking your guy off balance so he is prematurely projected (which isn't the same as premature ejaculation, you understand) into the sea. Then another wave means that, as he goes, the boat tilts upwards and the platform makes sharp contact with the back of his head .

If he slips as he's about to leap from the platform, maybe his head could come into contact with one of the cleats used to tie ropes? In my limited experience these are found all over a boat, bow, stern, amidships.

http://www.outrunsailing.co.uk/training/diary-dates.htm

-Derek

Not even a wrench or something associated with the diving equipment?

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Okay, a dive platform is usually a shelf-like appendage at the stern. It can be in position permanantly, or it may be a fold-up jobbie. It is unlikely to have cleats on it (which are permanant fixtures on a boat, so couldn't be picked up to bash someone with or be dragged into the water by the fallee)

I'm not sure why a wrench would be part of diving equipment. I'm also damn sure one wouldn't be left lying around on a diving platform.

So, what possibilities are we left with? I can only think of something like an air cylinder, as in your "life support" equipment that the diver is not using but could be in the cockpit. Except that it couldn't be assumed that, if the diver plunged in wearing it on a back harness, it would come loose. Then there's the fact that something heavy, like a wrench for example, would sink beyond evidence oblivion.

Anchor?

Untying it and tossing it overboard could cause some problems later.

Prawn, I think you've got it.

The lady in question could chuck it at the diver, but it would remain attached to the boat by rope or chain, so be retrievable rather than sink to the sea bottom.

The boat's main anchor(s) would probably be in use, but a small dinghy anchor could be in the cockpit.

It could be one of the lead weights that isn't on his weight belt.

They do have a nasty habit of slipping off if they aren't threaded and handled carefully.

Divers also often do weight checks at the surface and, if they find they're overweighted, hand some back to someone on the boat. Sometimes they'll even keep an extra weight or two in their pockets if they suspect they'll need to fine tune. How much weight you need can vary considerably depending on your equipment configuration and/or changes in fat/muscle mass.

You wouldn't keep them on a dive platform, but you could conceivably place one there assuming someone'd be picking it up shortly.

How about a boathook? Its a longish pole with a metal cap that has a hook at the end, which is used for both pulling the boat towards things and fending them off to avoid impact. I don't know why it would be on the dive platform, but one could conceivably stand there while using it.

Avast thar . . .

I HATE it when you landlubbers get sea nomanclature all wrong!!

It's fore and aft . . . port and starboard . . . topside and below. It's not a wall; it's a bulkhead. It's not a door; it's a hatch. If you can't get it right, I'll have you thrown out one of those little round windows.

Chase (65 years inland, now an expert on oceanlore)

qwerty said:

Prawn, I think you've got it.

The lady in question could chuck it at the diver, but it would remain attached to the boat by rope or chain, so be retrievable rather than sink to the sea bottom.

The boat's main anchor(s) would probably be in use, but a small dinghy anchor could be in the cockpit.

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He doesn't want it to be retrievable. I think the point is that it looks like she killed him, but she really didn't. He needs something that this guy can hit is head on and take with him overboard. I've had a yacht for a good number of years, and I really can't think of anything that would just be sitting around unsecured without falling overboard shortly after being put there. I don't dive, but justsomeguy's suggestion is the most realistic option I think.

The only questions I have are these: if he's wearing weights to make himself sink, won't he be incredibly difficult to retrieve? I feel like if the "weapon" is impossible to get because it's at the bottom of the ocean, won't that make his body impossible to get as well? Also, if this really is his plan, couldn't he jump in with a wrench and just hit himself in the head with it before going under or something? If the wrench isn't going to be found, who cares if he lands on it or hits himself with it?

An air tank seems logical. He is sitting on the dive platform, about to put on his tank, goes over the side, the tank follows (because of a wave or whatver) and whacks him on the head.

Question: to tanks full of compressed air float? I don't think so.

quixote100104 said:

My thought is that some enterprising ME who is an avid CSI fan might match the wound profile to it's source object

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I think I've lost the plot here. If the "source object" has sunk to the bottom of the oggin, how will this enterprising guy match it to a wound profile?

Chase said:

I HATE it when you landlubbers get sea nomanclature all wrong!!

