Preparing Private Yacht for Diving

[BROOKEDAVIS100]

I have been hired by a private yacht to be in charge of dive operations including getting the proper safety equipment for a one year trip around the South Pacific. All of the dive gear itself and the compressor are already on the boat, I just need safety equipment and any spares/maintenance items we may need.

So far I have gotten ample emergency oxygen, an AED, spare o-ring kit, and a dive flag. Can anyone think of anything else we may need for remote diving?

 

[Doby45]

I would say that you need to standardize the regs onboard and get certified to work on them. And on some uber awesome private yacht, I would also have a PLB for every diver.

 

[Newdiv]

I'm not an expert of any kind, but being in remote areas, I would think you would want extra low and high pressure hoses along with their o-rings, regulator rebuild kits or backup regulators and backup everything that could possibly break or leak and the knowledge to fix said items.

 

[Doby45]

Yhea, the more I think of this the logistics will be huge. How many dives are going to be done on average. Is the yacht specific to diving and will see multiple dives in a day/week or is the diving just a novelty that they want to have available? If it is a dive intensive boat then I would stock up totally different, I would add additional BCDs that are adjustable for size. Extra fins, masks, snorkels, SMBs, regs, hoses, computers and weights.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Agree with others--the "spare o-ring kit" is the tip of the iceberg. For a one year trip, you could do well to get not just a kit but boxes of 100 o-rings each from an industrial supply house such as McMaster-Carr. But yeah, regulator repair tools and kits (and knowledge).

 

[WarrenZ]

I would keep an extra set or two complete extra sets you can easily swap parts out of much easier to swap out a failing regulator with a working one to immediately get the person back in the water that way you can tear into the failed reg and fix it either yourself or at the next port especially if it is something major like a crushed case or shattered SPG.

I would also look at sourcing a couple of rebuild kits assuming you will have a common base regulator setup. how will you be set for tools such as IP Gauges specialized tools for the specific regs on board etc.

 

[Darnold9999]

I would wander in to your local dive shop and ask to speak to the person responsible for maintaining the rental gear and find out what they use in a year.

Likely on such a boat there will be guests - a selection of spare everything that is likely to break would be on my list

Camera stuff. Possibly even a couple of spare point and shoots in housings for guests

How are you going to deal with the inevitable contact with things that bite and or sting

I like the PLB idea

Contact Mike Veitch on this board. He does this on a fairly regular basis so a conversation might be a good idea

 

[DennisS]

How many hours a month will the compressor be running. How many filters of each type and how much compressor oil will you need based on manufacturer's recommendations. Do you have repair manuals and spare parts for the compressor and filtration system. Does the system have CO monitoring, an auto drain will make your life easier..

 

[Wingy]

At the risk of sounding sarcastic (I'm not being) no one has yet mentioned the very first and occasionally forgotten part of....getting your divers in and out of the water.

Is this a yacht or a power boat? If a sailing yacht your entry and exits for divers are going to be a lot different than on a powered pleasure craft. If there's an exisiting ladder good, get a spare and also get a 10m length of good thick rope (preferably hemp) and tie it off on the staunchions so if you're ever in a situation with a broken ladder or a big swell has come up your divers will have something to hang onto.

Safety wise EPIRBS Flares etc all within the expiry date and a full medical kit not just a first aid and ox kit. You may try to find a marine stevedores who have medical kits designed for ocean crossings complete with Basic suturing materials thru to AEDs - expensive but price less if it's used just once.

Your OP mentioned the dive gear was already on the boat - make sure you have spares for all equipment but spend an hour or two walking around the boat and think of what may go wrong and what measures you can take now, and take with you in case.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Ok I'll ask the OP....what is your experience in diving and yachting?

I would think that anyone hired to undertake a year long journey to remote areas of the world would have experience in such endeavors even if not year long.

What type of yacht.... what safety gear does the yacht have...SOLAS liferaft,Satellite phone,EPIRB,Weather Service provider,Arranged regular check ins with local Coast Guard military etc.,Licensed Captain,Seasoned crew,Dewatering pumps,....I could go on and on but I'll stop here.