Beachman
Guest
I'll only attest one more time to the fact that it's done regularly by folks that live in "dive areas" and dive regularly.....usually hunters, lobstermen, and photobugs. Not untypically, they are also solo.
Boat Diving With Nobody at Surface
- Thread starter mr_jmac
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I'm not arguing with 'ya on that point.
One of the issues to think about before you do it is what you will do if you come back to the anchor line and find it HORIZONTAL!
Oops!
There is an interesting question here though - if you have two people on a boat, is it safer to dive a a buddy team, leaving the boat unattended, or is it safer to dive SOLO, one after the other, with the other person up on the boat?
Now THERE's a debate that could take YEARS to resolve
One of the issues to think about before you do it is what you will do if you come back to the anchor line and find it HORIZONTAL!
Oops!
There is an interesting question here though - if you have two people on a boat, is it safer to dive a a buddy team, leaving the boat unattended, or is it safer to dive SOLO, one after the other, with the other person up on the boat?
Now THERE's a debate that could take YEARS to resolve
My buddy and I routinely dive from his boat (171 Mako) without leaving anyone aboard but we are fanatical with our personal procedures. Yes it is taking a chance but we do all we can to minimize the risk.
Waves 3 ft or less and we are constantly monitoring NOAA weather and tide flow. 2 anchors we set on the bottom by hand. We hunt so we are alone 99% of the time, any boat traffic we hear or see we keep track of. The Mako has a disabiling system we made that so someone REALLY has to work to get it started but we have left instrutions at home for the wives (yes someone could tow it but.....) our wives know exactly where we will be all the time and they have a list of our GPS coords/names identical to ours. We set a time to return and if we're not back they call us. No answer they call the USCG period. If we change our plans we call them and let them know. He is fanatical about upkeep on the boat and we are both experenced in offshore boating.
Plus all the signaling devices we carry both on the boat and ourselves.
Waves 3 ft or less and we are constantly monitoring NOAA weather and tide flow. 2 anchors we set on the bottom by hand. We hunt so we are alone 99% of the time, any boat traffic we hear or see we keep track of. The Mako has a disabiling system we made that so someone REALLY has to work to get it started but we have left instrutions at home for the wives (yes someone could tow it but.....) our wives know exactly where we will be all the time and they have a list of our GPS coords/names identical to ours. We set a time to return and if we're not back they call us. No answer they call the USCG period. If we change our plans we call them and let them know. He is fanatical about upkeep on the boat and we are both experenced in offshore boating.
Plus all the signaling devices we carry both on the boat and ourselves.
there are usually some pretty good ways to stop it from being started. Some larger boats, for example, have master switches with REMOVABLE keys - take 'em out, stuff 'em in a BC pocket, you ain't gonna be rolling over those engines.
Fuel systems on larger boats are usually easy enough to bugger in a way that they can't be started (at least not for very long!) without knowing where the valves are and where they are supposed to be set.
On small boats the easiest thing is probably to take the key and have a second disconnect, or a fuel shut-off in a non-obvious place.
There is a risk of bad things (or bad people) if you go out without someone topside.... that much is certain. Someone could simply intentionalyly sever your anchor line, for example. There are also, of course, the obvious things like the boat simply taking on water for some reason and sinking!
It is definitely more hazardous than leaving people topside - but, the thing to be aware of with leaving people topside, is make sure they are competent to run the boat and use the radio! Otherwise they may be limited to waving goodbye to you as they drift off!
Fuel systems on larger boats are usually easy enough to bugger in a way that they can't be started (at least not for very long!) without knowing where the valves are and where they are supposed to be set.
On small boats the easiest thing is probably to take the key and have a second disconnect, or a fuel shut-off in a non-obvious place.
There is a risk of bad things (or bad people) if you go out without someone topside.... that much is certain. Someone could simply intentionalyly sever your anchor line, for example. There are also, of course, the obvious things like the boat simply taking on water for some reason and sinking!
It is definitely more hazardous than leaving people topside - but, the thing to be aware of with leaving people topside, is make sure they are competent to run the boat and use the radio! Otherwise they may be limited to waving goodbye to you as they drift off!
seakdivers
Guest
We do it all the time! Of course my situation is probably alot different than most people's.
Where we live, a person's boat - be it big or small - is not something to be taken lightly. It is a source of income, it is a source of transportation, and most importantly it is a source of safety. Most people wouldn't even dream of taking someone else's boat that they found anchored in some bay.
Not to say that we haven't had problems with young punks breaking into the big boat and stealing stuff while it's moored in the harbor (including my .243 that I spent hours refinishing the stock on.....dark purple with a black shark, stainless Leupold VariXIII scope....sob)
But really, people up here are (for the most part) very respectful of others on & in the water.
As far as getting in & out of the water, we have found that if we put the inflatable in the water off the stern of the big boat it's easier to roll in & out of the water. The real pain is if we take the Workskiff - it's aluminum, and has higher sides. It's not as much fun to try and get back into it , but it does carry alot of gear.
Anyways, that's my .02:viking:
Where we live, a person's boat - be it big or small - is not something to be taken lightly. It is a source of income, it is a source of transportation, and most importantly it is a source of safety. Most people wouldn't even dream of taking someone else's boat that they found anchored in some bay.
Not to say that we haven't had problems with young punks breaking into the big boat and stealing stuff while it's moored in the harbor (including my .243 that I spent hours refinishing the stock on.....dark purple with a black shark, stainless Leupold VariXIII scope....sob)
But really, people up here are (for the most part) very respectful of others on & in the water.
As far as getting in & out of the water, we have found that if we put the inflatable in the water off the stern of the big boat it's easier to roll in & out of the water. The real pain is if we take the Workskiff - it's aluminum, and has higher sides. It's not as much fun to try and get back into it , but it does carry alot of gear.
Anyways, that's my .02:viking:
k4sdi
Contributor
Thats how I got into diving! I got tired of watching the boat!
Mark
Mark
I suppose. I live on a small lake. We do a lot of diving there. We almost always leave the boat unattended. The is at best only 1 mile wide by 3 miles long, no current and a max of 56' deep. No one touches my boat ( only one like it on the lake) and because either myself or my buddies ow just about everyone around. We fly the divers down flag and drag along a surface flag. We have no problems. This of course is much much different than the ocean/sea and great lakes conditions.
FredT
Guest
If you have a copy feel free to post it.
OTOH as far as leaving a boat unattended there is only one question you REALLY need an answer to.
Can you swim to the beach?
We covered about 27 miles on the swim in, roughly 20 of it "current assisted."
OTOH as far as leaving a boat unattended there is only one question you REALLY need an answer to.
Can you swim to the beach?
We covered about 27 miles on the swim in, roughly 20 of it "current assisted."
Dryglove
Contributor
You guys must have been crapping your pants.27 miles is a long ways
Genesis once bubbled...
There is an interesting question here though - if you have two people on a boat, is it safer to dive a a buddy team, leaving the boat unattended, or is it safer to dive SOLO, one after the other, with the other person up on the boat?
Now THERE's a debate that could take YEARS to resolve
And leave it to you to bring it up! (tho I hafta admit I was already wondering about that before reading your post)
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