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If you don't want me to get stern with you and shackle your aft to your topside, just pass the port to the left and stop this nauti language.

qwerty, whose arm is over the sun yard and knows when she's three sheets to the wind.

qwerty said:

Okay, a dive platform is usually a shelf-like appendage at the stern. It can be in position permanantly, or it may be a fold-up jobbie. It is unlikely to have cleats on it (which are permanant fixtures on a boat, so couldn't be picked up to bash someone with or be dragged into the water by the fallee)

I'm not sure why a wrench would be part of diving equipment. I'm also damn sure one wouldn't be left lying around on a diving platform.

So, what possibilities are we left with? I can only think of something like an air cylinder, as in your "life support" equipment that the diver is not using but could be in the cockpit. Except that it couldn't be assumed that, if the diver plunged in wearing it on a back harness, it would come loose. Then there's the fact that something heavy, like a wrench for example, would sink beyond evidence oblivion.

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Actually, lots of swim platforms have tie-downs for dinghies/RIBs these days. For instance, the Sea Ray 48 Sundancer can have these as an option. One of those could have been in the up position.

EDIT: In fact, a boat can even be equipped with a davit for a tender off the swim platform.

I'm confused about the plot line. The guy is PLANNING to commit suicide, and wants to frame the girl for it? Or he's simply on the dive platform, wearing weights, and 'gets bonked on the head' accidentally, sinking to the bottom - FOLLOWED by the object? Or NOT followed by the object?

Does the ME recover the body AND the 'weapon' OR does the ME find the 'weapon' with blood/hair on it, and assume the worst?

Haven't been diving since the mid nineties - but I'm fairly sure gear hasn't changed much. A weight belt is worn with a wetsuit, to compensate for the bouyancy of the suit. Lots of divers keep their weight INSIDE the BC (Bouyancy Compensator) "Backpack" which is part of the harness that surrounds the tank assembly. Various models work in various ways -some take lead 'shot' which can be released via a pull-cord in emergencies. I never trusted those, and preferered the old style belts. Justsomeguy is correct in his description of 'tuning' one's weight and bouyancy by sometimes adding a weight to a front pocket or two - once you're in the water. Handing them off is a typical process, and a good reason to have them on hand around the deck.

The regulators are attached to the tanks by hand, they have large knobs that do this, no need for wrenches for simply changing tanks or regulators. Now, if this person is really really experienced - a 'pro' who can REPAIR regulators (I wouldn't recommend this) then sure - might have a toolbox handy, so you COULD have an adjustable crescent wrench or two about. Again, not sure why it would be near the dive platform.

On the other hand, I could see a diver, wearing his belt, sitting on the dive platform, and NOT YET wearing his tank. Depending on the rig and the era, he may or may not be wearing a BC around his neck. (This would look like a deflated life vest). Someone in the cockpit could be handing the tank assembly over to him - wave comes up - tank slips - bonks him on the head - over he goes, straight to the bottom, leaving the tank in the hands of the person on deck. OR - The tank harness has the BC attached to it like 'wings' - The same scenario occurs, with the bonk on the head. BUT the tank also goes in the water. The wings are inflated though - so the whole thing floats off, while the body sinks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy_compensator_(diving)

The inflated tank and BC is found later, with the bloody bits on it. Still, it could be interpreted as an accident just as I described it. I think you're looking for a bloody wrench scenario - rather than a bloody tank/gear scenaio?

Yeah, that could work.... I 'spose. I tend to think as a screenwriter, so I 'visualize' a scene through a viewfinder. I'm trying to see how a lead weight that is approximately four inches square, sitting ON a shelf, is going to crack this guys skull instead of the EDGE of the shelf. Know what I mean? It's got to be sitting RIGHT on the edge, so that his head clips it as his body goes past it on the way down... maybe his head snapping BACKWARDS... (He's facing AWAY from the platform, which changes the 'sideways' awkward step you describe) Essentially, he suffers from a 'diving board' head fracture, that is delivered by the weight sitting EXACTLY on the edge of the platform.

Any hair or blood on the weight would dissapear after hitting the water.

Yeah, most recreational diving is done in 30 feet of water or less. No decompression needed at that depth. (Yes, yes, some repetitive dive calculations... but lets not get picky). I've been in water where you could see the bottom 30 feet below. So that is realistic.