Dive logs and boat diving, have you ever been denied?

[Eric Sedletzky]

Just Curious.
Have you ever been denied getting on a boat and diving anywhere in the world because you didn’t have a log book for them to look at?
I haven’t kept a log book in years, I stopped somewhere about 300 dives several years ago. I figured it was pointless because I mostly dived solo and local, and there was a lot of freediving involved. I honestly don’t know how many dives I have and don’t really care.
I’m wondering about boat access though. I have to admit, I’m kind of a travel know nothing, I don’t get out much. Do they look at your gear and an AOW card and figure good enough, or does it go beyond that?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I've never been asked about a logbook, even when taking classes. For the places I dive, they only want to see a card, typically Visa or Mastercard.

 

[caruso]

I recall around 20 years ago I was diving in the Florida keys and they required logbooks. Think it was Florida Keys Dive center in Tavernier. I had to throw something together in a paper logbook to satisfy them. That might have been because I was not AOW certified but I have not run into that issue since becoming AOW certified around 15 years ago, and from what I've seen, observed, and read, the AOW card and a signed waiver is all most if not all dive Ops will require for the vast majority of recreational diving. I don't know that they'll judge you based on the appearance of your gear, which might not even be available for inspection at the time you register for your dive inside the shop and do all the waiver signing and credit card swiping and all that.

Logbooks can be required for OW divers looking to do a deeper dive, and only by those Dive Ops who will allow such diving without an AOW card.

The TLDR version is that with your AOW card and signed waivers including attesting to a recent dive you should be fine for your recreational diving regardless of the appearance and condition of your gear.

 

[Couv]

No.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I have never, ever ever been asked for a log book anywhere in the world. C-card usually, but I've been on a number of liveaboards and dove with shore-based outfits that never even asked for that. Some local California dive boats just have you sign in and write down your certifying agency. Don't have to show them anything. A number of years ago I signed up with a dive shop out of Florida that was guiding a cave diving trip to Akumal, Mexico. We did cave dives all week and no one from the Florida shop or even the shop in Mexico we rented tanks from ever asked to see even a C-card, let alone a full cave card. Don't get me wrong, many places have asked to see my C-card, others have just had me sign a waiver stating I am certified, but never a log book. Green money was all the certification many outfits needed. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has been asked for a log book.

 

[letterboy]

As long as I have a valid credit card and look like I know what I'm doing, no one asks any questions.

 

[maj2]

The only time that I have seen a log book asked for is for deep cold sites in the Great Lakes. Without a log book (or without them having a record of you having dove those wrecks with them), divers will typically be steered to shallower easier dives until your experience is known.

I have never been denied access to a dive, but have seen others turned down for lack of experience. Usually it is folks used to diving in the tropics and come here looking to go straight to 100ft wrecks in 40F (or colder) water who never never worn a 7mm wetsuit, let alone a drysuit. Heck... I saw one person try to dive one of the wrecks through a different operator after showing his AOW card and insisting he had all of his own gear. Water at 90ft was 38F and "all of his own gear" meant full foot fins. I ended up as his "instabuddy," but only after we were on the dive boat.

I do not mind showing my log book as proof of experience in that kind of situation at all.

 

[rongoodman]

Never.

 

[Akimbo]

Do you dive with a computer? If so, just download and print. Quite a few tropical resorts require you to have a computer anyway, especially to use Nitrox.

 

[NorCalDM]

I have never been asked to show my actual log book but have been asked how many dives I have and date of last dive. I have had to show my C-card and Nitrox on every dive specific trip I’ve taken.