Dive Op’s Limiting bottom time

[chris kippax]

I am trying to comprehend why a dive op would limit bottom time (within reason). One of my lsd’s has a 45 minute max bottom time on one of the double dive charters ( costs over $100). That is ridiculous. I would spend way more time checking/packing/driving and washing my gear that actually diving. If the schedule is tight, start earlier (often best conditions early) If I look for a dive op and there website says unlimited dive time I will sign up every time. A lesson to any dive operators let the people dive their tank!

 

[RainPilot]

45 seems a bit tight indeed. Some of the operations here do a 50 minutes or 50 bar limit.

I guess if you need to plan multiple trips on a day and then one diver is delaying the whole group with their 100cf tank it gets annoying. Personally I prefer to dive with other operators.

 

[chris kippax]

100cf tank is a standard size for lds’s and local divers that own their own tanks.

 

[Vicko]

Depends on the amount of people on board and local diving culture.
There are some positions where it's unsafe to stay in the water longer, or some where even when diving with a 15L steel tank you would not have enough gas to stay for longer. Or we just don't want 80% of our customers to wait around the boat for 20 minutes just so the 20% can look at the sea urchins and flabelinas at 3m.

 

[chris kippax]

What if that %20 are your potential repeat customer for the next 25 years.

 

[RainPilot]

100cf tank is a standard size for lds’s and local divers that own their own tanks.

Fair enough, round here AL80 is the norm so I was using that example.

While it's not a perfect solution, I have had some pretty long dives by making sure I splash first and I am (close to) last up the ladder.

 

[Diver Dave1]

If you know why a lds has a policy, you might consider asking them. Here you will only get potential answers. With them, you might get the actual answer. In the carib, 50-60 min dive time limits are more typical. Usually a mix of keeping a schedule for the boat to make aftn dives and N2 loading potential.

 

[Vicko]

What if that %20 are your potential repeat customer for the next 25 years.

Thats the local diving culture part. Where I work you have 2 months a year to make a profit and 4 where you try to cover the costs of the whole season.
Groups pick where and how they want to dive, but most of the profit is done with what we call "accidentals", people who walked in a day before and want to do a dive to somwhere nice.
When i have 15 people on the boat who wanted to see a reef, and one dude who really wants to do that deep wreck with 20 minute bottom time and 30 minutes accelerated deco guess who is getting what they want?
That said we often split the groups and go out with multiple boats to different sites depending on the divers. For example we have a group of CCR divers who want to look for new wrecks in 120-140 meter range and their families who are all open water, it's obvious that we have to split them apart, but if we had 1 ccr diver and 15 open waters I hope the CCR dudes like Flabelinas because he is about to spend an hour looking for them.

 

[kelemvor]

I am trying to comprehend why a dive op would limit bottom time (within reason). One of my lsd’s has a 45 minute max bottom time on one of the double dive charters ( costs over $100). That is ridiculous. I would spend way more time checking/packing/driving and washing my gear that actually diving. If the schedule is tight, start earlier (often best conditions early) If I look for a dive op and there website says unlimited dive time I will sign up every time. A lesson to any dive operators let the people dive their tank!

I've been on boats like that. It sucks. When I questioned, they said they had to make it back to the dock to pick up the next group at whatever time and that's how much time had been allotted.

Just don't dive that operation anymore if you can avoid it.

 

[northernone]

I am trying to comprehend why a dive op would limit bottom time (within reason). One of my lsd’s has a 45 minute max bottom time on one of the double dive charters ( costs over $100). That is ridiculous. I would spend way more time checking/packing/driving and washing my gear that actually diving. If the schedule is tight, start earlier (often best conditions early) If I look for a dive op and there website says unlimited dive time I will sign up every time. A lesson to any dive operators let the people dive their tank!

Here's the reasons I've heard for fixed bottom time dive charters:

Its often a matter of economy and majority rules.

Likely that's what the average person buying their "product" wants. The majority doesn't want or doesn't demand longer.

It'seasier/safer to have divers all on the same profile.

Surfacing as a group allows for the surface interval to be optimized instead of extended for the best air consumption diver last out of the water.

Time is money. If a boat crew can get home a hour sooner every day that's less cost and more family time.

Less risk of decompression injuries by limiting divers to the most conservative profile.

I don't like that style of diving. Prefer the water taxi approach where I get to dive my profile and manage my own gas planning.

Regards,
Cameron