Diving off of your own boat

[Tom Winters]

That O2 rig sounds good. I used to dive with some older guys in Boca who would break out the O2 kit just to reinvigorate themselves after diving. You're located in Pompano, so maybe you're loading up with divers from John Knox Village there. You're gonna need a lot more O2 with that crowd. Better pack some Depends then too.
I kill the engines when I drop divers plus they're off when I have anyone in the water around the ladders. One of the times that I was rescued at sea I was in strong swells that were moving the rescue boat all over the place. I had my mask on, and I watched the seas lift the boat up over me and then it came in reverse right at me with the prop spinning. I figured that my left arm was history - I twisted my body to keep my right arm out of the way. The outdrive slammed into my shoulder, but at the last second the captain had gotten the engine in neutral.
Long ago, I started getting my marine batteries from Costco. I never had a bad one, plus they have the BEST pro-rated warranty on. At around the 6-or 7-year mark, I usually replace them even though they're still in good shape.
One thing that no one mentioned was a good repair kit plus some extra hoses. O-rings, wrenches, a couple of mouthpieces - all that good stuff.

 

[fdarden]

Haha! I know what you mean about the retirement crowd here. I am at least 20 years younger than any of my neighbors (well maybe not their wives!) but hey, its 1/2 a mile from the beach, and exactly 2 miles as the crow flies to one of my favorite ship wrecks, so I will take the trade off. I am about as far east as you can get. I personally am in pretty good shape so I don't think I will need the O2 unless I am in trouble but I will keep that tip in mind. I had heard similar things about Nitrox. Hard to say what it all means, but I doubt its a good idea to be arbitrarily huffing gasses between dives. My Enriched Air Nitrox certification did not go over this type of behavior, LOL! This unit will be going into a Pelican case and wont be opened again until its time to inspect the tank, or just to make sure its still ok, with any luck. I can only pray that I will never need it for its intended use, and that if I do it does the trick and helps to save a life. I also hope that others will read this post that own boats, and realize that you can have an O2 set up on your boat for far less than some of those three letter agencies charge. For many the cost prohibits ownership. This solves that issue. for under 200 bucks. Not a thousand plus..

 

[fdarden]

Tomorrow is the big day! Thanks to my new friends from Scubaboard, I have met some new friends and we will be diving off my boat tomorrow! Another dream realized thanks to Scubaboard, and its members. I am so glad I started this thread. It may have actually changed my life!

 

[shorediver66]

Gold Coast Scuba Divers (954) 616-5909 (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - Meetup
May I suggest you join Gold Coast Scuba meetup group. The have several private boat owners that do not have any problems finding qualified crew for their boat. Some of the owners require that everyone on board be ADV OW or higher. You will be able to define your rules and get experienced divers to go with you on every trip.

As far your skill level goes I would suggest you take the First Responder Class as well as the Rescue Diver class. You will learn a lot and help put your mind at ease because you will know what to do if/when an emergency arises.

 

[moneysavr]

Ok
You all covered the o-2 kit, get the O-2 reg set ebay $15,hose and masks $10,A older 20-30 steel can and a hydro $50--$75, no problem,
!1. SWEET BOAT,
get a dive ladder made up ,,it can be done and make it removable,
2. the bad part of your thread not saying it's done every day but the Federal government will and could become involved and that's no good!all your talk about crew,DM's,trading dives for work? six divers sounds like a under the radar so to speak dive charter? dive charters get wind of this ,coast guard gets called, bad things like a bent diver gets lifted, your boat insurance will and dose not cover any diving accidents commercial or non commercial operations call your agent!
3. taking any type reimbursement for said operations is also illegal & then taxes we all need to pay the state and Fed's! so all the entitled can drive around all day on their free cell phones & clog 95 going no place!
That said you got a sweet boat, and at its cost you don't need no stinking money! and with a sweet boat you will have tons of fun dive buddy's! hang a crown royal bag near the helm and if a few $$$ get stuff all and good but keep the commercial charters struggling in to days market place in business and don't compete,check out the insurance thing too or a new dive pal may own you sweet boat down the road!
I over the years have had hundreds of divers on my boat some from SB, never charged a $ and gave any funds back if offered, but never-never refused a hydrating after dive beverage if offered on the way back in! all be it could be construed as compensation I call it refreshing with all evidence consumed

 

[fdarden]

Moneysavr, I hear you. Im into this for the Lulz, not the cash! I get your drift witht he crown royal bag thing.. So here is yet another update! Me and one of the Scubatyme forum members successfully dead dove my boat this week. I was able to (with much assistance) locate the wreck using GPS, then close in on it using the fish finder, and drop anchor successfully right at the wreck (Ancient Mariner, Deerfield Beach) We had a great dive, and also gave us a chance to evaluate my anchors performance. This was a HUGE confidence booster. It is amazing visiting a wreck with two people versus twenty people. We saw so many cool fish. It was a great time. My buddy had a scooter with him and we used it to swim alongside a Goliath Grouper! (He let me hang onto the side)
I cannot wait to dive it again soon!

 

[fdarden]

So the obvious next thing is having guests on to dive, and liability waivers. I suppose that is ultimately a conversation for my Attorney and I, but what do most people do? Do you make a friend sign a waiver? What about if something happens to that person, and their insurance company sues you? Is it better to just not have any waiver at all? Its too bad that I have to consider this as well, but fishing was one thing. The danger level goes up considerably when diving.

 

[blackvans1234]

While I agree with the logic, I'm not picturing many sudden cardiac arrest situations with a diver in which there'd be an opportunity to utilize said AED - at least within the three or four minute window necessary for it to do any good, especially if the dead weight is wearing a wet suit. Maybe my imagination just isn't good enough.

Kevin
who *does* keep an AED in his office - with a battery that is actually still good

EMT/Trauma shears. When Patients come into any ER/Amberlamps and their clothing has to be removed, its usually cut off before they can object.

If it did happen, I would be able to sleep easier knowing that I had missed the window vs not having an AED on board

I'm a student at FAU and have noticed the lack of AED's on campus.. Weird

 

[blackvans1234]

There may be an ''assumption of risk'' type of rule that would keep you safe. Afterall they are voluntarily going onto your boat for free. Unless you left them, or ran them over with the boat, I wouldn't see any problems taking people. You may want to make sure you know them, because i've dove with people on various meetup groups, and it is like a blind date, you don't know what you're gonna get!

 

[fdarden]

Blackvans, thanks for the advice on that. A certain level of discretion will definitely be in order. Meetup groups are definitely a fun way to meet people. Didn't we meet he other day at the LBTS morning beach dive? I was the guy who caught the lobster!