Charter boat Capt rules of the road

[RaginCajun]

Is it inappropriate or otherwise specifically against the regs for a charter boat captain to dive with his guests? What if the boat is tended by a DM or mate or not attended at all.

What about it? Is this a big deal or not?

 

[captain]

I was one at one time long ago and I am trying to remember the regs but if the boat is anchored I don't think there is any regulation requiring the captain stay on board. There are no specific USCG regulations pertaining to dive charters that I am or was aware of so any rule would be general in nature applicable to any charter vessel. A deck hand or DM could be assigned as anchor watch/lookout.

Is it appropiate or not is another issue that is best determined by conditions at the time and location.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

I don't know rules, but I wouldn't want to be diving on this charter. Is the DM or other tending the boat fully familiar with how to maneuver the boat, use the radio to call in an emergency, give Oxygen, respond to other emergencies, etc? In most cases, unless the DM is also a Captain, I doubt it.

What if 5 minutes into the dive one buddy group surfaces and one of the divers has just had a heart attack? After getting his buddy out without any help from the boat, then they waste 30 minutes of valuable time because they can't figure out the marine radio to get help.

What about the anchor coming loose (something I've seen happen), what about if divers surface in strong surface current away from the boat?

Overall unless it is a site 5 meters from shore on a small lake, I wouldn't want to go on any charter without a Captain aboard the whole time.

 

[Nemrod]

Just because the captain leaves the boat does not mean a mate is not aboard. N

 

[mike_s]

I was one at one time long ago and I am trying to remember the regs but if the boat is anchored I don't think there is any regulation requiring the captain stay on board. There are no specific USCG regulations pertaining to dive charters that I am or was aware of so any rule would be general in nature applicable to any charter vessel. A deck hand or DM could be assigned as anchor watch/lookout.

Is it appropiate or not is another issue that is best determined by conditions at the time and location.

If the Coast Guard doesn't have rules against it, I wonder if their insurance underwriter does? (I mean look at how that might open a charter operation and their insurance company up to liability).



I've been on a boat where the mate and captain got off the boat and both went under the boat after they fowled the props running over the anchor line that they forgot to tie to the front of the boat when they threw the anchor over....

They spent close to an hour "off the boat" most of the time trying to cut away the anchor line. If there was an accident on the boat, it could have been bad, but also could have been worse if someone went and cranked the engines and put them in gear while they were down monkeying with a rope in the props.

 

[RJP]

We always have a captain on board, and it appears to be some sort of "rule" that we must. Though frankly I'm not sure if it's a USCG rule or maybe an insurance company rule. I think it's probably a USCG thing. We're a large boat (non-six pack) which takes 18 divers plus capt and crew and are USCG inspected and certified. For those that don't know, there are different regulations for larger boats vs six-packs.

We have several crew members who also have their captain's tickets, so if the "actual" captain wants to go diving we still have "a captain" on board.

 

[snowflake4727]

In many cases the DMs who work on boats do know how to manuver the boat and handle the radios. They are also usually capable of handleing most onboard medical emergencies. They know how to administer the O2. One does not need to be a captain to know how to use a radio or run oxygen.

As for the requirements, it depends on the boat size.

Many times in a medical emergency the Coast Guard tells the boat to head back to port. Even if the captain is on board he cannot leave until all divers are recovered. If this is at the beginning of the dive then the victim is SOL. He also can't pilot the boat and give CPR at the same time. That is why the DMs have some medical training. Basic first aid, cpr, O2 handleing, etc.

 

[captain]

I did dive with my customers on ocasions but always had a mate aboard who could operate the boat.

 

[Jupiter31]

Is it inappropriate or otherwise specifically against the regs for a charter boat captain to dive with his guests? What if the boat is tended by a DM or mate or not attended at all.

What about it? Is this a big deal or not?

We frequently dive from our own boat, and as we do wrecks, seldom leave someone on board when we dive - be nice to have but I'm not doing to do the diving in "shifts" nor is it easy to find someone to bob at the surface while we dive - we had friends years ago - he dove, she did not and enjoyed sunning - nude I later found out - but wondered how much help she would have been in an emergency. Although, come to think about it, probably not tough to attract attention......

In any event, I'm trying to think if I remember anytime a charter left the boat unnattended - many times just the captain is left aboard, but I honestly can't recall anytime the boat was left totally unattended.

If its fairly calm, and the captain wanted to dive, and the boat was left totally unnattended......well, like everything in life, 99% of the time nothing is likely to happe - but if it does, he's in for a hell of a lawsuit.

 

[captain]

Colregs-International Regulations for Avoiding Collisions at Sea

Rule 2 and rule 5 are about the only ones that apply in general to your question.

Rule 5 generally applies to a vessel under way ( not anchored or tied up to a dock or structure).

They apply to all vessels, pleasure and commercial, sail and power.

COLREGS