Diving from Personal Boat??

[pwl]

Would people recommend having a DAN oxygen kit on the boat and the people on the boat trained in ints use?

it wouldn't hurt to have oxygen. also - check your local laws about this sort of thing (it may be a requirement)

the only thing to bear in mind is whether the boat has suitable facilities to make diving comfortable; experienced divers can cope with getting in & out of difficult craft, but if you're new it's ideal for you to have a dive platform on the boat and/or ladders for easy access. also consider whether there's space for tanks & gear to be securely stowed.

it sounds like you have a great situation - the best dive boat is someone else's boat

 

[halocline]

If I were diving regularly off a personal boat, I'd invest in an O2 bottle. They're not that expensive, and seeing as how really the only first aid for DCS is 100% O2, it's worth it. It depends on how much diving you're talking about and what your comfort level is. Most divers will go their whole lives never needing O2, but if you're out in open ocean and you do have the rare need for it, you could be very glad you have it. I would bet you could find a decent O2 bottle and reg for $300.

 

[Gilldiver]

Getting off of a boat is easy, you just roll off. Getting back into the boat can be a bit diffrent.

What type of ladder do you have? Will it take your weight with a tank on? If not, drop a line with a clip off of a cleat to clip your weight belt and or tanks onto.

A line running from the back of the boat to the anchor line can be a great help in any current. You pull your self up to the anchor line with it.

Have at least a 100' line running from the back of the boat to a bouy as a drift line in case you miss the ladder or to hang in if you have to wait while another diver is getting aboard.


You have to be carfull of the ladder and any swim platform if the boat is pitching or rolling. Taking it in the ribs, on the chin, or on your head will not make your day.

Also be careful of the chines of the hull if the boat is rolling. They can come down on your shoulder or head hard.

Try getting on and off the boat in a calm harbor before you do it on the open sea.

 

[J.R.]

Getting off of a boat is easy, you just roll off. Getting back into the boat can be a bit diffrent.

What type of ladder do you have? Will it take your weight with a tank on? If not, drop a line with a clip off of a cleat to clip your weight belt and or tanks onto.

A line running from the back of the boat to the anchor line can be a great help in any current. You pull your self up to the anchor line with it.

Have at least a 100' line running from the back of the boat to a bouy as a drift line in case you miss the ladder or to hang in if you have to wait while another diver is getting aboard.


You have to be carfull of the ladder and any swim platform if the boat is pitching or rolling. Taking it in the ribs, on the chin, or on your head will not make your day.

Also be careful of the chines of the hull if the boat is rolling. They can come down on your shoulder or head hard.

Try getting on and off the boat in a calm harbor before you do it on the open sea.

Good stuff... I have a family member who lives in Largo... he has a 24 ft fishing boat that my wife and I have made dives from... he stays with the boat.

In addition to the abve... it helps if the boat driver has some familiarity with diving... helps getting on and off the boat... boat positioning... and anticipating what a diver may or may not need (... little things like craking the outboard or I/O away from the dive ladder for additional space)...

We like to enter the water and have him hand over the BCs... exiting is reversed... hand up B/C... then exit. easier to do on a small ladder and transom not designed for divers.

It's all doable... just work through the logistics BEFORE you enter the water...

 

[don Francisco]

Your first question is the hardest. How many dives will it take before you're ready?

My answer is depends. Sorry for the seeming copout, but there are lots of variables so I don't think it possible to give you a number.

It depends on you and how well you take to diving, and get comfortable with the core skills. Usually thats 10-25 dives or so. It depends on how much of that experience is diving from boats. It depends on whether we're talking diving in a lake, sheltered cove, or in Nantuckett Sound.

My suggestion is that after your course, try to connect with a local club, or do some dives with some of the local charters. Gain some experience, especially in diving similar to what you plan on doing, ask lots of questions, observe what's going on, what works, and where the pitflls seem to be.

If you're patient and fairly honest with yourself, you'll know when you're ready.

In the sailing world there used to be (and maybe still is) something called a confidence course. When getting ready to skipper a boat much larger than what you're used to, or skipper for the first time, you'll hire an experienced skipper to join you as an observer, and to be there in case you get in over your head. Afterwards there's a debriefing where you review how it went. When you feel ready, you might try something similar as you plan and execute your first independant boat dive.

BTW- let me know when you're ready, I'm always interested in who has boats to dive from locally.

dF

 

[seaducer]

99.9 % of my dives have been from my own or others personal boats without oxygen and I would be willing to bet that the charters I went on did not have oxygen either.

Hmmm, I thought is was a federal law that charters have to have O2 and a clean stocked first aid kit? Im too cheap to buy O2 for myself yet, but if I had a good deal I would. But the DN kits, the ones big enough to be worth using anyway, are all like 600$. Cheap if you need it though...

 

[Nemrod]

I am new to diving. i will finish my certification for
scuba diving in May of 2009. I will have an opportunity
over the Summer to have many dives, both shore and boat
dives. My brother in law has a new 28 foot fishing and recreational
boat which he has built from scratch. He and i were wondering how many dives must you have under your belt before it is possible to dive from his boat?
I know I will be diving with a buddy and we are all First Aid and CPR certified.
Is there a certain criteria that we may need to dive from his boat. Sorry
for the newbie question at this forum. It seems advanced to me though.
Any help with this matter would be certainly appreciated. Thanks.

Sincerely,
ZodiakDiver / salub2007
MARK B

It is a free country, assuming Mass. has not dropped out of the USA yet, you can dive anyhow and anyway you want from your brother's boat. You do not need any certification at all, you don't need a C card, you can do as you please from dive number one even if you had never heard of scuba. Just don't harm the environment, there are plenty of people to replace one or two, the environment is harder to replace once gone.

N

 

[Nemrod]

Hmmm, I thought is was a federal law that charters have to have O2 and a clean stocked first aid kit? Im too cheap to buy O2 for myself yet, but if I had a good deal I would. But the DN kits, the ones big enough to be worth using anyway, are all like 600$. Cheap if you need it though...

A private boat is not a charter boat, you don't have to have anything other than the minimum CG required equipment. The O2 might be useful however as Seaducer says, if you can afford it.

N

 

[seaducer]

A private boat is not a charter boat, you don't have to have anything other than the minimum CG required equipment. O2 might be useful however.

N

Absolutely. The Captain mentioned he thought most of the charters he was on also were O2less, which popped my question.

 

[captain]

Hmmm, I thought is was a federal law that charters have to have O2 and a clean stocked first aid kit? Im too cheap to buy O2 for myself yet, but if I had a good deal I would. But the DN kits, the ones big enough to be worth using anyway, are all like 600$. Cheap if you need it though...

Unless things have changed recently charter vessels are only required to carry equipment such as USCG approved life jackets, emergency signaling devices, fire extinguishers, first aid kit, etc. I have never seen a USCG approved first aid kit that included oxygen or a specific regulation requiring oxygen be carried.