I have dived many times from Jupiter through Key Largo. I notice there are many charters but rarely any people diving from small private boats. Many sites are close to shore and the seas often flat. Why do so few people dive from their own boats?
Private Dive Boats
- Thread starter FishDiver
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Johnoly
Contributor
- Messages
- 4,020
- Reaction score
- 5,485
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
LOL, THANK YOU ,,we must be doing something right.
Many of the large charter boats frequently dive the most popular sites like wreck treks, known wildlife homes, and great shallow reefs and those sites are world class outstanding.
Private boats don't really want to be seen or found because we are diving special (or call it secret) spots that hold certain things we are looking for (photo/hunting/airplanes/etc). You also may notice that most private boats won't publish photos of what they found/caught.. Once word starts to get out, OTHER BOATS FOLLOW US AND TAKE OUR SECRET SPOTS !! And with today's incredible technology and a strong pair or binoculars, I can pull your boat up on the radar, put the cursor exactly where your blip is at and then mark the exact GPS number of your secret spot. EVEN FROM MORE THAN A MILE AWAY !
Sometimes though other divers will pull right up to our line and hit the Mark button on their GPS to steal our spot for later. So by you not seeing or noticing us, we are doing something right and Thank You !
What he said^^^^
I'm a cold water diver and just recently got my own boat because dive charters in my area have been dropping like flies and the only way to get out there is with a private boat, but I've given the whole thing a lot of thought and I can offer the following as a guess.
Local dive ops give discounts to divers who give them a lot of repeat business and when you're diving from a charted boat you get tanks that are full of gas and you've got surface support if needed. My guess is that when you factor in the local diver discounts, the actual cost of going out on the boat isn't all that much more than the cost of renting (or filling) a few tanks which a diver would need to do anyway. Factor in gas and it's probably not much more than a break even.
Local dive ops give discounts to divers who give them a lot of repeat business and when you're diving from a charted boat you get tanks that are full of gas and you've got surface support if needed. My guess is that when you factor in the local diver discounts, the actual cost of going out on the boat isn't all that much more than the cost of renting (or filling) a few tanks which a diver would need to do anyway. Factor in gas and it's probably not much more than a break even.
Last edited:
Great replies! I am considering getting a boat big enough for three divers and gear. Two in the water, one in the boat at all times. 6 tanks. Something like an 18 ft Boston Whaler. Is this reasonable?
I primarily dive from my own boat. It is an incredible expense with slip fee, high fuel costs, insurance, maintenance and repair, not to mention the initial cost of the boat. It will never be a break even deal. It is far cheaper to go on a commercial boat. The sites I usually dive ten to be small. If a commercial boat dropped a dozen or more divers on the site it would be overcrowded and likely silted out in no time.
I know some like to feel that their "secret" sites are for them alone, but they are fooling themselves. If they could find the spot, so could others. With Google Earth and other mapping programs available anyone with a tiny bit of computer savvy can find more wrecks and reefs than they will ever be able to dive.
I know some like to feel that their "secret" sites are for them alone, but they are fooling themselves. If they could find the spot, so could others. With Google Earth and other mapping programs available anyone with a tiny bit of computer savvy can find more wrecks and reefs than they will ever be able to dive.
- Messages
- 19,805
- Reaction score
- 18,673
- Location
- Philadelphia and Boynton Beach
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
In SE Florida, the majority of diving is drift, no mooring. I think this probably limits the number of private boats. The diving in the Keys is generally moored, completely different.
100days-a-year
Contributor
There are a lot of private boat divers in FL, it as Johnoly mentioned,we are not often interested in diving spots being beat down by cattle boats nearly daily.
That said,I have thousands of dives in S Fl and the Keys on my boat and occasionally will hit the popular spots early before the bigger boats get there.
Out of Jax we have likely 20 to 50 times more private boat divers than charter.
As far as costs.My recreational dive days cost me less than $150 including boat ,fuel,ice etc.Guests normally pitch in a share on fuel,ice and bring their own tanks.Say $75 max.
Worth every nickel to dive sites no else has and see fish that don't know divers by name.
That said,I have thousands of dives in S Fl and the Keys on my boat and occasionally will hit the popular spots early before the bigger boats get there.
Out of Jax we have likely 20 to 50 times more private boat divers than charter.
As far as costs.My recreational dive days cost me less than $150 including boat ,fuel,ice etc.Guests normally pitch in a share on fuel,ice and bring their own tanks.Say $75 max.
Worth every nickel to dive sites no else has and see fish that don't know divers by name.
tekkydiver
Contributor
- Messages
- 652
- Reaction score
- 482
1. Johnoly -- Right on the money.
2. 100 days - Right on the money too.
3. 18' Whaler Outrage, doable but quickly you would find it to small, difficult to board and you would hate it.
4. Cattle boats attract all sorts. You can get stuck with a buddy that looks like a heart attack waiting to happen or a Type A dive expert that brags he's out here almost every month LOL Then they string them out on the reef over a couple of miles. You can pop up and bob up and down like bait in the water waiting 20 mins for a pickup.
5. DADA - Just the opposite. Drift diving better and safer off a private boat. Local boaters know the water better than many dive ops.
6. Private boat.... 100X better then any local dive op.
2. 100 days - Right on the money too.
3. 18' Whaler Outrage, doable but quickly you would find it to small, difficult to board and you would hate it.
4. Cattle boats attract all sorts. You can get stuck with a buddy that looks like a heart attack waiting to happen or a Type A dive expert that brags he's out here almost every month LOL Then they string them out on the reef over a couple of miles. You can pop up and bob up and down like bait in the water waiting 20 mins for a pickup.
5. DADA - Just the opposite. Drift diving better and safer off a private boat. Local boaters know the water better than many dive ops.
6. Private boat.... 100X better then any local dive op.
Similar threads
