What do you bring on the dive boat?

[Ren127]

I'm new to diving and still trying to figure out what makes since as far as what to bring with me on the boat-

Last weekend I had just my rolling mesh bag and my weight bag- Regulator bag, computer bag, fins, masks, wetsuit, skin, bc, snorkel, and logbook inside mesh bag. Camera, lights, slate in the top of the weight bag. I ended putting my towel and clothes in my mesh bag while we were diving and everything got soaked- including my logbook (what do you store your logbook in to keep it dry? mine is the zippered SSI version and it's too big for a gallon ziploc) Then after the dive I hate putting wet stuff back in with dry stuff that may have not been used because it means more cleaning when I get home. I just don't seem to have this very organized. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Also, I'll be traveling to Hawaii at the end of June and trying to figure out what combination of bags to bring - it doesn't seem like the travel bags suitable for the airline are good for the boat- so do you bring something else too? I'm considering Dive Caddy but that really looks like a mess for on the boat.

Thanks-

 

[vladimir]

All my gear fits in the mesh bag. I don't bring a towel. I wear a T-shirt, hat and sunglasses, which I stash in a soft Diverite regulator bag that usually keeps them dry. My computer automatically logs the dives and theoretically gets downloaded later--sometimes much later. At that point I can add any details I might want to include, but I have pretty much abandoned the whole logging process as my life and hard drives got scattered. I don't need weights with my current configuration, but if I do I thread them onto a weightbelt and lay it across one shoulder. My camera gets completely rigged in the hotel room and doesn't get opened until I'm back there. I can take a few hundred photos before the strobe batteries start to sag, a thousand before the housing needs to be opened to change the camera battery. I will normally commit to one lens for the whole day when I'm not on a liveaboard or shore diving.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I leave most of the bags at home when boat diving. I bring my mesh bag with gear I'm going to use to dive and a dry bag with dry stuff, clothes, log, etc. You can add a garbage bag to put dive gear in after the dive to protect the stuff you didn't use and don't want to rinse. Or put the dry in the garbage bag.

When packing the mesh bag put fins on bottom then BC then regulator and surround them with wetsuit for protection. Put mask in crush proof box and tuck into end of bag. I put my computer and mask in the same box. Those lock n lock containers from the big box stores are great. You can use them
for mask and computer box as well as a dry box for phone, wallet, logbook pages, etc. BTW you don't need to bring your whole logbook, just bring as many pages as you need.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[fisheater]

Go by your local REI (or other outdoor goods store) and get a drybag (used by canoeists) to keep your towel, dry clothes and log book in. Everything outside a drybag on a boat is sure to get wet.

 

[BB1]

A great idea I saw recently, take a large drybag - the one I saw was made out of thin ripstop nylon - for gear you want to stay dry like tshirt for trip home etc. At the end of the dive day empty it out and put your wetsuit, gloves, booties etc in it for the trip home and everything else doesn't get so wet!

I also bought the XS Scuba mesh bag which has a large dry pocket at one end - my logbook etc goes in there!

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

If I'm diving in the Northeast, I pack everything in a big plastic box with a lid, which stows under the benches on deck very neatly. Also great for carrying wet dive gear in the car: you don't have to worry about wet gear leaking everywhere. I usually put my 'dry' stuff in a little holdall and stow it down below, where it will stay dry.

Elsewhere, I use a simple mesh bag. I don't worry about a regulator bag and a computer bag, too - they take up too much real-estate. I pack fins/booties first (lights go into the bottom of my booties), then my BC and wetsuit. I wrap my regulator in my dive skin/wetsuit for protection. My wrist-slate, wrist-compass and computers fit into my mask-box, which fits comfortably in my dive bag. I'll also attach a bungee or two to the zip of my bag - you never know when they might come in handy for securing tanks.

I'll carry essentials, like cell-phone, ATM card, cash (for tips!) and spare contact lenses in a little storm-case with a clear lid. It's completely water-proof and also floats on the surface, on the off-chance that it finds its way overboard. The storm-case and my clothes all get put down below when I dive, and I've never had a problem with them getting wet. I can then stuff the storm case into my mesh bag when the dive's over, without fear of wrecking my phone or whatever.

I leave my log-book at home. It's too bulky (I have a zipper version, too), and truth be told, it STILL hasn't completely dried out from being carried on the dive boat once or twice a couple of years ago! The paper's kind of thin and flaky, so it doesn't come on the boat anymore. I scribble down the dive sites' names and my air pressure (I don't have an air-integrated computer) on my wrist-slate before and after my dives, and then log my dives when I go home (maybe a day or two after the fact!).

It took me a while to get gear transportation down pat, and I only achieved it by watching and observing how other, more experienced folks managed it. I'm still learning, in fact, and I know you will, too. Good luck!

 

[Stu S.]

No wheeled bags or plastic boxes here. A Florida dive boat gives you a seat wide enough for two tank holders, and all your stuff goes under the seat. If the boat has a forward cabin, look for some coat hooks in there. I roll my dry clothes and towel and put it into small mesh bag. It hangs on a hook down there and does not get wet.

Consider a really big dive bag. No wheels. Akona makes one. If it takes skill to pack a bag before you leave home, you'll never get it re-packed on a boat during a storm.

The best way to keep the log book dry is to leave it home, or in your car.

Have fun with it.

 

[QatarDiver]

I bring water (it's hot out here) for before the dive, beer for after the dive and hopefully a happy attitude. I leave behind the three most useless things on a boat; an umbrella, a spirit level and a naval officer!

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Mesh bag with gear, drybag with small towel, shirt and shorts(which I almost never use....), my phone and keys go in a small pelican case in the dry bag. My computer is my logbook. Dno't forget save-a-dive kit. Invaluable.


But not bananas. Definitely not bananas.

 

[Lee Taylor]

Minimum = Mask, fins, scuba unit, certification card, charge card.

Minimum additions = Mesh bag, Dry bag

Seattle Sports Omni Dry Stuff Sack