What to Log ??

[wagonburner]

Curious of what I should be logging in my dive log I have some Dives that are short for only 23 minutes and 17 ft deep .. is there parameters to use before logging a dive.. or something that qualifies the dive to be logable .. thanks

 

[doctormike]

You are in luck! We JUST finished going over this question on this thread...

 

[rsingler]

Typically, a dive is over 15'. In a shallow area like yours where I might surface more than once, I will combine two or more "computer" dives (at sfc for more than 3-5 min) into a single dive for my logbook. But there's nothing to say that you can't log an extended dive shallower than that, though for training purposes, most agencies have specific standards. Once you're diving for fun, if you needed a tank, go ahead and log it!
Logging shows currency and records useful info for review or later dives.
For example, I almost always record the type of exposure suit, tank and weight. It helps you choose just what you'll need next time, if you change your configuration slightly. Same with water temperature and how I felt at the last dive of the day, to help me remember the exact temperature at which I switched between a 3, 5 or 7mm wetsuit.
A lot of this becomes standard after a hundred dives, and at that point, your log is a nice memory book. I'll tuck in pics and sometimes draw a site map, and perhaps add a few comments to help me remember.
Every once in a rare while, you might be asked to prove your currency, in which case your logbook might save you from having to hire a dive guide for an otherwise easy dive, just because the dive operator is anxious about your skills. More important to be able to prove this stuff earlier in your dive career, especially for deep or night experience.
Logging my SAC was a nice challenge to see if I could reduce it over time, or see the consequences of a strenuous dive in current.

 

[Divegoose]

I created my own log book, to record information that I believe is important. This includes date, location, buddies, time in & out, bottom time, tide (flood, ebb or slack), maximum depth, visibility, air and water temperature, start and end tank pressures, and pertinent observations. On the back page I have an area for a "scene sketch" if it is a new site, and tables should my computer fail. I find that most of the commercial log books on the market contain too much superfluous information, and do not have enough room to record observations.

This system works for me - it may not work for others.

Divegoose

 

[Landau]

If you don't like the layout of a commercial log, at Dive-logs.com you can design your own. I love the ones I created.

I tend to log things I want to remind myself of in the future - like "Weight pocket fell out of BCD - remember to triple check it is secure"

I also record people I meet, and make sketch maps of sites I might go back to and aren't obvious how to navigate.

 

[Saniflush]

As the thread @doctormike pointed you to, there are a number of different opinions. For me personally I use the soft criteria that it be deeper than 15' or longer than 30 minutes. Nothing wrong with having different criteria but that is just my general "log it/don't log it" mindset.

 

[ystrout]

I log the visibility, depth, pressure at beginning and end, bottom time, weight, and wetsuits I use.

The most important part to me though is a description of the dive. I talk about things that stood out, the fish I saw, and anything else I want to remember.

 

[TMHeimer]

Many of my dives are short and shallow as you describe. I log them all. Nobody cares what you log anyway. Certain courses require a certain number of logged dives, but I've never seen or heard of any agency or place that describes what a "logged" dive is. Some people ask if it has to be signed by a buddy, which would eliminate any solo dives. Again, no rules that I know of. I've read that some charter ops require you show them your log book. Most boats I've been on just asked how many I have logged and more importantly, when I dived last. Nobody, course instructor or otherwise has even asked to see my book(s).
The only thing I don't log is anything in the pool. But no rule says you can't. There is a 100' deep pool of some sort somewhere in Europe. If I dived that I'd probably break my own "rule" and log it.

 

[2airishuman]

Curious of what I should be logging in my dive log I have some Dives that are short for only 23 minutes and 17 ft deep .. is there parameters to use before logging a dive.. or something that qualifies the dive to be logable .. thanks

No law or regulation requires a log, so you are free to log what you wish, in any form that pleases you.

Some classes and some instructors require a reasonably substantial dive count as prerequisites, or require a certain number of dives on Nitrox or to a particular minimum depth. It is wise to log your dives in sufficient detail that you can document compliance with these minimums should you have to do so.

 

[WillHartNZ]

For me if it’s over 5m and 20 minutes it gets logged as a dive and counted towards my total dive count. If it’s over 5m but shorter than 20 minutes it goes in the logbook and gets counted towards accumulated bottom time but doesn’t get a number. That way I have a record of every time I get in the water but don’t artificially inflate the total dive count. It might not seem useful at the time but I always end up looking back through my logbooks to help with planning, to share stories of past dives, or to figure out what I need to change/do differently in future.