Inexpensive boats?

[eandiver]

Well said.

 

[pir8]

75$ for a 2 tank dive is cheap anywhere. Figure in price of gas alone, then insurance, liscences, moorage/storage and you haven't even considered the initial price of the boat. Nobody wants to pay a lot for anything but you need a new hobby if you can't see what you are paying for.

 

[the gooch]

Anybody have some cheese to go with all this whine?

 

[blindref757]

Don your full gear (2 tanks included) and go stand on the pilings near a drawbridge with your thumb out and wave a $20. You'll get someone to take you to the reef/wreck--but you'll need a lot of luck for that drunk college student and his girlfriend to remember to look 15kts down current for your SMB after their 5-6 hour party in daddy's yacht.

 

[peengers]

My advice would be to find a friend that has a boat so that you can circumvent people that want $75 a head to dive.

Sure, that $75 goes towards paying for the captain's boat and gets you extra frills like divemasters and such, but you still have to contend with cattle atmosphere and a dive that's for the group and not for you. If you grab a buddy and go out where you want and dive how you want, the experience is typically much better.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Speaking of which, do your buddies all shore dive too? You might be able to swing a deal.

 

[tomro]

what was the orginal question? inexpensive dive boats in S Florida? If you have your own gear and bring your own filled tanks, $55.00 seem the going rate. the $75.00 seem closer if you have the boat supply air and weights. If you join a club and dive as a group you can get better rates. Save 10.00 a trip maybe. This is the best information wiht out the bashing. I have gone with privet boats and split gas and helped clean the boat, after getting that done it is nice to be able to go to new locations but the time spent before and after the dive was about 3 hours clea up and 35.00 coast of fuel (I paid for most it was his boat payment) and another 20.00 for food and cold drinks (snacks and cold drinks provided on most dive boats). I would jump at the oppertunity to dive with a boat owner it feels like making friends. but it is not cheeper then a cattle boat, it's just different. Each one has it's own draw backs and advantages. Shore dives, and there a lot of options is a fun and less expensive way to blow bubbles. Like mentioned in previous post a yak is a good way to get farther out, and Back. and as a group activity it can be a lot of fun. I hope this helps.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Another note about the dive kayak, I think they cost about $750 but if you are paying $75 for boat trips, you only need to use the yak 10 times to make it pay for itself. I'm saving up for one myself, although NOT to save money on charter trips, just to do a different type of diving.

 

[divad]

Last summer, most of the boats out of Pompano were $40 to $45.

 

[Scuba_Dad]

Perhaps we can answer the question now -- which boats are the least expensive?

You can save money by joining a dive club and going out on trips with the club. As a club, you get group rates and the cost comes down significantly. I frequently go out for less than $50 for a two tank dive. When you add the cost of tank rental... then the price goes up anywhere from $8-12 per tank. So, a $75 dive with tanks is not a bad deal.