Logs - Do you or don't you?

[simbrooks]

Supposedly to prove that you did the dive, just like you might get anything signed to authenticate your actual action. I dont know if you have to have x signed dives or just x logged dives to do some courses - half of mine are signed, half arent.

So far 50
50
50 for me.

 

[miketsp]

At my (middle) age I have no ambition to become an instructor so I don't have to prove lots of dives. I just found I needed to prove 50 or 100 according to circumstances & the need for the official log book disappeared when I took out one of the SSI C-cards which has the number of logged dives on the back.
So nowadays I just upload the dive computer, add start & end pressures for SAC tracking, weight belt and anything really exceptionally good or bad.
The profiles are there if I want to go back and look at something.

 

[B.C.Mike]

I log all my dives since 1984.
I think it is important to remember the good dive sites, what marine life is at each site, how the marine life comes back as I have seen in marine parks that have been created in my time as well as how the life has been depleted and size of life has been decreased.
Also you can add up the number of days you have spent underwater.

 

[Bubble Blower 479]

A friend of mine once asked a charter op. in San Diego what was required to dive on the Yukon. The answer was: a deep diver cert. or a real impressive logbook. If you have all the certs you will need when you get on a boat then you can do what you want. If you don't have the certs but do have the experience then you have to prove it somehow.

 

[DiverDunk]

Interesting - Maybe I should start logging at least some dives. I only ran into one situation where previous diving came into play and they weren't so much interested in how much I had been diving but rather that I had been diving with them before. This was a few years ago in Sharm and if you hadn't been diving with them before thay wanted you to do a couple of easy dives in the bay before they took you out to other sites. I managed to talk my way out of it.

Steve

 

[scubajoe]

I log them all. Twice. Once in a paper log book and once it the Uwatec log program.
Just a hair over 400 so far. 25 more next week in Belize!

Joe

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

I used to keep one that was fairly detailed. I even downloaded and graphed every dive with my computer. Somewhere along the way, it just stopped.

I will say that I used to keep things like dive shop contacts and things like that in it. That did make things easier if I were planning to return to a particular destination.

Naaaaaaaaaw, who am I kidding? These days, I just get cards and add to my contact manager and handheld.

Sorry, I am just lazy and can't get motivated to do it.

 

[ninjamuzo]

For some certifications you need a log. I logged my first 100 dives for the PADI instructor qualification then after that I logged my dives as a single line because I needed to show 270 for Tec-Deep.

I log my cav-sinkhole dives because I need that for my next level,. I long my Trimix dives for the same reason if I even decide to go the that inst. level.

I have seen some people with a full page for every dive, War and Peace with pictures but that is personal preference.

One of my instructors gave up afer the first 1000 dives, then eventually stopped logging students and now just logs Instructors he does and he is somewhere beyond 200 on those. After 6000+ dives he's finally into technical diving now and logs some of those .

I would recommend logging say 20 dives of each type because that can help you with specialities, convincing someone that you can come on a particular dive etc.

 

[2red]

Hi, I'm one that also logs every dive (27 to date) I'm certified with SSI so it's quite useful for advanced training certs. I also use a great dive log program on my PDA which I download all my dives into. Like it has been mentioned also, it's a great way to see your advancements in air consuption, weight displacement, and bottom time. weather conditions, locations, and just a record to always look back on.

Juan

hi Juan,

I am interested with this dive log program on PDA. I am still new in using my PDA. Can you give me more info and where can i avail of this one? Tnx!

red

 

[sgtmnstr]

I log them all, like some folks said some courses require them as documentation, I belive PADI wants 25 before you can start Rescue, the dives with instructors and students for DM and 100 logged for instructor cert. So it can't hurt, only takes a minute to write them in, and the computer downloads have plenty of remarks space.
Plus it helps with the memory loss...........