Ineligible log entries

[dhaines429]

My only dives that are formally logged are training dives. No shop has asked to see log as prerequisite for anything but they know that I'm pretty active so that's probably why. I'm just lazy when it comes to logging. I know how many dives I have and nobody questions it.

 

[JohnnyC]

I've never been asked to produce a log. Then again, I speak to my instructors beforehand, usually by phone. Good instructors will know if you're bull********, and they're instructors, you're paying them to teach, and address any faults. And a good instructor will stop the course if your prerequisite skillset isn't up to par.

A phone call where an instructor can gauge your mindset goes a lot farther than showing up with a notebook full of dives you may or may not have actually done.

 

[Centrals]

I always travel with my log book to new places and have been asked for it on few occasions but never from a instructor(rec). My tec instructor knew me good enough so he did not bother.

 

[EricTheDood]

I had one prospective instructor tell me he only accepted dives recorded in paper logs, signed by a DM or higher, and stamped by a dive shop. He kept a photo copy for liability reasons to prove he had taught a student who met the prerequisites of the course.

Lack of discretion and common sense - not the qualities you'd want in a dive buddy, much less an instructor.

 

[Patoux01]

Never been asked for the courses I took.... There's no logged dives in my logbook except the ones from OW. I have however almost always lied on those forms we got from the operators...

"Number of dives: 2", "deepest dive: 28m" didn't go too well together for the 2nd instructor I trained with. So I figured from then on I'd always give a max depth "within my limits of training" or "slightly deeper than the deepest we expect to go here". It's never gone in the sense of saying I went deeper than what I actually had done, it just served to keep questions/judgements away. And just so I'm clear, don't dive deeper than you are comfortable going, having the right equipment etc., which I had, always have, and reached those 28m due to gear "failure" in my OW dives, we were aiming at some 24-25m, but a purge was still open so I couldn't slow the descent as well as I expected, leading to me dropping a few meters lower.
I don't know if the deepest dive is a standard question or not, but it seemed to be when I was in Australia.

I do suspect that at least some instructors in my area would refuse me to join their class due to no logged dives. I've been refused for other reasons already. Apparently I didn't meet the standards, while the agency representative said I did, neither had ever seen me underwater. This was to join in a CMAS 3 course while I am PADI rescue diver. So I got my reasons to suspect that the same club wont let me do much with them because "you don't have any logged dives".

 

[Kevo88]

I was quoted this urban legend before and really have a hard time understanding where it came from. I've also been told that dive ops wouldn't accept a digital log because it could be faked.

I've yet to do any diving that requires verification beyond a c card, but when it happens, I'll be ready. Mostly because I keep both paper and digital. Paper more for stamp collecting and just for the enjoyment of writing. Digital for the organization and accessibility.

 

[seeker242]

only accepted dives recorded in paper logs, signed by a DM or higher, and stamped by a dive shop.

So dives off a private boat or beach don't count, that makes sense...

 

[rhwestfall]

Never been asked for a log book. Asked for last dive date, dive count, certification level (hand over card), but never a log book. This is for both charters and instruction.... Aside from showing a card (travel), everything else is paperwork forms you complete without further documentation.

Oh, and my log book doesn't have a single stamp or signature....

 

[dberry]

Reading some of the above makes me think of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre": "Logs? We ain't got no logs. We don't need no logs. I don't need to show you no steenkin' logs!"

Remembering that this is the Basic forum, I'd hate for new divers to get the impression there's no reason to log dives. Recording the amount of weight needed for different gear configurations can be really helpful for future reference. This is especially true at the beginning when they might be diving in lakes with thick wetsuits for OWC, then in the tropics on vacation, then buying their own gear, etc. Logging and then actually thinking about the weights used is how we learn and develop awareness.

And what about tracking one's air consumption (SAC/RMV)? Sure, we develop a pretty good "feel" at some point, but there's a lot of value in reviewing logs to observe how RMV changes with current, gear, stress, etc.

As far as showing the logs to anyone else, well, that's not really the point, IMO.

 

[Neilwood]

I personally will always log - with a dive computer download on to something like Subsurface. The ability to add so much information very easily is a boon. It is definitely worth doing to look at how different gear/conditions can change things (I note in my log if I was stressed by gear issues etc).

I am not one for a written log though - prefer to be chatting instead of filling in a book and then doing the log at my leisure at home sometime later. Also my writing is not the best so anyone trying to make out what is in the book is in for a shock.