Boat Crew Setting Up Gear?

[Walter]

i don't see what the big deal is. As others have noted. As long as you are the last one to check your rig before you dive it, something you should do even if you did set it up, who cares who set it up first?

It's part of the fun of diving.

 

[Paco]

With all the pages on this thread, I'll admit I didn't read them all. When a DM has set up my gear without asking him to, I felt appreciative but uncomfortable only in that I felt like I may have caused an already hard-worked and under-paid professional extra work. Of course, I was very careful to look over my set-up because I knew that I knew my stuff best. Tip him (her), don't bad mouth her (him).

 

[SeaJay]

Tip him (her), don't bad mouth her (him).

Whatever.

I figure if I don't tip them, they'll get the hint and go away.

I'm sorry - did I say that aloud?

 

[Charlie99]

Whatever.

I figure if I don't tip them, they'll get the hint and go away.

A simple, polite, direct statement would work a lot better. Even the best boat crews aren't very good mind readers. :banana:

 

[SeaJay]

A simple, polite, direct statement would work a lot better.

I have no complaints. Whever I'm saying to them is effective. They don't touch, and I don't feel the need to break their fingers off.

We have a great relationship that way. I'm always polite about it.

 

[Walter]

I tend to over tip DMs. I've done the job, they are usually over worked, under paid and under appreciated. If a DM offers to assemble my gear, I politely decline. If they accept that, they get a nice tip. If they try to insist, they still don't mess with my gear and they get no tip. I tip for good service, not for being a PITA. Good service is defined by the customer, not the DM.

 

[miketsp]

I tend to over tip DMs. I've done the job, they are usually over worked, under paid and under appreciated.

Most of the DMs I dive with during the year are only part-time DMs. They often work less hours than I do - I work in the private sector and they tend to work in the public sector where nobody ever does any overtime.

Offering a tip to them would be an insult - most of them are on high salaries.

Obviously it's quite different in tourist locations where there are full-time DMs.

 

[mempilot]

I tip a DM to be a DM, not a baby-sitter. I tip them to promote safety on the boat. I tip them to get the line on the dive site, if applicable. I tip them to keep the boat orderly in regards to all that is going on. I tip them to be a lifeguard in the event of an accident or incident. I tip them to know what they are doing. I tip them to brief me on the hookup and what to expect with the conditions. I don't let them wash my car, carry my groceries, or setup my gear. I tip well, and they usually like me. If they insist on messing with my gear, they get no tip and I find a different boat to dive off of. BTW, I've never had to do this, since most DM's in the SE FL area respect the local divers.

 

[DORSETBOY]

A simple, polite, direct statement would work a lot better. Even the best boat crews aren't very good mind readers. :banana:

seayjay.. have a butchers again at the above statement... you might find people respond better!

 

[DandyDon]

Hi All:

Just returned from a cruise to Cozumel, Roatan and Belize. Diving was great, but I hated the cruising. We dived with Hugh Parkey's in Belize and while I feel they were a top notch dive operation, I was uncomfortable handing over my gear for the crew to assemble. They literally strapped on your BC, stuck your fins on your feet and even pulled the stray hair out of your mask before you back rolled into the water.

It made me feel a bit uncomfortable as I have always assembled my own gear. Couldn't do the normal buddy check had to spend several minutes going over my gear before I could descend.

While it was easy and convenient, I just didn't like it. It violates everything I learned in OW class (no buddy checks, not checking your own gear). Is this normal for travel diving?

I'm late in this discussion, as I've been traveling since the 10th, and - I don't have the energy to go thru all the posts. Apologies, but I want to address the original question...

This is all too common in some tourist driven locales, as Vacation Divers seem to like it, so they're more likely to tip well, come back, send others. I tell the operator that I'd rather do my own, and only once did I get grief - from Aqua Divers in Belize, the worst operator I've ever dived with.

Anyway, rather than get into a problem with the skipper who was insulted, I let him put my BC on my tank and all, then I went over it. I still had to watch out for them messing with my valves after I suited up, and the second mate - who almsot hit me with a drift line tied to a 2# weight - did turn one gal's air almost off for a 140 foot dive. I just worked around them.

Do my own gear checks, do buddy checks, then get my buddy to check my air valve right before striding in. And tell your friends to not dive with them. :angry: