Multi-Day Dive Boat Buying Suggestions

[Darnold9999]

Thanks for all the insight, I'm doing a bit of analysis and revision now to see what makes sense moving forward. Interesting to know about the wood aspects as well, I would have thought upkeep was much more serious.

Regarding a compressor, I would think gas is the only way to go, but CO contamination seems like a real concern, especially on a modestly sized boat. Electric would be viable in port, but CO would probably be even worse with all the engines around. So much to figure out...

CO is very serious. Almost killed myself and partner last summer. Long story and we were OK but scared the cr*p out of me.
You need to be very careful buying wood. Fresh water is what kills it. Pooling rain for example. Salt preserves it. Worms and electrolysis eat it. Get all that under control and keep up with the maintenance and you are good. Mine is 55 years old and still going strong. Neighbor at the marina has one much older. However there are fewer and fewer on the water because there comes a point where the maintenance bill will be more than the price of a replacement. Happens with fiberglass as well. If you buy get a good survey done. Do not rely on the last insurance survey. Pay the $ for a current survey it could save you from buying a lemon and always pays for itself.

Very much depends what you want to do with a boat and what level of comfort you want. I went from 14’ runabout to 18’ runabout on a trailer to 28 Bertram deep V moored and now 37 antique Shepherd moored. Be aware boat is an acronym for break out another thousand

 

[wgw04024]

He's not kidding on what 'boat' stands for...

 

[rjack321]

Exactly where are you in Washington? If you are in Olympia its DAYS to get to Victoria in a 8knot boat. In fact its your entire dive day just to get to almost any dive site.

If you are in Seattle, good luck getting decent moorage. You can find it in the ship canal, but now its hours and hours to get to a dive site (again) as you have to get out the locks.

Ok fine you moor it in Everett, you have like 3 dive sites available to you on a Saturday.

If it's not on a trailer it won't go far or get used much.

 

[MrBlenny]

Exactly where are you in Washington? If you are in Olympia its DAYS to get to Victoria in a 8knot boat. In fact its your entire dive day just to get to almost any dive site.

If you are in Seattle, good luck getting decent moorage. You can find it in the ship canal, but now its hours and hours to get to a dive site (again) as you have to get out the locks.

Ok fine you moor it in Everett, you have like 3 dive sites available to you on a Saturday.

If it's not on a trailer it won't go far or get used much.

I'm still figuring out a lot of details, but I'm looking into keeping the boat at Pleasant Harbor, which is in striking distance of some sites I like to dive. I also work 4-10's, so if I do go this route, trips would be two or three days, or longer vacations where going a distance wouldn't be so much of an issue. I have no interest in being close to Seattle traffic Like everything in diving, the pros and cons of each boat type seem to be heavily divided.

 

[rjack321]

Hood Canal has some decent sites and you have they have the benefit of them not being especially current dependent. There are about 6 sites within an hour-ish boat travel time of that Marina. But depending on where you are coming from, in the summer you can have a very long wait for the ferry. You won't be going to the San Juans for a 3 day weekend from Pleasant Harbor that is for sure. Just getting to Port Townsend is a boat trip unto itself and by the time you arrive any hope of making a slack for a dive is long gone.

If you haven't owned a boat in Puget Sound for diving before, absolutely go with something on a trailer and temper your stay aboard expectations.

 

[MrBlenny]

Thanks for all the input so far--I made an offer on a Bayliner 3888 yesterday, so fingers crossed. If all goes well, the next step is scubafying it

 

[Darnold9999]

Thanks for all the input so far--I made an offer on a Bayliner 3888 yesterday, so fingers crossed. If all goes well, the next step is scubafying it

Nothing like jumping into the deep end! Good luck, that will be a comfortable boat to spend time on and cruise the coast.

 

[tekkydiver]

Thanks for all the input so far--I made an offer on a Bayliner 3888 yesterday, so fingers crossed. If all goes well, the next step is scubafying it

Gulp!

 

[MrBlenny]

CO is very serious. Almost killed myself and partner last summer. Long story and we were OK but scared the cr*p out of me.
You need to be very careful buying wood. Fresh water is what kills it. Pooling rain for example. Salt preserves it. Worms and electrolysis eat it. Get all that under control and keep up with the maintenance and you are good. Mine is 55 years old and still going strong. Neighbor at the marina has one much older. However there are fewer and fewer on the water because there comes a point where the maintenance bill will be more than the price of a replacement. Happens with fiberglass as well. If you buy get a good survey done. Do not rely on the last insurance survey. Pay the $ for a current survey it could save you from buying a lemon and always pays for itself.

Very much depends what you want to do with a boat and what level of comfort you want. I went from 14’ runabout to 18’ runabout on a trailer to 28 Bertram deep V moored and now 37 antique Shepherd moored. Be aware boat is an acronym for break out another thousand

Funny that you should mention that boats work in denominations of $1000, as that is almost exactly what the new Garmin will cost. And then there is the tender, motor for the tender, compressor for filling tanks, booster, new swim-step...good thing I was able to negotiate on the price, anything I saved is going right back into the floating money pit

On a sidebar, does anyone have input on how to safely store O2? I'm leery of where I want to put any accelerants, and the engine bay seems like a really bad idea.

 

[Darnold9999]

Funny that you should mention that boats work in denominations of $1000, as that is almost exactly what the new Garmin will cost. And then there is the tender, motor for the tender, compressor for filling tanks, booster, new swim-step...good thing I was able to negotiate on the price, anything I saved is going right back into the floating money pit

On a sidebar, does anyone have input on how to safely store O2? I'm leery of where I want to put any accelerants, and the engine bay seems like a really bad idea.

You will find there is nothing on a boat that costs less than $1,000!

Can’t help with Oxygen storage. Don’t carry it. Are you talking about rescue O2 or mixing O2 quantities?