Any shorter liveaboards?

[diversteve]

Wasn't Nekton as both boats left (typically) from Ft. Lauderdale. Or sometimes Puerto Rico? They had huge swim platforms on the back that they could lower down to/into the water so they didn't even have tenders except to chase errant divers. Nekton went out of business several years ago. Both boats are rotting away in a shipyard.

I thought that was an Australian Barrier Reef deal. But for snorkelers only. They even offer the option to fly out on a seaplane.

 

[TravisD]

Mike Ball does fly/dive for Divers as well: 4 Nights - Fly Dive Coral Sea | Scuba Diving Australia Liveaboard Shark Dive

I've done it - the plane trip alone is a neat experience. It's not a seaplane though - at least not if everything goes right You depart or arrive at Lizard Island which is a cool little island airstrip.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

California! Catalina island liveaboards are 2 -3 days if I remember correctly.

 

[diversteve]

Blue Iguana might be another South Florida option. They offer some 3 day wreck trips for $960. 6 divers max. Charter Rates

 

[chrpai]

We're wracking our brains to figure out how to make the cabins convertible. I'd make permanent doubles, but my NOAA contract for the next 5 years requires me to carry 24. Those with more imagination than I have are welcome to provide suggestions.

Not that I know anything about boats... but looking at your floorplan, it looks like your 4 cabins of 4 would need to stay as-is. That leaves the squad bay areas. It seems that if you walled them off and put the passage way in the right place that this would make 2 new cabins. Then some sort of airline seat like beds could allow for reconfiguration between 12 and 24 passenger voyages.

Best I can think of.

 

[jmsenger]

Pro Dive in Cairns does 2-4 day trips to the Great Barrier Reef. Nice boats and great service.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

MV Kate of Blue Iguana cruises offers 6 nights and shorter cruises from Grand Bahamas. Mike Ball and Spirit of Freedom offer 3 + 4 night trips between Cairns + Lizard Island, which include on way low level flight over the GBR. Several boats in Thailand offer 4, 4, 5 or 6 night trips. Adventure and Valentina offer 5 night trips in the Sea of Cortez. The beautiful Nautilus Swell has some 3 nt trips in British Columbia (cold water). Cuan Law in the BVI has 6 nt trips. Black Manta offers 5 nt trips to Komodo and Raja Ampat. Siren Philippines has 6nt trips. Several boats offer 4 or 5 nt trips to cage dive with Great Whites at Guadalupe. There are quite a few choices out there. Let me know if you need any details on any of them.

 

[zeppelindiver]

Hello,

Take a look at our liveaboard diving operation in the Bay Islands. We started a liveaboard diving and sailing operation based out of French Cay Harbor, Roatan in February of 2013. We offer private, personalized liveaboard diving trips aboard our 47 foot luxury sailboat with the itineraries and schedule tailored to our guests preferences. We can provide you with access to all the best sites that the local dive shops don't go to as well as the most popular sites near the resorts, but at times of day when no one else is on the site. This is the ultimate in small group diving with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 guests and 2 Instructors to take care of them! We can create an itinerary that includes as much diving and other activities as you would like, both land & water based. Roatan & the Bay Islands have an incredible variety of things to do along with fantastic diving, we offer liveaboard trips ranging from 3 to 7 days long. For more information check out our website Zeppelin Dive & Sail | Roatan Live Aboard Sailing & Diving Charters

 

[catone]

Great info everyone, much appreciated!