Diving from a small boat

[Stoo]

There are all kinds of threads here about diving from larger "charter" boats, but not a lot about diving from a smaller boat. As someone who often takes friends out on my 20' RHIB *rigged-hull inflatable", I thought I'd offer a few tips on what works best.

With smaller boats, let's say under 20', there are three areas to be aware of. Lack of space, possible lack of stability of the boat, and weight.

Obviously, small boats come in lots of flavours. a 19' pontoon boat is a very different thing than a 19' "fishing boat" or a boat like mine, so take these tips with a grain of salt...

Lack of space

All smaller boats, with the possible exception of pontoon boats, suffer from lack of space. My best advice is to talk to the boat owner about what and how to pack. For many years, I dove from 13' - 15' inflatables. We could fit 5 good-size dudes in, but often is made sense to at least get partially suited up on the dock, wet/dry suits on, but the rest of the gear should be assembled, tested and ready to go before being loaded on board. Bear in mind the a drysuit that's only half on, or on, but not zipped pose a serious risk if you fall out the boat.

Extra stuff should be in soft bags... perhaps a small drybag. But if you don't need it, don't take it.

What you should definitely skip are things like milk-crates with only your fins or maybe fins and your weight belt in it. Anything you don't need to dive should be left behind, and what does go, needs to be stuffable.

Lack of stability

This is wear the type of boat comes in to play. A pontoon boat is very stable and roomy, but they aren't suited for big water. My RHIB is extremely stable, but definitely lacking in space. Small "fishing boats" don't have tons of room nor are they especially stable.

This is another reason to be asking the operator how and where they want you and your gear located. Also discuss entering the water from the boat, and even more importantly, getting back in to the boat. Not all small boats have ladders and very few have "dive platforms". In my case, I don't use a ladder. Falling out of the boat is easy because of the exceptional stability, but getting out requires some tricks. I leave lines with bolt-snaps hanging over the side. Returning divers remove their weight belts and either clip them off, or hand them to the boat tender. Tanks and BCDs/Wings are removed in the water (after inflating the BCD), clipped off, and left floating until later. We just haul ourselves in over the tubes.

With a small aluminum fishing boat, "hauling out" over the side may make for severe tipping of the boat, so use the operator or another diver in the boat as a counter-weight, on the opposite side of the boat.

Weight

Unlike a car or truck, weight really dramatically effects the performance of a boat. This applies to both the absolute weight as well as where it's located. The operator may ask for weightbelts to be moved to the bow for example to help get the boat on plane.

Avoid unnecessary items, especially if they're heavy. Don't bring that stage bottle if you don't plan on using it. Leave that can light behind...

Each boat operator will know what works best so talk to them before you start loading.

 

[Marie13]

You forgot to add about the big dogs jumping around…

 

[Akimbo]

It might be worth adding your thoughts on electronics — GPS, VHF, sonar, hand-held, etc.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

i have never dived off an rhib and, frankly, i am a little nervous about it. not so much dropping in but the flailing mess of neoprene and fat that I am going to be trying to get back in.

 

[Marie13]

i have never dived off an rhib and, frankly, i am a little nervous about it. not so much dropping in but the flailing mess of neoprene and fat that I am going to be trying to get back in.

You mean like a seal?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

You mean like a seal?

Worse. Like a giant flounder flopping around gasping for air.

 

[Marie13]

Worse. Like a giant flounder flopping around gasping for air.

You need to see @Stoo’s two big dogs. The photos on FB are very funny.

 

[Stoo]

i have never dived off an rhib and, frankly, i am a little nervous about it. not so much dropping in but the flailing mess of neoprene and fat that I am going to be trying to get back in.

Oh ye of little faith...

Ireland’s Famed Wally the Walrus Takes a Ride on an Inflatable Boat

He saw an opportunity and he took it. Wally the Walrus, a celebrity in his native Ireland, was caught scrambling to get himself onto an empty inflatable boat in Ardmore Bay on Ireland’s southern coast.

www.insideedition.com

 

[Nemrod]

We usually just go up the ladder. Neither me or my wife are big people and to be gentle on the boat and ladder we usually remove the gear and hook it to the tag line. Once back aboard I lift it back aboard. If it is rough, we do something else.



Yes, we have two VHFs (one hand held) two GPS units and both have side scanning and map data and we carry two portable locator beacons in case we were to wind up sitting on top of the upside down boat hull.



James

 

[Jeff_O]

i have never dived off an rhib and, frankly, i am a little nervous about it. not so much dropping in but the flailing mess of neoprene and fat that I am going to be trying to get back in.

One thing I know those rope ladders are no good for inflatable. On boats with flat sides that are fairly vertical, they are still I suspect not the greatest. I found specifically for inflatable boats, a boat ladder that folds for leaving in place if not removed when underway. It has the upper section made with curved stainless steel and handle at the top. The curved metal at the top conforms to the radius of the boat side. Getting a way of tying it in place with lines to floor board eyelets and or places where attached d-rings to hypalon fabric looks like a pita. Going to figure this part out. Have special glue on hypalon stuff. I just know using enough attachment points to spread the stresses out has got to be done. The the things said about bc integral weights and with tanks egress in water clipped off on a line, on a low swell / wave day. Otherwise I 'd just cancel. Standing tanks up saves space, but low center of gravity is also good. Just no foot room in small boat that way. Just one other way if you can hack it, I remember a class I took on scuba diving off a sit on kayak. Dang, the tanks were in an inside compartment. We had to assemble bc onto it. Separate weight belt went on before getting into bc. We also purposely sunk one of the kayaks to use octos of a few divers to refloat it upside down, from like 20ft. Then flip it over at the surface. I rather think the kind of kayaks I see that have all on top, enough room and tie downs that bc and tank reg stuff all assembled, is the way to go if no boat..