Divers vs boaters

[Tortuga James]

I have been boating all my life, fishing from boats as well. I just started diving 3 years ago, and with 92 dives under my belt, I have been on 2 dive boats, one out of Marsh Harbor, the other this past summer for my Advanced class on the U352.

I have been hanging around on The Hull Truth Forum for years, mostly boaters and fishermen, a few divers.

My observation is this, most divers are not boaters, and most boaters are not divers.

Is that an accurate assessment? I can understand that the majority of divers would not be boaters, but I wonder why so many people who have boats don't take advantage of all the fun right under the keel.

And then a whole different thread could be the animousity that exists between divers and fishermen competing for the same hard bottom. That really became apparent to me when I "switched teams". Since I started diving, I have no desire to fish from the surface. A couple of times, diving the inshore reefs off NC, I have seen fishermen's anchors land on the bottom 25 feet from me, while we were flying a dive flag from the boat. Having an anchor land on you could ruin a good dive.

 

[Mark_J]

I grew up on the water and had my first boat at the ripe age of 8. It was an old clinger with a 6 hp Evinrude. My dad told me I could have it as soon as I could row it from the bridge back to the marina where we lived, it was about 200 yards. I've been a water rat ever since both above and below the water and that is for more decades than I care to talk about

The guys I fish with tend to have so much capital invested in fish-specific gear that I am not surprised they are not all that willing to invest thousands in the gear it takes to dive. I have found that the guys I dive with are much more likely to have a boat than the guys I fish with are to have dive gear.

 

[marusso]

I have been hanging around on The Hull Truth Forum for years, mostly boaters and fishermen, a few divers.

My observation is this, most divers are not boaters, and most boaters are not divers.

Personally, I am an avid boater and diver. Fishing from the surface can be boring, but if you are with a bunch of non-divers, it sure beats the alternative.

 

[Tortuga James]

I guess my point is that it it appears to me that we avid boaters/divers are the minority, at least here in NC. When I lived in Stuart, FL (and can you believe I didn't dive then?), all my diver friends had boats, but they were only about 10% of the total of all my boating friends. I am sure the percentages go up in Coastal communities.

 

[Fouremco]

Like several other respondents, I grew up in and on the water, first in Nova Scotia and later the lakes and rivers of Ontario and Quebec. As a teenager, I raced motorboats, sailed, canoed, water skied... At various times I've enjoyed summers of white-water canoeing and, returning to Nova Scotia, sea kayaking. Throughout I've fished, but usually as an activity secondary to my boating. Now I spend as much time below the water as on it.

I think that the problem is that most people simply don't have the time and money to seriously pursue more than one water sport at a time. For the fisherman who has already invested in significant equipment purchases, adding diving to his list of activities involves more than just deciding to see how the other half lives. As we all know, diving ain't cheap! Especially when his new dive buddies tell him that he's gonna need a RIB, as his bass boat, his pride and joy, just won't do as a dive platform!

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

Interesting topic. I really enjoy both, but I fall into the category of "diving first" and boating is just a way to get to dive spot.

I can definitely see how a person gets so entrenched in a hobby though. The water is so nice because it can be some very cheap fun. But the more you focus on one hobby the more money is invested in it.

I've gone spear-fishing, but fishing from the surface woudln't interest me know. I might like it from a canoe though. I can see why the groups seperate actually. I consider myself a diver who uses a boat. And not a boater who dives.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have been both ... but at separate times in my life. Used to be part-owner of a J/36 sailboat ... now I dive.

Despite being single and having a more than ordinary amount of expendable income, I don't think I could afford to support both of those hobbies at the same time ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Gary D.]

Divers MUST use good control when dealing with some idiot boater's. Control is the key word here. If you lose control you get nothing done and the boater goes on to attack others.

So for good control, grip the weapon securly with both hands. Get a good site picture then squeeze the trigger gently, do not jerk it or you will miss the target.

Practice on PWC's they need thinning anyway.

Gary D.

 

[cobaltblue]

I was a boater before I became a diver. I had "issues" with fisherman before I ever started diving. Fisherman think that because they've spent money and are "doing" something on the water that should give them rights over everyone else. In our area they'll even go so far as to troll through the channels and get upset when you want to get to and from Lake Michigan. As far as coming to close when we're diving, I don't think fisherman are any more rude than the average boater. At times I'm tempted to dive without a flag because it seems to attract more boaters to check things out than keep them away. (I would never dive without a flag for the record)

As far as affording to do both, I have two marine bussinesses and my wife and still laugh that I work for boats and diving and she works for housing and food.

 

[kchFLA]

I think you have several different type of people who use boats:

• fisherman
  divers
  water sports (ski, wake board, etc)
  boaters (people for whom the boat itself is the hobby; activity)
  sitters (people who take the boat to a location and just sit - i.e. Crab Island in Destin, Fl.

Unfortunately many of the activities do not go well together - fishing and water skiing; water skiing and diving. Thus the various boaters have to be courteous to all others. Unfortunately most people any more have forgotten courteousy and don't know how to play well with others.

And just because a person enjoys one activity does not necessarily mean they would enjoy another.

As a formerly avid fisherperson, I will say that fishermen do act like they have first dibs on any given location of water at any given time. Everyone else needs to steer clear of them. I'm not sure why this is.

And then there are people who use boats but have no business using one.