Do you log ‘gear test’ dives?

[TrimixToo]

Damn, if I logged pool dives I could almost double my dive count. (Lots of time spend underwater at the Y, helping out. Regrouting a pool is actually possible without draining it, and when they were short of cash and the robot vacuum broke I vacuumed it by hand every week or so.)

 

[yle]

It is YOUR information and memories that you are logging. If you went someplace and had to have say 100 dives to take a class, the person teaching the class SHOULD know as soon as you are in the water if you are a 100 dive diver or a scrub that lied in a logbook.

True and exceptionally true.

 

[mmerriman]

Anything less than 20 feet for 20 mins is not a dive. I also personally don’t log any of my dives where I am training or teaching a class. Sometimes when I test equipment like a new camera I actually end up doing a long dive and then I will log it. This allows me to make notes for myself for the next time I use that piece of equipment. Hope that helps.

so diving at BLue Heron bridge isn't a "dive...."

 

[stretchthepenn]

I couldn't care less about keeping a running total that counts every time I breathe underwater--that would be pointless.

I understand your point, but on a personal level, I disagree. My log has a section where I tally up the amount of time I've spent breathing underwater, and running the total amuses me tremendously.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I understand your point, but on a personal level, I disagree. My log has a section where I tally up the amount of time I've spent breathing underwater, and running the total amuses me tremendously.

My sentence was poorly worded. By “every time” I meant every instance. Like you, I actually do keep a running total of hours and minutes.

 

[stretchthepenn]

Although I certainly do require the students to have the required number of dives before taking a class with such a requirement, I don't believe I have ever had a student try to use dubious dives intentionally to get there.

A person whom I know took one of the "instant instructor" courses, and this person hit the course's prerequisite minimum number of dives by doing repetitive 20-minutes-at-20-feet dives. I dunno as that's cheating...but it struck me as dubious, at the very least.

FWIW, the person turned out to be a competent instructor, or so I understand.

 

[TMHeimer]

Any time I go to all the trouble of gearing up, going into salt water (or rarely fresh), gearing down, and an hour rinsing the stuff off, I count that as a dive, regardless of depth and time. Most of my dives meet the 20 minutes/20 feet thing (someone please quote for me again where that is written down by any agency--I think it may be), but maybe 10% don't. I have way more dives that are "normal depth & time" dives to meet any course requirement. I also keep exact count of underwater hours/minutes.
Question--Does anyone out there care about any of this?

 

[yle]

so diving at BLue Heron bridge isn't a "dive...."

It's not for Marty, because he has a personal rule that his dives have to be to >20 feet for >20 minutes. But that doesn't have to be your rule.

Everyone gets to log whatever they feel is important. And no one is allowed to tell anyone what they are not allowed to log.

And if anyone ever attempts to criticize your logbook, you are allowed to tell them "It's MY logbook! Go play with your own logbook!"

Of course, you can go rogue and... just not keep a logbook (yep, I said it.)

 

[EFX]

I log all dives especially short dives and pool dives. The short dives I've done where I had to come up prematurely were do to either a problem I was having or my buddy was having. Whatever the problem was I felt it important to record it for future reference. I logged pool dives because I was either working on skills or trying new equipment and/or adjusting weight, all important information needed as reference for future dives. However, I don't give these dives a number. This mattered more to me when I had less than 50 dives and was working toward my master diver rating and then for solo. I felt that short and pool dives didn't give me the experience needed for these credentials so I didn't count them.