Diving from Sailboat

[fenderbender29]

we have a 43 foot beneteau, and have NO experience diving off of our own boat or sailboat. any other equipment tips or safety regs we need to follow?

 

[ChrisA]

we have a 43 foot beneteau, and have NO experience diving off of our own boat or sailboat. any other equipment tips or safety regs we need to follow?

Getting in and out of the water is not the issue. A gaint stride gets you in and maybe you need to take off your gear before you can climb back in. Your boat has a nicer platform then mine

The bigger problems will be

1) If you don't have a scuba compressor you will want to take several tanks. Finding a way to store a half dozen or so tanks in a way that they don't go flying around on every tack will take some effort. Lash them down in one of the berths. If you tie them to a board (2x4) they don't roll. You really do not want a tank to "get loose" at sea

2) Your boat will need to be securly anchored before you can leave it. You will likely pick the spot based on finding a good holding ground and room to swing. Dive boats on the other hand can anchor in poorer spots because they have a captain who stays aboard to watch the boat. A boat with no crew aboard needs a much more secure anchorage. So bottom line is that you will not be able to anchor in the best dive spots. You will either need to surface swimm or take the dinghy.

My dinghy is so small that I don't even like to back roll overthe side. I go over the bow. You _will_ have to take the gear off to get back in a dinhy but with fins and no scuba gear you can jump out of the water like a porpose practically landing in the boat.

The advantage of course of diving off your own boat is that you make your own schedule and have a nice place to stay

 

[saildiver]

Getting in and out of the water is not the issue. A gaint stride gets you in and maybe you need to take off your gear before you can climb back in. Your boat has a nicer platform then mine

The bigger problems will be

1) If you don't have a scuba compressor you will want to take several tanks. Finding a way to store a half dozen or so tanks in a way that they don't go flying around on every tack will take some effort. Lash them down in one of the berths. If you tie them to a board (2x4) they don't roll. You really do not want a tank to "get loose" at sea

2) Your boat will need to be securly anchored before you can leave it. You will likely pick the spot based on finding a good holding ground and room to swing. Dive boats on the other hand can anchor in poorer spots because they have a captain who stays aboard to watch the boat. A boat with no crew aboard needs a much more secure anchorage. So bottom line is that you will not be able to anchor in the best dive spots. You will either need to surface swimm or take the dinghy.

My dinghy is so small that I don't even like to back roll overthe side. I go over the bow. You _will_ have to take the gear off to get back in a dinhy but with fins and no scuba gear you can jump out of the water like a porpose practically landing in the boat.

The advantage of course of diving off your own boat is that you make your own schedule and have a nice place to stay

Read the previous messages on this post for details not included here.Always use a dive flag-its usually the law. Its also usually illegal to spear fish while using scuba gear-and you need a fishing license to spear fish with mask and fins.Check your anchor when you first go down to make sure its snug, and after the dive,make sure its not snagged(you might need to free it up some). Before you start any dive, be aware of the tidal current status-its often best to dive in slack tide if local currents run in excess of 2 knots. Currents will kill you if you can't make it back to your boat. Get as much local knowledge about currents as you can. Other than this prudent advice- have fun. My wive and I have the best times of our lifes sailing and diving-I hope you do too...Peace...Saildivers