What's needed to prepare a boat for diving?

[Guess]

I have a 40' Offshore Scarab, and I am wondering what I would need to do to prepare the boat for any sort of diving. I don't exactly plan on diving on the boat very often, but often enough to prepare it.

Any suggestions?

 

[captain]

Tank rack and ladder. What do you plan on diving on and do you have the electronics to find it. What depth of water will you be anchoring in, sufficent length anchor rode and chain and correct size anchor. VHF radio. Really other than the things that should normally be on a boat of that size the only true extras for diving are the tank rack and ladder and possibly emergency oxygen kit.

 

[Hank49]

I use my boat for fishing, spearing, diving etc. I don't take a lot of tanks (4) so I haven't even bothered with a tank rack, although Captain's suggestion is a good one. I just use bungies and tie them to my lean post behind the console. Or put them in the forward compartments and pad them with life vests. A ladder is a good thing too but I don't have one. I just make my wife do more pullups so she can climb back onboard.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

A good scooter aint a bad Idea to get back to the boat if solo diving, and a safety sausage for your dive buddys. Also remember if you dof you scuba unit and weights, Have carabiener or something if a weight belt. You can go in pretty good current in just snorkling mode, pick gear up after, sausage helps find if to long after anchor pulled. Wont be long and you will figure out what all you really need.

 

[oly5050user]

Tank rack and ladder. What do you plan on diving on and do you have the electronics to find it. What depth of water will you be anchoring in, sufficent length anchor rode and chain and correct size anchor. VHF radio. Really other than the things that should normally be on a boat of that size the only true extras for diving are the tank rack and ladder and possibly emergency oxygen kit.

Captain has it right.I would add a float/orange ball with 100'-150' of polyprop to use as a tag/drift line. A few floats prepped with diiferent length lines wrapped on them to use as markers ,example for use would be once a wreck is located on electronics a float with perhaps a 5 lb wt on it is dropped as a marker,make sure that you have enough line on it to reach bottom and then some to account for wave action and tides..A good sized dive flag.

 

[matt_unique]

The re-entry is the hard part! Ha ha, a stainless steel ladder is definitely a must. You would want to bracket the ladder to accommodate heavy loads.

You also need a boat size dive flag and a means to fly it.

02 would be important considering your distance from shore and traditional EMS. In terms of First Aid I would also assemble procedures for those serving topside duty while you are diving. (Don't know your buddy situation or diving preferences). Mine include how to retrieve a diver adrift, calling the USCG, GPS coordinates for each dive site, starting the engines and getting underway, retrieving the anchor, etc.

Definitely need a way to keep tanks and gear secure while underway. It's more convenient in terms of space use to stow your tanks upright. I will be adding a series of SS rings along the gunwale.

 

[Guess]

Thanks for the awesome advice! I have GPS on deck, as well as a depth finder and the proper necessities for anchoring etc. I have a VHF as well.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Lots of good advice from the other posters.

Make sure your head is torqued on straight. Start with easy dives until you know how it works.
We have a site in Monterey called Ball Buster. Twice I've gotten an e-mail "I got my first boat
today. What are the numbers for Ball Buster?" One guy got really mad when I wouldn't give them
to him.

A couple of lines to clip gear off to side of the boat. Use nylon for floating gear, heavy bungee
for cameras (long enough that there's no way anybody can kick the camera (even an NBA player
with freedive fins ;-) )

Boat's in Canada? A couple of stainless thermos bottles for what hot beverage you like. I like
the 16 oz Nissan bottles.

If you have a regular buddy, train them to run the boat.

Learn to read the weather forecasts and their impact on diving -- it's not the same as on boating.

Here's what I did: Chuck Tribolet's Boston Whaler Dive Boat

 

[drbill]

A few cases of beer? Oops, wait... no diving (or driving) under the influence!

Seriously, insurance is the one thing I'd recommend. It's the one thing I didn't have on my boat when it sank back in the 1970's. Another thing that was poorly anticipated on my boat was the ladder. I had a dory so it lacked any sort of a swim step. The first ladder I used swayed too much... it needed to be braced against the hull to climb up easily. I sure wish we'd had GPS back then... I had to do some pretty tricky navigation in the fog at times. The other posters have made some very good suggestions.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Oxygen is the single most important item in my book. Not optional.