Help me find the best liveaboard fit!

[scubafanatic]

Lol! Of course it had some good points, but they were offset by the incident of the lost fins (brand new) as well as new springstraps and a new mask with a new slapstrap. Aggressor handled the situation terribly and lost a customer who would have taken 1-2 trips / year with them.

'The Incident of the Lost Fins' was one of my fav Nancy Drew stories!

I'd recommend EV T&C Explorer and Juliet....SPREE would also be on the list (but RIP).

 

[Wookie]

Aquacat is not something we consider due to where they dive - that area has been hit by an invasive crown of thorns invasion and more recently (due to it) an invasive algae infestation - in the past decade.

I don't believe Blackbeards (camping at sea, limited fresh water showers, shared bunks in common spaces), Cat PPalu or Lost Island would work - both are smaller boats with small cabins - just two bunks and a sink - the heads are down the hall. Sometimes the Cat sells leftover space if not a full charter but you live all week on the trampoline deck betwen the hulls. It sounds like you want nicer than that.

I don’t believe there is any crown of
Thorns in the Bahamas, but I’m willing to be wrong. It’s pretty much a slow moving Indio-pacific sea star. Not too much chance of them being in ballast water.

I am friends with Juliet crew, and recommend them. I can’t recommend anyone doing Tiger Beach, that doesn’t seem like the kind of diving or boat you want. There is a new Bahamas Master boat, quite fancy. Aqua cat and Cat Pplau are always solid.

Juliet takes you places where no one else goes (aside from me). This is a good thing. You won’t see the pounded reefs of the Exumas marine park.

I have captained the EV CEX2, and while I can’t disagree with the previous comments, it is excellent diving for the price.

The same folks running aquacat now run Cuan Law. I’m told that it’s a dive boat for folks who like other things to do.

 

[diversteve]

I don’t believe there is any crown of
Thorns in the Bahamas

was just told that by a crew member on the previous Bahamas Aggressor - not the current boat. So anecdotally - I should have specified.

 

[Damselfish]

I have captained the EV CEX2, and while I can’t disagree with the previous comments, it is excellent diving for the price.

yeah, it is a decent price for what you get, especially if you can take advantage of the deals they seem to offer frequently. (We couldn't - probably would have felt better about the trip if we had.) For some it will be a good compromise between something like Blackbeard's and a higher end boat.

 

[electric_diver]

Thanks for your response! I’ve heard not-great things about EV SSK and you just made me understand why it probably would not be a good fit. AC and not enough lounge space does not work for me!

I have quite a different memory of EV SSK. A spectacular night dive at Saba in the middle of a pack of hunting nurse sharks was super cool. They put us on an interesting variety of dive sites. The boat is old but that is why its cheaper. The crew was fantastic.