Just looking for a little info help

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I was thinking of opening a scuba diving charter company and in the process I had trouble finding what certifications exactly I would need to do so. do I need to be master diver certified or just basic open water and advance water certified. any and all help would be appreciated. looking for real advice so no smartasses please.

thank you
 
captains license I know about, and thank you for responding (seriously), but what if I'm their guide during the dive do I not need some type of certification for it or is that only if someone is trying to certify divers?
 
I was thinking of opening a scuba diving charter company and in the process I had trouble finding what certifications exactly I would need to do so. do I need to be master diver certified or just basic open water and advance water certified. any and all help would be appreciated. looking for real advice so no smartasses please.

In my experience, the leaders of most charter operations have been (scuba) instructors for many years, and also possess a USCG captain's license (or local equivalent out of the usa).
 
An instructor? Not necessarily a requirement or necessary. Operators and crew who know diving are a bonus. The ones I've enjoyed the most were technical divers.
 
captains license I know about, and thank you for responding (seriously), but what if I'm their guide during the dive do I not need some type of certification for it or is that only if someone is trying to certify divers?

If you're going to be their guide for dives, then you probably want at least a Divemaster (or other "Professional") certification. Whether you disclaim it or not, charging people money to go out on your boat and then you guide them on dives means you are going to be open to lawsuits claiming you were taking payment to guide them on dives and thus were holding yourself out as a scuba professional. It seems to me that it would be a good idea if you actually were - and hold the appropriate dive professional liability insurance.

But, second, what are you going to do with your boat if you are leading dives? Leave it unmanned and hope it's still there when you get back? Leave it manned by a crew member who is not a licensed boat captain? There was a recent thread about a boat captain and his mate getting out to snorkel while all his passengers were diving and the boat was at anchor. There didn't seem to be a consensus that the boat captain was breaking any laws. But, there was definitely consensus that it wasn't a good idea.

So, if you're going to own the boat and be the captain, and you want to offer a dive guide service, you might want to plan on finding one or more scuba professionals to work for you, so you can man the boat while your customers are diving with a guide.
 
If you're going to be their guide for dives, then you probably want at least a Divemaster (or other "Professional") certification. Whether you disclaim it or not, charging people money to go out on your boat and then you guide them on dives means you are going to be open to lawsuits claiming you were taking payment to guide them on dives and thus were holding yourself out as a scuba professional. It seems to me that it would be a good idea if you actually were - and hold the appropriate dive professional liability insurance.

But, second, what are you going to do with your boat if you are leading dives? Leave it unmanned and hope it's still there when you get back? Leave it manned by a crew member who is not a licensed boat captain? There was a recent thread about a boat captain and his mate getting out to snorkel while all his passengers were diving and the boat was at anchor. There didn't seem to be a consensus that the boat captain was breaking any laws. But, there was definitely consensus that it wasn't a good idea.

So, if you're going to own the boat and be the captain, and you want to offer a dive guide service, you might want to plan on finding one or more scuba professionals to work for you, so you can man the boat while your customers are diving with a guide.

I think the consensus was that, while there is nothing written in law, that is because no one had thought that anyone in charge of a commercial vessel would actually do that. There was also the sense that the captain might still be found negligent in the event of an accident or emergency even though there were no specific laws broken.
 
Search for and read Wookie's related posts, even from just the last 12 months. You can learn an amazingly great deal about the life and the business.
 
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