Dive Log/Record Keeping

[doctormike]

I still keep the paper log, i guess in case do some additional certification.. biggest hassle with that is keeping up with the signatures.. we seem to usually get pages of signatures at one time to get caught up..

I always wondered about this... is the need for signatures in a dive log for training purposes an urban legend?

Anyone know of a real situation where someone was turned down for training because signatures were missing? Or because a logbook was digital and not paper?

 

[Bogtrotter]

When I asked an instructor about this- as most of my logged dives were not verified by signatures, he said he would have no way of knowing whether the sigs were real or not -wink*

 

[Divegoose]

I have been keeping a dive log since I was certified in 1982. It is a paper log, which I developed myself. I record date, location, buddy(s), maximum depth, time, visibilty, tide, air temperature, water temperature, starting pressure, end pressure, and accumulated bottom time. I also have room for comments, a scene sktech if I am at a new site, and the tables if I have a computer failure. I found that the commercially available log books contained a lot of redundant information that did not need to be recorded every time, ie: type of exposure suit, weights, etc.

In the comments area I may write a few lines, or may write detailed notes, depending on the site, and what I observed. I tend to keep a lot of observations about animal life, and trends I may be seeing.

I rarely get my buddy to sign the log, because I normally dive with the same group of divers. I will if I am on a holiday and diving with new people, or get the stamp from the shop and stamp the log pages for the dives.

This works for me - it may not work for everyone. If anyone wants a copy, PM me with an e-mail address.

Dive safe !!

Divegoose

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I agree with those who log dive time as head under water until head out of water. It can be several minute longer than "bottom time" ised in calculating presurre groups and ndl's. It is important to maintain a log both of number of diver and total dive time. For example, my wife Debbie has 223 dives, which translates to 167 hours and 42 minutes under water. This weekend I worked with a divemaster candidate who has a total of 91 dives, but his under water ime is only 39 hours and 30 minutes, as most of his dives were fairly short training dives. Both numbers mean a lot. Keep a good log of every dive.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Steve_C]

I have kept a paper log from the beginning. Basic information, name of buddy, any observations. More detail if related to a class.

Along the way I have used - sensus ultra. Died after a couple years. Got MacDive. Turned out it could not read the old sensus ultra files. Plus the sensus ultra was not always with me. Dive two dive computers. There were earlier ones. However, there have been a couple vacation/travel dives where all dives was not on any of my computers.

Current system is I still keep the paper logbook. Jot down notes and any new equipment configurations and weighting. Currently I have information on 5 different types of wetsuits, 5 kinds of tanks and fresh and salt water. Over 20 combinations. Plus a few dry suit.

I also have set up my own excel spread sheet for all dives done. This is very handy in answering questions like what is typical viz in this month on this wreck. I find the spread sheet very useful. Plus you can set up fun counters like dives per year, distribution of dives by depth, dives per primary dive ops. I have been under water for 15,207 minutes so far.

In the paper log I get signatures if for a course. I have lots of buddies. If they want me to sign theirs I have them sign mine.

I have had my log book looked at twice by two different instructors. Once before I got my master diver with SDI ( dives were with several instructors). Once when I started the DM program with PADI. Log was not checked for solo but they knew I had done the DM.

 

[azmodan50]

That is, of course, reprehensible. But I just want to make one point about an arbitrary time limit.

Since I have an electronic log, I was able to instantly view my dives (total 680) sorted by length in a few seconds. Then I was able to quickly read the notes for the dives under 20 minutes. This is some interesting reading, and definitely worth keeping track of. Here are a few of them, with dive times.

3:16 Was demoing a number of dry suits and tried one that was immediately found to be no good, for reasons detailed in the log

5:23 Three man team at the quarry, one of the divers had an issue on the platform and made an uncontrolled ascent. Detailed this accident.

6:40 Full facemask demo, buddy had issue at depth and made ascent. Detailed the problems that he had

8:00 Dive aborted due to problem with buddy's dry suit

8:06 Ocean dive for new divers, we were escorting some new divers when one had problems on the descent line and aborted dive.

11:30 Attempted rescue dive when one of our divers in the Thousand Islands was diving solo and was overtime. Went in to check the wreck with another diver, when the missing diver returned safely.

Let me explain why I don't log dives under 20 minutes (I could probably shorten that time, but for most of my certification dives, they had to be at least 20minutes to count).

