New dive boat biz in the Keys

[Speargirl]

almtree::goingdown:Congratulations :goingdown:almtree:

I wish you all the best with your charter. Should you need me to add you to the Florida Conch Sticky for charters in Tavernier please let me know. We really needed a boat around here that takes spearfishing /divers out on, that has a more laid back approach.
If I can help you in any way please let me know.

Good prices and great boat what more could anyone ask for.

Becky

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[Chuck Price]

Dear Becky -

Try to be a little more outgoing in future comments, won't you? Discounting the snazzy diver icons, the large bright blue text and the dancing smiley faces, I felt you came across as rather shy and demure. And certainly the prim and proper avatar doesn't help your image any. As a salesperson for a vacation agency, you've got to be bold and confident! Let's do lunch sometime next week and figure out how our businesses can help each other, and maybe we'll find time to work on that confidence problem of yours. Since this will be a business lunch, please dress in your usual prim and proper manner. As in the avatar.

See you then,
Cap'n Chuck

 

[on_two_wheels]

Everything about your op seems incredible. The boat, the website, the captain's attitude and business plan. I haven't read through the entire website, though. So, I have a few questions which might be answered there so bare with me.

I assume you're a diver and familiar with the local dive sites, right? A trip down that way might be on my agenda for late august but I've never been so location selection would be at the mercy of others.

If someone wanted to get a group of 4 together and get the whole boat for a few days in a row, any discounts available if it's during the week?

Being from out of state, is it possible to have tank/weight rental arranged?

Do you offer overnight trips and/or night dives?

Matt

 

[Chuck Price]

Matt -

Thanks for the nice words. To answer your queries:

- No, I don't dive anymore (ear problems) and have never dived in Florida. I did all my diving in Hawaii and Southern CA. But there are lots of online journals and such describing the sites (see the links at the bottom of my 'Dive Sites' page) and, given that, there's no such thing as a 'bad' reef. The main thing is to pick a reef that specializes in what you're interested in, and some of the sites I link to are quite descriptive.

- I don't offer any kind of discount plan on the site because I'm already charging $10 less than the 'cattle car' dive boats -- and for a no-specific-time-limit dive -- but yeah, I'd be happy to offer a discount (10%?) if we had a 'guaranteed' dive of, say, 4 guests over 3 days. A couple of days wouldn't mean much as that's fairly common, and "during the week" doesn't mean much since -- as any travel brochure will tell you -- every day is a holiday in a tropical island paradise.

"Waiter! Another mai tai, please!"

- You could certainly reserve the gear ahead of time at one of the numerous dive shops in the area, although I've never heard of one running out. And, if they did, just drive 50 feet to the next dive shop. This area is so water-oriented that there are entire stores devoted to nothing but snorkeling.

- I'd love to do night dives, but doing so would make my insurance skyrocket. For some odd reason, the insurers seem to have a problem with boaters navigating shoal-filled, reef-laden waters in the pitch black. Go figger! I'd be willing to stay out overnight (anchoring at sundown), but that comes under the heading of "cruises" and would be much more expensive than a couple of back-to-back dive trips.

As I look out my window, the water in the marina looks like a sheet of glass. Should be the perfect day to dive.

Hope to see you down here sometime,
Cap'n Chuck

 

[Bazooka Joe]

Matt -

Thanks for the nice words. To answer your queries:

- No, I don't dive anymore (ear problems) and have never dived in Florida. I did all my diving in Hawaii and Southern CA. But there are lots of online journals and such describing the sites (see the links at the bottom of my 'Dive Sites' page) and, given that, there's no such thing as a 'bad' reef. The main thing is to pick a reef that specializes in what you're interested in, and some of the sites I link to are quite descriptive.

- I don't offer any kind of discount plan on the site because I'm already charging $10 less than the 'cattle car' dive boats -- and for a no-specific-time-limit dive -- but yeah, I'd be happy to offer a discount (10%?) if we had a 'guaranteed' dive of, say, 4 guests over 3 days. A couple of days wouldn't mean much as that's fairly common, and "during the week" doesn't mean much since -- as any travel brochure will tell you -- every day is a holiday in a tropical island paradise.

"Waiter! Another mai tai, please!"

- You could certainly reserve the gear ahead of time at one of the numerous dive shops in the area, although I've never heard of one running out. And, if they did, just drive 50 feet to the next dive shop. This area is so water-oriented that there are entire stores devoted to nothing but snorkeling.

- I'd love to do night dives, but doing so would make my insurance skyrocket. For some odd reason, the insurers seem to have a problem with boaters navigating shoal-filled, reef-laden waters in the pitch black. Go figger! I'd be willing to stay out overnight (anchoring at sundown), but that comes under the heading of "cruises" and would be much more expensive than a couple of back-to-back dive trips.

As I look out my window, the water in the marina looks like a sheet of glass. Should be the perfect day to dive.

Hope to see you down here sometime,
Cap'n Chuck

Uh OH! I think your website is down! Later in the summer afte rthe kiddies go back to school, I might put together a trip to the keys for some diving with friends.

I'll bookmark mark the website!! damn computers!!

 

[Chuck Price]

Uh OH! I think your website is down!

Musta been a glitch in the Intertubes. The web hosting company I use (BlueHost) is usually quite reliable.

Hope to see you in a few months!

Chuck

 

[texarkandy]

I can understand you're not wanting to be in the equipment rental or air biz - but I'd think you should think about at least having weights available which are kind of a no maintenance re-use item & one less thing for your customers to have to rent before they go out with you. (at least for those of us flying down & bringing our own equip - less tanks & weights)

I mean, after all, it is just chunks of lead.

Otherwise - your boat sounds nice -

 

[Chuck Price]

Tex - Thanks for the feeback. I asked my first couple of customers if supplying anything extra (like weight belts) would help at all, and the general consensus was "Not really." By the time one deals with the damn tanks, everything else seems kind of inconsequential. And I usually purposefully grab the weight belt bag from the vehicle and lug it down to the boat and back, just to alleviate that one pesky problem.

Me and some divers were discussing buoyancy the other day and I recalled that one of the kids next door to where I grew up actually had a negative body buoyancy. With the full lungful of air, he could walk around the bottom of the swimming pool. Kinda scary from a scuba perspective -- but he sure saved money on weight belts!

 

[scubabear]

Hi,Just a couple of questions on your boat set up. What type of ladder setup is on your swim platform, sturdy enough for divers in gear to exit? What type of tank management system do you use, tank racks on bench, pelican racks ? Picture of boat and 6-pack to boot has me drooling. But sometimes the best picture of a boat to a diver in the water is its ass-end view.
Looking forward to diving with you this summer. John

 

[Chuck Price]

John - The ladder is one of those slide-out-and-unfold types, and is definitely sturdy enough for people + gear. We usually hand the gear up first, though. For tank storage, I use that styrofoam cylinder type where the tanks lie flat. Those upright types worry me too much. If a tank ever came loose, it'd end up going through the plate glass door or window. Plus, the upright types only hold the bare tank, so everything has to be assembled at sea. The styrofoam type allow things to be set up back at the dock.

I got your trip signup this morning and sent you a confirmation email. Should be a great time!

Chuck