Don't want to lose my boat!

[dichi005]

Hello all!

I am not new to diving, but I have never dove off of my own boat. I have a 21 Cape Horn Center Console (not much of a platform on the back). Most of my dives have been in Australia on the reef, and I have done a few wreck dives out of Panama City Beach, but they have all been done through a company.

I am now back home, and am planning on frequently diving in PCB off of my own boat, and I know that there are several things that I need to know first. I am not sure of the best way to tie into a wreck, or to enter/exit the water. Is it OK to dive without someone manning the boat?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks guys, and happy diving!

MD

 

[letterboy]

I can tell you I wouldn't dive from a boat if no one is on it for accident management . . .

 

[idocsteve]

Tie yourself off to your boat however know that a diver who solos off his own unmanned boat has a fool for an anchor.

 

[DennisS]

Use the biggest anchor you can handle, lots of chain and safety shackles, not pin shackles.

 

[Superlyte27]

Hmm, so many ways to go here. In the keys, i'll dive an unmanned boat, because there is a mooring ball. If i'm diving off the coast of Daytona, I generally dive solo. One man in the boat, one man in the water. If we're shooting fish, we follow the fish. When we come up, it might be nice to have a boat come to us. There's a few answers, which one is right, is up to you. But, one thing that's always scared me is the thought of surfacing and realizing my boat was gone. That would blow.

 

[Mike Boswell]

Use the biggest anchor you can handle, lots of chain and safety shackles, not pin shackles.

+1 A friend of mine lost his boat when a shackle pin fell out - he had wired it, but used steel wire that rusted away. Fortunately another boat was nearby.

I keep a spare anchor and rope. If I think it wise I throw that out as a backup.

 

[captain]

I solo from my boat but the wife or someone says aboard. Besides the anchor I will put out a weighted line and buoy so the boat tender has a visual reference if the anchor breaks loose and the boats starts drifting.

You will need 400 to 600 feet of 3/8" anchor rode and 15 to 20 feet of 1/4" chain to anchor in 60 to 100 feet of water. Eye splices and safety wired shackels. Shackle the bitter end of the rode to the boat so if the rode slips in a cleat it won't go by-by.

Also trail a 100' current line behind the boat with a float on the end.

 

[divin'dog]

I dove a lot from my friend's boat with no one to man it. We knew the problems that could happen and accepted that. Tried to be as careful as possible such as where we anchored, currents, tide, traffic, etc... We would always go down and set the anchor by hand with some big rocks and come back to the anchor to "unset" it. Also used a lot of anchor line (5X depth or more I think). Trailing a line with a flag is a big plus in case a current kicks up. Of course if someone decides to take your boat for a ride, there's not much you can do there.

 

[DandyDon]

You have 25-49 dives, eh...?

Is it OK to dive without someone manning the boat?

It's safest to dive with a buddy in the water, good buddy protocols, and a qualified pilot left on the boat - but I don't know how safe you want to be. Some will dive solo and/or leave the boat unattended; I would not suggest either here. If you do, leave an expected return time with a dependable person who can see the CG to search for you if needed.

 

[miketsp]

Hello all!

I am not new to diving, but I have never dove off of my own boat. I have a 21 Cape Horn Center Console (not much of a platform on the back). Most of my dives have been in Australia on the reef, and I have done a few wreck dives out of Panama City Beach, but they have all been done through a company.

I am now back home, and am planning on frequently diving in PCB off of my own boat, and I know that there are several things that I need to know first. I am not sure of the best way to tie into a wreck, or to enter/exit the water. Is it OK to dive without someone manning the boat?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks guys, and happy diving!

MD

I wouldn't dive off an unmanned boat for various reasons:

1) Risk of theft of boat, motor or belongings or vandalism while submerged
2) Risk of boat becoming adrift
3) Risk of rapidly changing weather conditions requiring boat handling and/or signaling to divers to abort dive
4) Risk of unexpected current impeding divers return to boat
5) Risk of submerged incident or accident that would require boat to move to divers to improve response time.

I know of 1 case where a well-intentioned fisherman actually brought a boat back to port believing it had been abandoned without even imagining that people were diving off it.

On at least 2 occasions that I remember in the last 10 years I've been caught out by unexpected currents and was unable to make it back to the boat on my own.
Both times would have turned into serious incidents if the boat had not been manned with someone alert to signals from surfacing divers.
On another occasion even something as silly as a broken fin strap made it near impossible to swim back to the boat even against a weak current. (Nowadays I have spring straps).

On at least 1 occasion I remember starting a dive in flat calm and coming back up after 1 hour into a howling wind and mountainous seas. Weather can change rapidly at sea.