Diving nitrox

[Mael]

hey guys and gals
i have been wondering how many people in ontario dive nitrox?
also how many dive charters offer nitrox dives
if i had a boat in tobamory and offered two tank nitrox dives (i little higher priced charter but you would get longer bottom time and we would probably do the farther out less visited dive sites)
would I be able to get 2-4 people a day to come diving with me?

part of my concept would be to have just a small cubby cabin boat with comfortable seating a more relaxed friendly atmosphire we pick some spots you wouldnt normaly get to with a charter and go out for a nice day of diving (one trip aday so no rush to get back) drinks are cold sandwichs are fresh maybe a bbq for burgers? more like a bunch of friends going out exept we take care of your gear(to and from boat and tank switchs etc.)

another part would be maybe we are 1-2 weeks in tobamory and then 1-2 weeks in kingston etc.

maybe its a lot to try but.. I plan to be going out anyway so why not invite some people for a more private flexable dive day

any thoughts or ideas to help make this work would be very welcome.

Thank you in advance Mael

 

[jjones9527]

Are you planning on starting this as a commercial charter? Have you priced out insurance and checked out the regulations for such an endeavor? I think you may be jumping in a little quick, and might need to do a little more research to avoid breaking any regulation or leaving yourself open to liability issues.

 

[rjack321]

I'm in the States but have a commercial license. I am only so so familar with your regs, although I do know more than the OP I suspect.

If you take passengers for hire, you need a TC license. Your boat needs a special TC registration as a small commercial vessel. It must be inspected by a qualified surveyor and meet commerical standards (alot smaller than the min inspection size here in the states). You need all the commercial safety gear which I won't go into because it matters how far you are from a safe harbor. You need commercial business insurance. The list goes on...

Here's the place to start:
Small Commercial Vessels 0-15 gross tons - Small Vessels

 

[johnny_bravo]

If I remember my experiences in the frozen north air volume will be the limitation for most divers not bottom time...now If you offered nitrox with larger volume steel tanks like a 100 or a 120 you may have something there. Also note that nitrox is really most effective in the 60-80' depth range.

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[Mael]

hey
in answer to the first response this is at the moment on the research side I'm trying to gauge interest before i go nuts and take it to many steps ahead of myself
i have not looked into insurance as at yet but will and if I did this I would be looking to hire a local cert'd captain for the boat

my plan is to spend this year diving from my boat and meeting as many people as I can gathering info and working on a plan for 2009 I am trying to force myself to take a whole year for planing a research before I take the plunge.
how ever in the mean time I would love to extend the invite to hop aboard anytime in going out this year(its just a pleasure boat but it would be a few new friends going out diving)

anyway that said I really thank every one for feed back advice and info
RJACK321 thank you for the incite and the link if its OK with you maybe I can pm you with question etc?
johnny bravo thank you for that info about volume etc it never acured to me buying some tanks is also an idea i never though of i figured people would rent/own their own but if this happens i think I will get some and use that as part of the service. Also i am super jealous you got to move south I'm still trying to talk the wife into moving to FL I wanted to start something like this down there but need to make sure the formula work here before she will agree to move lol.

Thanks again to those who replied hopefully we will get something out of it even if it is a few good friends.

Mael

 

[electric_diver]

I think a very high percentage of ACTIVE divers in Ontario are nitrox certified. It seems almost an automatic next step after Advanced Open Water.

However I don't believe anyone is willing to pay a premium for a "nitrox" charter. I certainly wouldn't. As a charter boat captain your job is to take me to the site and bring me back. Any more than that and you will start incurring liabilities that you probably don't want. Read the standard liability waiver for a charter boat and the realtionship between boat captain and diver should be clear. You don't get to set my bottom time. My dive plan (depth, time, mix, cylinder size) is my (and my buddy's) business not yours.

Some boats I've been on do offer a BBQ lunch for a modest fee (usually $5), others include it in the charter fee. Hot food after a long cold dive is a nice feature. Almost every boat offers free bottled water as a liability reduction exercise (dehydration is a well known factor in DCS).

Most active divers in Ontario bring their own cylinders and get them filled at their preferred fill station. I doubt there is a business case for a charter boat to offer air fills or cylinder rentals. Remember that properly doing nitrox fills takes a LONG time.

 

[ACR]

I suspect that there would be quite a lot of competition up in Tobemory so a way to differentiate your offer will be paramount.

 

[Mael]

hey electric diver
I guess "charter" was a bit the wrong word I'm thinking more like a six pack walk on style like the last time I went out the dive charter had a boat going on a two tank dive and we went on that boat with a bunch of strangers (great group of people though) we went where the boat was going and that was that. what came to mind was i would have loved to be down their longer one of the divers on the boat brought two tank of nitrox and was raving about added bottom time etc. end of the day he used only one tank and ended surfacing with the rest of us because he was kind enough(or maybe he was told) yes he could have chartered a boat for more money but he didn't have his dive Buddy with him and a I'm pretty sure was not about to pay for a charter him self so he was stuck with us.
so long and short if you can charter a boat with a bunch of people it works out but if you can't where are you left?
my though is take the walk on concept and add nitrox the cost would be a bit more because we would be going out once a day as opposed to once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
as far as planing the dive on a charter your right the boat is just a taxi and does nothing else as far a a walk on it is a planed dive. air your right i also think most would have their own fills and tank as I posted but i see no reason that I couldn't offer that too filling would be done at a reputable shop not by me I have no plan to have a fill station or a shop as at yet how ever if I did I would be hiring people with the experience I make no bones about what i do and don't know that is why I'm working on the research side first in the end all i want to do is make everyones diving experience more enjoyable including mine and if in the end I can make a living like this instead of 14-18 hr days in film all the better.

ACR in response to your comments
I feel it will be a niche do to the walk on aspect also my intentions are to make a more comfortable and relaxing experience(no hard bench's here lol)a small cabin up front hang out there treat my boat like you are an old friend of mine out for a dive with me use my fridge have some coffee tea what ever you like on business start up I would be getting a day cruiser boat not a cattle boat I would have a local hired captain who knows the area and yes so that I can also do what I want to do..... dive.

as I said before this is all a concept right now maybe it cant work but maybe it can be the thing sitting right there between one-two tank dives and the week long live aboard or something...


thank you again for the responses Mael

 

[rjack321]

as far as planing the dive on a charter your right the boat is just a taxi and does nothing else as far a a walk on it is a planed dive.

Some are taxis and some are more full service dive charters offering things like air or nitrox fills. (not sure how common this is in your area).

I suggest getting a DM and actually crewing on some of the existing boats to learn the charter business. You will learn alot about the maritime industry and its rules, and also learn what your competitors offer and what it takes to break even cost-wise.

 

[jjones9527]

In Kingston a charter is around $65 for two tank dive. You breathe what you want, and do as much bottom time as you want. You either bring your own buddy or hook up with one there. Dive site selection is basically majority vote, and most are a fairly short run. The only difference I see your service offering is a more comfortable ride. If you would be doing a walk on, how would the site be selected? From what I understand here its about $10K just to get the boat in water each year (insurance, inspections, etc). For a single day of diving I wouldn't pay the extra premium for comfort, as I would only be on the boat for a short time.