Best smallcraft for diving

[Chuck Tribolet]

There are several folks on the whaler board who have picked up surplus federal boats,
and turned them into very nice boats. The key is to find one with a sound hull and
not much else. And to have lots of free time, and the skills to fix it up. This is not
for most folks, but if you are in that position, and willing to wait until you find the right
boat, it's an option.

The door in the side is an option on some whalers, though it sounds like the one you
saw was done with a chainsaw, which meant it's structural integrity was poor (they
put in a lot of extra reinforcing when they build them that way at the factory.

 

[Tom Winters]

It is entirely possible to get what you need from surplus - just a little problematical.
When you're pulling 10' dolphins back into the boat after they've been recalled, you need all the room you can get.
There was a guy who bought a surplus 50' Uniflite Navy launch and converted it into a pretty nice commercial dive boat in the Waianae Valley. It took him 2 years and a lot of extra money to do it, but the finished product was pretty nice. Since the basic hull never was modified, the Coast Guard signed off on 18 or 24 passengers.
The boat wound up on Midway Island when they had that resort out there.
At the marina in Pearl Harbor, they got an old LCM Mike boat for harbor operations from salvage that worked like a charm but looked pretty hideous. That beast was a lot of fun to drive.
These are nice RIBs:
http://www.ribcraftusa.com/home.htm

 

[Marlinspike]

If a Whaler is what you want then you should look at Maritime Skiff (http://www.mskiff.com/).

One of the guys spent years at Boston Whaler on the commerical design division. Their boats are of relatively simple design, are designed to be easily modified by their owners for specific purposes, and to be repaired easily. Good solid boats for people looking for something without superfluous bells and whistles that are only going to break off or fail sooner rather than later. Along the same lines as comparable BWs, they don't have a severe deadrise and are nice in the shallows and for trips out in moderate seas (because of comfort in chop, not for a lack of toughness or survivability).

~Marlinspike

 

[lamont]

So, if you're not going 25 miles offshore are bayliners okay? Here in Puget Sound we just don't get very heavy seas, conditions tend to be pretty predicatable, and you're never that far away from someplace to get out of the seas/wind. Its not the NE Atlantic.

 

[Hank49]

So, if you're not going 25 miles offshore are bayliners okay? Here in Puget Sound we just don't get very heavy seas, conditions tend to be pretty predicatable, and you're never that far away from someplace to get out of the seas/wind. Its not the NE Atlantic.

Since the boat is an integral part of safe diving, are there no DIR recommended boats? Just kidding..... But a Bayliner should work fine in the waters you're talking about. matt Unique would highly recommend them and he's got a lot of experience with his in the north Atlantic.

 

[Cacia]

Bayliners don't have a good reputation, Lamont. If you get a deal,....might be good. i think they depreciate in a hurry. Feel free anyone to correct me.

also, feel free to beg me for a picture of my slip and the boat I WANT but cannot afford.

Unless someone has mechanical aptitude, I would favor marine twin outboards. Much safer to have a spare engine. Easier to work on, etc. Power cats, in these parts, rule, with the fuel efficient hull design.

 

[lamont]

Since the boat is an integral part of safe diving, are there no DIR recommended boats?

not AFAIK. GI3 has mentioned that there are right ways and wrong ways to build boats, though, so it might be amusing to ask on gavinscooters...

 

[Cacia]

well, Bayliners are not the DIR vessels of the boater's world I can pretty much go that far. I would say a Twin V or a Force would be the simple work horse DIR style baot.

 

[lamont]

Bayliners don't have a good reputation, Lamont. If you get a deal,....might be good. i think they depreciate in a hurry. Feel free anyone to correct me.

I'm interested in a pre-depricated model. Ideally something with just a solid hull and a solid engine. Don't care about ripped up upholstery since I'm sure throwing doubles around on it will mess it up... Whalers and RIBs would really fit the bill better, but used bayliners seem to be about 1/2 the price...

 

[Hank49]

I'm interested in a pre-depricated model. Ideally something with just a solid hull and a solid engine. Don't care about ripped up upholstery since I'm sure throwing doubles around on it will mess it up... Whalers and RIBs would really fit the bill better, but used bayliners seem to be about 1/2 the price...

In my experience, I wouldn't buy a boat that I'm hoping will hold up. It's not worth it because if it doesn't, you can't sell it. It'll just clutter up your yard. Spend a bit more for a boat in good shape made for what you want to do. If you take care of a good used boat, it should sell for not a lot less than what you paid.