Dive time on a charter

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If dive with an op that limits dives to 45 minutes, I don't go out with that op a second time (and I usually do ask before booking if there is a limit on bottom time, other than my air and computer).

In my opinion it is just as rude to expect someone to limit their bottom time as it is to make someone wait for another diver to finish their dive.....maybe more so.

If I am going to be in a hurry to get back to shore, I shouldnt get on the boat.

If I am going to get cold between dives, I should bring a boat coat.

If I am going to get bored I should bring a book.

If I am going to be so hungry I cant wait to get to where the boat will be for surface interval, I should stick some fruit or a granola bar in my dive bag.

I dont ask anyone to stay down longer than they are comfortable with and I dont appreciate anyone asking me to come up before I am ready to come up (unless there is an emergency of course).
 
One might say, "Different boats for different folks." Some boats might go out a 2-tank dive, giving only an approximate estimate of when they will be back at the dock (say, "somewhere between 1 and 2 pm"), and then be done for the day. That kind of boat might allow "dive to your limits." Other boats are on a tighter schedule--say, two morning dives, then return to the dock around lunch time, and then out again for two afternoon dives--and they just can't hang around a dive site for longer than what their schedule allows without impacting later dives or return times that day. That kind of boat might say "be back within X minutes." The lowest X I have ever heard is 45, and I can't even recall where that was. "One hour" is probably the most common.
 
I like liveaboard diving because I can do 5 dives / day with at least 90 minute surface interval for diving to 100' deep, which typically we do in the 1st dive of the day. Some shallow dives (typically night dive) could last up to 75 minutes.

In the rookie days my air consumption was the limiting factor. As I get more experience, comfortable and relaxing in diving, the limiting factor shifted to the bottom time displayed by the dive computer. I try not to get to deco most of the time. A few times, I was facinated (mesmerized) with the fish actions & went over my bottom time about a minute or two & went to a short deco.

Also I use Nitrox if available for added bottom time safety. I've done this way in most of my 550 dives for 11 years (50 dives / year) & never get into a bent situation (knock on woods).

Typical diving itinerary looks like the following (+/- 30 min):
07:30 - 1st dive
09:00 - breakfast
10:00 - 2nd dive
12:00 - lunch
13:30 - 3rd dive
16:00 - 4th dive
18:30 - 5th (night) dive
20:00 - dinner

So basically my daily liveaboard activities (1 to 2 weeks of the trip) are dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, dive, dive, eat, sleep & repeat the previous day activities.
 
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Some charter boats limit dive times to a certain number of minutes. Others let you dive your tank. Call ahead and talk to the dive operators you're considering and ask what their rules are.

If you go out with an operator that has a time limit, they probably won't care if you go a few minutes over IF you make a point of being geared up and ready and the first one in the water. The point is to be back on the boat at about the same time as everyone else. If the everyone else is back on the boat except you and your buddy and they have to wait 5 minutes or more after the last diver is back before you return, they might get pissy. Especially if they feel like you messed around at the beginning and didn't get in promptly to start your dive.

The ones I've been out with don't even really care if you go into deco, as long as the deco has cleared from your computer before you get back on the boat (i.e. you did the required stops and they don't KNOW that you went into deco - sort of a turning a blind eye situation) AND they don't have to wait for you after everyone else is back on the boat.
 
The dive lengths are relative to the depths and sites. If it is a deep (over 80 ft.), square profile (like a wreck) it doesn't matter if the op says "90 min" (other than it would be a poor briefing and bad form), nobody is going to dive that long recreationaly due to NDL limits. Not to say "some ops" won't rush you, but quality ops are there to give the customer a good diving experience. For example wall diving in Little Cayman the brief may be first dive 100 ft. max for 50 min knowing it will be a multilevel dive finishing shallow near the boat. The second dive would be 60 ft for 60 min. If you get in first and out last you can go longer if you choose to, but don't abuse it by making everyone else wait on the boat.

If you're diving a Keys wreck or off the NC coast it's all relative to the site and schedule. Best is to ask prior to booking the trip. The op should be more than happy to discuss these types of questions keeping in mind conditions can cause itineraries to change. If you don't like the answers you're given, try a different op.

If none of that works for you, go to Bonaire (or somewhere like it) and shore dive on your own schedule. Hard to beat dive freedom.:)
 
No limits here beyond your tolerance for cold and your air consumption provided you let us know your dive plan in advance. We do run AM and PM charters but usually that doesn't really factor into dive times for us.

Most divers seem to do ~45 minutes (wetsuits) to 75 minutes (drysuits) but it varies.

My one request is if you tell me a dive plan of 65 minutes... I'm going to be a little pissed if you happen to do an 85 minute dive because I've been looking for your bubbles for last 20 minutes. 5 minutes off, not a huge deal. 15-20+ minutes..I get worried and start looking.

If someone doesn't tell me a plan (pretty common) I usually assume 60-70 minutes depending on depth/profile. We write down your entry time in our ship's logbook.
 
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