What makes a GOOD dive OP to you?

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HowardE

Diver
Staff member
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
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Location
Boca Raton, Florida
# of dives
2500 - 4999
I always hear people say (when referring to dive ops), "they're good" "they're not good" "they're great" - so my question to you is... What makes a dive operation good to you?

For me - I like dive ops that will be prepared for my camera setup, and have a deck hand that will pass it to me after I get in the water, and they'll grab it for me when I return to the boat.

I also want a dive op that has a friendly deck staff, and where they have snacks and drinks for free.

I also want an op that doesn't expect me to dive a certain profile, or to have to stay with the group. I don't mind having a 1 hour time limit on my dive (that seems reasonable) but less than 1 hour seems unreasonable to me...

What things do you look for? What makes certain ops better than others??
 
Interesting question...

I dont like diesel fumes and prefer a fast 6 pack.

No cattle boats or divers crammed like sardines.

No busy-body DMs. Leave me alone and let me dive my own profile.

No snorkelers! I really prefer to dive experienced divers because I have to travel and diving costs a lot of $$.

I don't really care about food, but drinks are nice.

Don't like to feel rushed to get back on the boat in 60 minutes so the charter and can get back for the next trip out, but it's not common to find a charter in the US that doesn't make 2 runs per day.

An operator who rents HP 100s gets extra brownie points.

Would prefer a longer SI at a beach instead of geting increasingly queasy on a boat. Again, uncommon in the US.

I guess I'm easy to please. :wink:
 
Can't say that I ever tried to put in specific terms. One of those ya know it when ya see it. But yours sound reasonable. I agree with your times but by the same token you also have to have some considerations for the ops schedule. I would ask before you charter in case they are trying to get out for another afternoon/night charter, then they might want to limit your time and I would want to try someone else. But shouldn't be upset if I went into it knowing about it.
 
TheRedHead:
Interesting question...

I dont like diesel fumes and prefer a fast 6 pack.

No cattle boats or divers crammed like sardines.

No busy-body DMs. Leave me alone and let me dive my own profile.

No snorkelers! I really prefer to dive experienced divers because I have to travel and diving costs a lot of $$.

I don't really care about food, but drinks are nice.

Don't like to feel rushed to get back on the boat in 60 minutes so the charter and can get back for the next trip out, but it's not common to find a charter in the US that doesn't make 2 runs per day.

An operator who rents HP 100s gets extra brownie points.

Would prefer a longer SI at a beach instead of geting increasingly queasy on a boat. Again, uncommon in the US.

I guess I'm easy to please. :wink:

Everything she said plus:

An Oxygen analyser for the Nitrox...
If bigger than a 6-pack a good method for ensuring all the divers are back on board...
A serious pre-dive briefing...
 
The best seperate divers by ability.
Number of divers really affects my mood, the fewer the better (and I will pay for this luxury).
Boats with enough room to store gear bag without killing all on board.
Fresh water rinse is nice but not neccesary.
Water and drinks great (although they are clearly not free).
Not sure, but sometimes okay if they will assemble gear.
Camera tank, oxygen analyzer and knowledge of the area with good briefing is a must.
 
Don Janni:
An Oxygen analyser for the Nitrox...
If bigger than a 6-pack a good method for ensuring all the divers are back on board...
A serious pre-dive briefing...

What Don said and...

O2 on the boat.

A good captain who can hit the numbers. Long swims over sand are boring.

If on a multiday trip, gear storage.
 
prompt e-mail responses.

Nice currently updated website with prices. Sounds strange but when booking dives with dive ops in different countries it gives me confidence that things are going to go well.

recommendations from other Scubaboard members. I have not been let down yet from recommendations from Scubaboard.

low diver to dive master ratios. no more than 6 to1 if possible.
 
I agree with everone else, but the destination also needs to be considered. Places like Cozumel highlight the differences between operators.

Coz has both easy and more advanced sites so I like operators that separate divers onto different boats depending on their ability.
 
Safety of course but beyond that I like it when they DONT'T LIMIT BOTTOM TIME beyond reason!!!! I expect at least 60 minutes on a shallow dive or I don't do business with them.
 
TheRedHead:
Interesting question...

No cattle boats or divers crammed like sardines.

No busy-body DMs. Leave me alone and let me dive my own profile.
I believe that the trip out is half the fun... the more interesting the boat, the happier I am. My favorite charter (wasn't really a charter, but I dove it for a class), was a converted Navy liberty launch. The crew was straight of the Black Pearl. I even caught an Aku on the way back to the harbor (thanks Rick).

I used to DM on a converted Vietnam era 34' Patrol boat (too big for the rivers but too small for off-shore, so we took her off-shore) out of Charleston Harbor. I would always talk about Ft Sumner and CSS Hunley on our way out the the wrecks (Sometimes 1-1/2 hrs one way).

When it comes to DMs... leave me alone. Make sure I get out of the water, but if my buddy and I try to wander away, let us. I was once told that if I left the dive-master again I wouldn't be welcomed back to the boat. This was after the DM left the wreck and went searching for an octopus for people to photograph... I didn't feel like sprinting from coral head to coral head at 90' to help this guy get a better tip.
 
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