Dive With Own Boat

[lpurcell]

fdarden has made some very good points. Maybe it goes without saying, but the first item of business after following the anchor line to the bottom is to manually set the anchor!

But back to the original question - when I was much younger, my friend and I routinely dove from his unattended boat. The dangers of this hit home one afternoon when we surfaced about 50 yards from the boat. Once back on board, we suddenly realized that we were about a half mile down coast from where we anchored to start the dive. Fortunately, we and boat drifted at about the same speed. This could have had a much worse ending.

Now that I have my own boat, there is no way I would dive with it unattended. Plus, I make sure the surface person knows how to operate the engine controls and radio - just in case. I also dive with a live boat quite a bit, which means I don't anchor, but leave the engine running and the surface person follows our bubbles at a discrete distance. Don't have to backtrack at all and the boat is always close in an emergency.

 

[Fatterboy]

My wife and I dive from our boat unattended, but we lake dive when we do. Generally when we are done we surface, shoot an azmuth, submerge and swim back. Ours is an old pontoon boat with no furniture. We have locking aluminum tool boxes and she looks like an old prostitute (the boat!) but she definitely gets us there.

 

[Ana]

Surely you can find 2 more divers to go with you and do the 2 in, 2 out rotation.

I wouldn't plan on this being the case... to buy a boat depending on the availability of others will probably result on many lost diving opportunities.

---------- Post added December 31st, 2012 at 09:22 AM ----------

Captain covers a lot right here. The only thing I would add is to disable the motor. Disconnect the coil wire and/or the battery cable (negitive side, reduces sparking) also install a hidden fuel shutoff. I dove using my fathers boat during my early diving years and did most of the above. VHF radios where for rich people back then but most everything else here I did. You might consider a sea anchor in addtion to your ground anchors, if the boat does become unmoored the sea anchor will slow the drift down. I always used 2 anchors a grappling and danforth.

I wouldn't like to disable my boat each time I get in the water, unless it is a super easy and fast to bring it back to operational. If there's a real risk of the boat getting stolen then I skip the area...understanding it always possible for something to the stolen but not always probable.




With all that said,and all the warnings and things to consider already mentioned.... go ahead a get the boat, you will love the freedom on setting things your way, getting the procedures that make sense to your configuration. Making long and relaxing dive trips when you have the time, short quickies when your time is very limited but you just want to get one dive before certain events.

Diving inSE Florida I felt it was silly for me to own a boat, having so many options for different charters that catter to many different style of divers, then I moved to a place that to me felt backwards in their charter behavior, I almost felt that either I get a boat or take knitting. Little did I know that owning a boat was going to be such a source of pleasure. I was resigned to"deal" with the "responsibilities" of maintaining a boat turned out I loved tinkering with the boat as much as I like tinkering with the gear.
Granted my husband grew up around boats, we are both mechanically inclined, and we bought a brand new boat. Not sure what would be the case if you end up with a lemon, but It has been over 6years now and not once I've wish I didn't have the boat.

 

[Capt.Gene]

Once you learn the how, live boat divingis the way to go in most conditions. If you can operate 2 up 2 down. I usually only use my anchor as a lunch hook.
I stopped seeing the fun in swimming up and down an anchor line a long time ago, especially in stronger current.
Limited visability above water (sea fog or inpending darkness) or rough water might make us break out the anchor.
We could do an entire thread here on safety and live boat diving, but rule #1 is stay downcurrent from your divers until they are on the surface. Dive Alerts and Saftey Tubes mandatory on my boat.
Questions welcome.

 

[OldNSalty]

I wouldn't plan on this being the case... to buy a boat depending on the availability of others will probably result on many lost diving opportunities.

If you are a boat owner and can't find 2 other people to go diving with you in Florida you should probably check your hygiene.

 

[LarryR]

Good judgement and a healthy dose of common sense should be used if one leaves a boat unattended. No T storms around, no strong currents, calm conditions, ability to navigate and or use of wreck reel to stay close to the anchor line and the ability to call the dive if any of these conditions change while at the dive site or in the water.
I didn't notice anyone mention setting two anchors. Std practice on my boat.
Many other good ideas we use were mentioned, O2, CPR cert, radio, alert transmitter,redundant air supplies, float plan, hide a key to name a few. Ladders, stern lines,dive flags and diver down bouys are a given. We also alert any boats in the area that we will be diving.
My boat is unattended 2/3s of the time. Biggest safety feature my buddy and I use is the mellon attached to our shoulders telling us that we can always dive another day if things aren't just right. We have done that several times.

 

[Zieg]

If you are a boat owner and can't find 2 other people to go diving with you in Florida you should probably check your hygiene.

I don't think hygiene is the issue, more in the line of finding like minded people who you would trust operating your boat while you're down.

 

[Oldbear]

Was a case study in a book I just read about a guy doing something similar. Him and his gf drifted for hours, nearing death when the coast guard found them.

Thing is, he was convicted his boat had been stolen when the found it drifting unmanned a few miles away.

Anything can happen when you're under, storms, untethering... It's just not worth it.

I am not sure if Amazon.com: diver down (9783440109984): Michael R Ange: Books is the book you are referring to, but there is a good case study/story about an unattended boat in the Keys.

There have been some good reviews on the book here in ScubaBoard. I enjoyed and "learned' from it. I just started to read it again for the second time.

Diver Down frequently makes the list of must have dive books; here are a few of SB review threads on Diver Down:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/book-media-reviews/412054-diver-down-question.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/123012-anyone-read-diver-down.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/124094-diver-down-michael-r-ange.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/book-media-reviews/312857-diver-down.html

​

After reading this book +1 for having a non-diving boat attendant.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The anchor line should be eye spliced on both ends and attached to the anchor chain on one end and to the boat on the other end with shackles safety wired to prevent any possibility of coming apart.

I disagree that the anchor line should be shackled to the boat. My anchor line is tied off to a cleat
(a Norman Pin, actually) that the boat builder put there for that purpose. The bitter end is eye-spliced
and clipped to the bow lifting eye with a stainless steel carabiner. When stuff happens (and it has a
couple of times) we can unclip the bitter end, clip it to a fender, untie from the cleat, drop the
rode overboard and be underway in about a minute.

 

[Reck Diver]

We were thingking about purchasing a boat for diving in the Florida Keys, but I cannot figure out how one would safely dive from their own boat, that is it would be left vacant during the dive. How do others take care of this security problem, never mind the boat becoming unteathered? Leaving someone on board to watch it is the simplest solution I know, but that would be unworkable. Is there some technique I don't get?
Thanks for the help.

If there is one place to dive with as you suggest, it is the Florida Keys.