First, I dive with a lot of new divers. I find myself on the surface with them throughout the dive and after being in less then 3ft of water for a period of time, my computer starts a new dive log. Of course I have to be there for more then 10 minutes, but you never know with a new diver.

Second, it's a personal rule I keep for myself so I'm not counting every time my head goes under as a dive.

What I have done is combine two dives as one if one of them was less then 20 minutes. For example, on check out dives, me and my buddy did our first dive. Then a third person showed up so the instructor asked me if I would go back in with him so he could catch up. My first dive was around 25 minutes, and the second one was only 15. So I logged it as one dive of 40 minutes.

Again, this is just what I do. I wouldn't expect anyone else to follow my guidelines and wouldn't question anyone's number of dives either way. If someone wants to do 100 - 5 minute dives in a day, they are only overstating their own experience and that will be obvious to me if I dove with them.

---------- Post added July 14th, 2014 at 02:21 PM ----------

I always wondered about this... is the need for signatures in a dive log for training purposes an urban legend?

Anyone know of a real situation where someone was turned down for training because signatures were missing? Or because a logbook was digital and not paper?

The only signatures I have in my log book are the ones from instructors for check out dives. Otherwise, I don't even bring my log with me. I fill it out when I get home.

 

[doctormike]

Let me explain why I don't log dives under 20 minutes (I could probably shorten that time, but for most of my certification dives, they had to be at least 20minutes to count).

First, I dive with a lot of new divers. I find myself on the surface with them throughout the dive and after being in less then 3ft of water for a period of time, my computer starts a new dive log. Of course I have to be there for more then 10 minutes, but you never know with a new diver.

Second, it's a personal rule I keep for myself so I'm not counting every time my head goes under as a dive.

What I have done is combine two dives as one if one of them was less then 20 minutes. For example, on check out dives, me and my buddy did our first dive. Then a third person showed up so the instructor asked me if I would go back in with him so he could catch up. My first dive was around 25 minutes, and the second one was only 15. So I logged it as one dive of 40 minutes.

Again, this is just what I do. I wouldn't expect anyone else to follow my guidelines and wouldn't question anyone's number of dives either way. If someone wants to do 100 - 5 minute dives in a day, they are only overstating their own experience and that will be obvious to me if I dove with them.

Yup, that makes sense. I was just pointing out that it is very possible to have a dive less than 20 minutes that is very significant in terms of learning, site specific hazards, buddy issues, equipment issues, etc...

So instead of just saying not to log anything under 20 minutes, it might make more sense to say that we log any dive that it might be important to remember someday.

Mike

 

[azmodan50]

Yup, that makes sense. I was just pointing out that it is very possible to have a dive less than 20 minutes that is very significant in terms of learning, site specific hazards, buddy issues, equipment issues, etc...

So instead of just saying not to log anything under 20 minutes, it might make more sense to say that we log any dive that it might be important to remember someday.

Mike

I see your point. I've never come across an issue like you mentioned, so I guess that's why I never considered it. I'd also consider logging it, but not counting it as a dive. It all depends on the situation.

 

[doctormike]

I see your point. I've never come across an issue like you mentioned, so I guess that's why I never considered it. I'd also consider logging it, but not counting it as a dive. It all depends on the situation.

Yup, it's a case by case basis. I say log dives that are meaningful to you. You might learn a valuable lesson in a five minute dive, and you might sit on a platform daydreaming for 45 minutes while your buddy works out gear issues.

Count the dives if the dives count!

 

[ShootingUnderwater.com]

To add to DoctorMike's comments, keeping a dive log or journal is helpful when you're looking back at the places you visited, the people you met, and any special experience you had at the time. I didn't see the relevance of keeping track of my dives after several years but have missed not jotting down dive sites, animals in those sites, and the equipment I used on each trip. Logging other things such as the operator used, the accommodations, and noting any tips for things forgotten or things that can be left behind are also helpful for packing.

From what I witness, the industry has grown so much, not many operators ask for proof of logged dives. Most of the time I'm never asked for my c-card at all. If I were looking to advance my certification, the agency may require a log but outside of my initial dive training (OW) where the DM had to sign-off each dive, there is no "proof" that written logs are correct.

Good luck with your records bc214 - Go digital