Help! Dive log question

[Jester]

I use my log to record the amount of weight used with a particular amount of neoprene, water temp (was I too warm or too cold?), did I see anything particularly interesting (might come back to this dive site at some point in the future), who did I dive with?, depth and duration of the dive, any problems experienced, etc.

With information like this, a quick review of your log book can have you prepared for just about anything. I really wouldn't worry about "how many dives." It's kind of like that line about prices......"If you have to ask, you don't have enough."

 

[WillAbbott]

This conversation brought to mind, another common logging question

Do you log pool dives

Going with some of the rules of thumb, you would log all pool dives... I personnaly (and from memory most other people here on the board feel the same) that a pool dive is not a real dive. In a way it kind of is... for example. Last night I went to the pool to test gear and such, and I spent about 35mins with a max depth of 14 feet... is that a real dive? I was on SCUBA the whole time... I feel thats a no... though it would add about 7dives to my log book for all the pool dives (OW and others) but, who wants to mess with it for one, and it's silly IMO.

Just thought I'd bring up that, since were on the subject of "what to log" I of course say no, don't log thoose, but it's always been an interesting discussion, if you should log any dive when your on scuba, or any dive longer than 10mins, or what not... I feel unless it's an uncontrolled envioronment, or a stagnant environment, no logging... The only possible exception would be tanks, such as Aquariums, Like at Epcot, or our Aquarium here, divers dive our aquarium to clean/maintain, it's a semi controlled environment, but there are live critters there, and not as stagnant, in that case I don't know wether I would log it or not...

 

[scuberd]

I don't log pool dives, most of them are either classes where I am underwater for short times, or I'm just using new gear. Likewise I probably wouldn't log aquarium dives with my other dives, probably a different log for those for experience i.e. resumé type stuff (I havn't done any yet so who knows for sure)

 

[DiverBuoy]

• 1500 psi of gas consumed
• Depth of at least 15 feet
• Longer than 20 minutes

I did this out of my memory so someone else pipe in with the exact quote (thanks in advance).

 

[voidware]

That's it, except it's 50 cu.ft. of gas.

b

 

[Groundhog246]

Is that any of the three or all three? On my 8 minute dive we got 2 out of 3. My buddy surfaced with 200PSI remaining (free flow) and we made 50 feet.

50 cu. ft. sounds odd, did you mean 50%? Or does PADI assume AL80 tanks? I know a few people who regularly dive AL50 tanks, including the instructor who lives 2 doors over. Even my LDS's other instructor can't match him on air. I've seen him go in with 3000PSI and exit with 1500PSI when the rest fo the group with AL80's were mostly between 500 and 800PSI.

 

[Walter]

My log is a log of open water dives. I have countless dives in pools. If it were a log of my time underwater, I'd include them, but it is not. It is a log of open water dives. Aquariums are not open water and the dives don't count.

I know some people log their pool dives, but don't include them in their totals.

DB,

Yes, PADI has guidelines which are similar to the guidelines of other agencies. BTW, for those asking, the guidelines require a minimun depth and a minimum time or minimum amount of gas used. Those guidelines are important, if and only if, you plan to apply the dive toward training.

 

[Zept]

...of strange things in my log book, including some notes from a snorkelling session where I had a very cool encounter with a moray and finally saw a fish I'd been looking for for ages. It was one of the highlights of that trip and more memorable than some of the dives.

I also have lots of notes from my Rescue course, which is supposed to count as five dives but only produced three that were long enough to log, and a 49-minute dive with a max depth of 3.7m (12ft). One of the things I like about using a looseleaf binder is that if I wanted to record something that doesn't really (IMO) count as a dive, I can just insert a blank page.

I agree with Walter and landlocked, you should decide why you're keeping a log and then make your own rules.

Zept

 

[Fly N Dive]

my $.02
it depends what you are doing in the pool, when my dad and i did our refresher course in the pool we logged it as i dive even though we came to the surface many times, on the 30th i was diving in another pool. charity thing, playing a board game uw i think i will log this as one dive, and state what i did.
what you do is up to you.

 

[SA-Diver]

I log all my dives regardless of time, depth etc as my log is not used for cert purposes only but as a reminder of what I have been up to during my diving career. Therefore the number of dives are not important, but the notes I make on each dive are very important. I use a binder with A5 PVC pockets and insert the dives printed from my Stinger. Even pool dives get logged depending on the purpose of the dive eg. if I was out testing new equipment I will log the dive with notes on my findings/results of the new equipment.