Fire on dive boat Conception in CA

[johndiver999]

Since the discussion has expanded into the duties of crew and even the responsibilities of a DM on deck of a day boat, if the DM does not receive any pay from the owner/operator of the vessel, could it be considered a volunteer position and thus exempt from liability?

What if they receive only "tips" and no formal pay, does accepting tips matter at all in this regard?

 

[cerich]

Since the discussion has expanded into the duties of crew and even the responsibilities of a DM on deck of a day boat, if the DM does not receive any pay from the owner/operator of the vessel, could it be considered a volunteer position and thus exempt from liability?

What if they receive only "tips" and no formal pay, does accepting tips matter at all in this regard?

Depends if the master is using said DM as crew of the vessel or not to comply with regulations.

 

[markmud]

Depends if the master is using said DM as crew of the vessel or not to comply with regulations.

To iterate, I am a has-been. A former professional mariner.

In my day, if a 6-pack of beer was handed off to a crewmember or vessel owner/operator, it was a charter. Would tips constitute payment in-kind for services rendered?

I think so.

markm

 

[johndiver999]

Depends if the master is using said DM as crew of the vessel or not to comply with regulations.

Thanks,

If the operator is using the crew member to comply with staffing requirements, does that necessitate payment of said "crewman"? Sorry to ask so many questions.

 

[broncobowsher]

I'm starting to see some crazy expectations. You seriously wanted a second watchman on the stern of the boat? Why not a third in the sleeping quarters? Should they all be in full turn out gear as well?

Wait until the flipping report is out. This is starting to sound like new car shopping, where the quantity of air bags is listed but the quality of the air bags is not. Look honey, this one has 18 airbags, the other one only has 14. More must be better.

Until this accident happened, NONE of this stuff was a problem. If it was such a problem, why was it not addressed before the accident? Obviously everyone who ever used these boats in the nearly 40 years they have been running is at fault for not reporting these glaring issues.

 

[ChrisM]

I'm starting to see some crazy expectations. You seriously wanted a second watchman on the stern of the boat? Why not a third in the sleeping quarters? Should they all be in full turn out gear as well?

Wait until the flipping report is out. This is starting to sound like new car shopping, where the quantity of air bags is listed but the quality of the air bags is not. Look honey, this one has 18 airbags, the other one only has 14. More must be better.

Until this accident happened, NONE of this stuff was a problem. If it was such a problem, why was it not addressed before the accident? Obviously everyone who ever used these boats in the nearly 40 years they have been running is at fault for not reporting these glaring issues.

This whole episode as it stands now reminds me of the shoe bomber. Until that happened, no one would have ever imagined a terrorist getting a bomb onto a plane in his shoes but now we all (unless we are lucky to have pre check since that is such a high barrier to entry that no terrorist could figure it out /sarcasm) have to take our shoes off to prevent something completely unforeseeable and highly unlikely to ever happen again.

This incident was bad enough to expose every weakness that other incidents did not, and while we do have to make some changes I think, I agree that at some point there is a degree of risk that you just cannot completely avoid

 

[KevinNM]

Since the discussion has expanded into the duties of crew and even the responsibilities of a DM on deck of a day boat, if the DM does not receive any pay from the owner/operator of the vessel, could it be considered a volunteer position and thus exempt from liability?

What if they receive only "tips" and no formal pay, does accepting tips matter at all in this regard?

Are you a guest or crew? One simple test would be are you getting credited for this time towards a\the 360 day requirement of a 6 pack masters credential? There are others, but that seems like a good starting point.

 

[PDX Diver]

Also, from my recollection from a couple years ago, there is an electrical outlet at the base of the stairs going up from the berths to the salon? Unless I'm mixing that up with a different boat. The reason I remember an outlet is that someone had plugged in a surge protector, and as all the outlets in the galley/salon area were full, I utilized one of the outlets on the surge protector to charge my batteries. If my recollection is accurate, it makes it easier to see how a fire could have started forward of the berths in the lower deck

Can anyone comment on whether there were electrical outlets at the base of the stairs? I haven't seen any yet. My group on the Vision four years ago had 19 divers and the charging station was full. With 33 divers, and everyone it seems has at least a GoPro nowadays, electrical outlets would be in high demand. One in our group had TWO cameras on one mount AND lights.

 

[PDX Diver]

Another thought due to the earlier comment by Wookie who said his boat fire was caused by a circuit breaker not tripping due to corrosion. Boats owners should consider cycling their circuit breakers to assure they are not frozen.

 

[DanBMW]

Can anyone comment on whether there were electrical outlets at the base of the stairs? I haven't seen any yet. My group on the Vision four years ago had 19 divers and the charging station was full. With 33 divers, and everyone it seems has at least a GoPro nowadays, electrical outlets would be in high demand. One in our group had TWO cameras on one mount AND lights.

Just for reference, and I'm probably not alone, when we travel, I always carry an extension cord with the ability to plug in at least 4-6 rechargeable items. Camera, lights, cell phones, Kindals and storage drive batteries. Multiply this by 33.....