Dive Boat Etiquette on SoCal Boats

[headhunter]

I wouldn’t have thought it necessary to add this to the discussion, but last Sunday’s experience aboard The Great Escape proved me wrong. To put it bluntly,

TAKE THE POST-DIVE ROLL CALL AS SERIOUSLY AS EVERYONE ELSE DOES!!!

Thanks for posting this John.

I wouldn't have thought it necessary to post something like this either, but it's better to cover it in this thread and maybe have someone read it just to be sure.

I hope someone had a serious talk with the kid afterward with a little history lesson included.

Christian

 

[divenut2001]

Totally agree with you there Chris. And that goes for "ANY" boat dive, not just SoCal. There's nothing that irritates me more than to come up after a dive to find someone sitting at "my" station with "their" gear.

USE THE SAME TANK SPACE YOU STARTED WITH!!!!!

 

[mongoose]

*** rest of post snipped for brevity *** In fancy restaurant and hotel, gratuity is already included in your bill.

I'm a fairly generous tipper, b/c I understand what a grind most of the service-industry jobs can be...

But when establishments do this, it sort of grates on me, although I can understand it. However, if the gratuity is included in the bill, I leave *only* that amount.

--'Goose

 

[PeterWF]

Excellent thread!!
I'm a NorCal diver and this is just as applicable to us.

Do dive boats supplying tanks request that you leave the cap off of 'used tanks' in SoCal? That's a big deal in the Monterey area.
[Note - I'm lurking here because my son and I will be diving the Channel Islands aboard the Vision out of Santa Barbara in late July.]

Peter

 

[Ann Marie]

Excellent thread!!
I'm a NorCal diver and this is just as applicable to us.

Do dive boats supplying tanks request that you leave the cap off of 'used tanks' in SoCal? That's a big deal in the Monterey area.
[Note - I'm lurking here because my son and I will be diving the Channel Islands aboard the Vision out of Santa Barbara in late July.]

Peter

Hey Peter!

All the boats I've been on not only want you to leave the cap off but they usually have some indicator that you put on so that they know you want a fill. Usually a pokerchip on a string or something else. So, you would take off the first stage and then put the poker ship on the tank valve. Others just want you to take the first stage off and then when they are done filling it they will replace your first stage. This is usually covered in the breifing before diving. I haven't been on the Vision yet, but have hit my share of the other So. Cal boats. Have a great time!

Edit:

Personally, I think that the cap should be left off all cylinders that have been used. Nothing is worse than showing up at a dive site with a tank that you thought was full. (Spoken from experience. Luckily, I had other tanks with me and still don't know why that cap was on that tank!)

 

[bgi]

I'm a fairly generous tipper, b/c I understand what a grind most of the service-industry jobs can be...

But when establishments do this, it sort of grates on me, although I can understand it. However, if the gratuity is included in the bill, I leave *only* that amount.

--'Goose

Sometimes it's their way of saying, "Even it the service is lousy, you're gonna tip, sukka!"

 

[Kev7]

EXCELLENT TIP! I noticed someone else mentioned this at the begining of the thread

2. If you have to smoke, bring a rubber raft and go 25 or so yards down wind of the boat. Police your own butts, and the ocean is not an ashtray. I don’t care where you are standing on the boat, if I am getting any wiff of the smoke, you need to adjust fire. It does stuff me up, and the aroma of it on you afterwards will keep me upwind to avoid being stuffed up and loosing out on diving. You have a right to smoke, but it is not required. I am required to breathe

 

[jenazah]

I saw a documentary in Discovery Channel, when they found a dead turtles in Hawaii and they opened up their stomach to study their diet. You know what they found a lot of times ? Cigarette Butts.

EXCELLENT TIP! I noticed someone else mentioned this at the begining of the thread

2. If you have to smoke, bring a rubber raft and go 25 or so yards down wind of the boat. Police your own butts, and the ocean is not an ashtray. I don’t care where you are standing on the boat, if I am getting any wiff of the smoke, you need to adjust fire. It does stuff me up, and the aroma of it on you afterwards will keep me upwind to avoid being stuffed up and loosing out on diving. You have a right to smoke, but it is not required. I am required to breathe

 

[big dog13]

Hi all,
I have not responded to many threads here but this one deserves something,
1) Keep your gear to a min. and in YOUR SPOT.

2) If you want a good spot i.e. certain side or on the bench then get to the boat early enough to get it DONT come up from the first dive and play musical spots cause if you take mine your gear is going over the side!

3) Dive within your ability and limits it is unfortunate when someone gets hurt but it usually preventable THINK BEFORE YOU ACT NOT AFTER.

4)TIPS; it was said before but here goes again diving is not the cheapest hobby/sport and 1 should think of this always with that said IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD A $15-$20 TIP THEN STAY ON SHORE or find a sport/hobby that you can afford.
Hell I not only tip, but in the polite part of knowing the crews names my wife and I also know there favorite after work drinks and believe me this goes a long way!

5) While we are on the subject politeness this should be extended to other passengers as well when you see someone walk toward you w/ hands full don't just stand there like some dumbass and wait for them to say excuse me and then roll your eyes cause you are too whatever to move, instead just be polite and move.

6) If it isn't yours than don't touch it ask first!

7) Air consumption; we all pay the same amt. to get on the boat if you are fortunate like my wife and I and can get 50 to 80 min. on a tank than that's great if not then you need to work on that aspect of your diving and quit whining and as far as the boat cutting the dive day shot by 1 or more dives because of this well all I can say is that would be the last time I went on that boat! Shoot recently we were on a Ventura boat and had an emergency diver evcac. (Solely because she was unqualified both mentally and physically) and we still did our 4 dive but got back a little later is all.

I agree w/ the cig butt issue I am a non- smoker but was raised (a long time ago) in a smokers home and for the most part I feel that smokers are some of the most inconsiderate people I know when it comes to where, when they smoke and what they do with the leftovers and if I have offended anyone well sorry.....Get over it

Basically if you are a decent person off the h2o you will be fine on most boats just use common sense and DON’T be afraid to ask questions, the first thing I tell newbie’s the dumbest question is the one that was never asked and lastly if you must hurl do it over the side and be quite when others are sleeping.

 

[pasley]

Hey Peter!
...Personally, I think that the cap should be left off all cylinders that have been used. Nothing is worse than showing up at a dive site with a tank that you thought was full. (Spoken from experience. Luckily, I had other tanks with me and still don't know why that cap was on that tank!)

I agree, it can be frustrating to grab one of your tanks and discovere it is the only one that is not full.

My daughter came up with a simple system to avoid the problem of which one of these tanks is used.

1. Blue cap - FULL tank ready for the water.
2. Yellow cap - CAUTION EMPTY TANK.

The blue is tied onto the tank and stays there. the yellow goes in the dive bag and when the tank comes out of the water and the 1st stage is removed on goes the yellow.

Since you are encouraged to store your tanks with little air in them, it makes sense to use a dust cap on the empties too. The dust cap can help keep the o-ring from getting lost and the dust and dirt out.