Log books mandatory?

[Hatul]

I've gone to dive operators who require you show your logbook and show that you made dives withing the last six months, otherwise attend a refresher.

Adam

 

[TMHeimer]

The dive operator is asking me to sign a waiver giving up all my legal rights and wants to see my log book? If anyone should be producing a logbook it should be the dive operator showing the dates of the trips, divers on board and injuries sustained.

The waiver is a well debated topic. I have read that many lawsuits against dive ops have been quickly dismissed if the waiver and all (agency) required paperwork was done. I don't believe that such a result is automatic, though. I believe that if the fault of an accident is found to lie with the dive op, they can lose a suit even though the diver signed the waiver. Kind of like the sign in the parking lot that says "We are not responsible if your car is robbed or damaged". Your car is on their property, and I believe that most times they are in fact responsible.

I can understand a charter wanting to see credentials to reduce the chances that they will be liable for an accident because of an inexperienced diver's mistake. I can also see your point about dive ops showing you their records and credentials (but how many of us dig into that anyway?). But I wouldn't give a whole lot of thought one way or another to the waiver.

 

[vladimir]

I have never been asked for my logbook. Theoretically, I keep one. The first ~250 dives are in a handful of logbooks with the ink run and the pages stuck together from repeated soakings on dive boats, abandoned in a mildewy old dive bag in a storage bin in Pennsylvania. The next ~480 dives are on three different hard drives scattered about and on the verge of the scrap heap. The rest are on my dive computer. I think dive operators are more comforted by evidence of recent diving than a stack of signatures and stamps from the 1980s, so I usually volunteer that my last dives were a month ago, or three months ago, as the case may be.

 

[NAM001]

I was asked for logs when i offered a OW card. I did not have one but they let me ,reluctantly, dive anyway. I knew then the inportance the operators placed on the log for ow's . When i got my AOW and Nitrox, no more logs were required. either the aow was responsible or the nitrox, I dont know. I have never heard of anyone asking for logs when a master diver card or better was presented. Those with more senior cards dont present them to protect thier liability and offer junior level cards.

 

[NAM001]

The waiver is a well debated topic. I have read that many lawsuits against dive ops have been quickly dismissed if the waiver and all (agency) required paperwork was done. I don't believe that such a result is automatic, though. I believe that if the fault of an accident is found to lie with the dive op, they can lose a suit even though the diver signed the waiver. Kind of like the sign in the parking lot that says "We are not responsible if your car is robbed or damaged". Your car is on their property, and I believe that most times they are in fact responsible.

I can understand a charter wanting to see credentials to reduce the chances that they will be liable for an accident because of an inexperienced diver's mistake. I can also see your point about dive ops showing you their records and credentials (but how many of us dig into that anyway?). But I wouldn't give a whole lot of thought one way or another to the waiver.

thats true. if a business relationship existed the busness can not make itself non liable. bartering laws or something like that.

 

[on_two_wheels]

Log books are a joke!! The fact that they ask for them are also a joke. I can go buy one and spend a bit of time making up dives or, even better, just use a dive sim to provide realistic numbers. They'd never know the difference. If they're doing a dive on a wreck to 95 fsw and as me for my log book, I'm screwed. Yes, I can show my history on the computer. Then again, I've bought two computers used with several dives already on them. So ultimately, there's NO sure proof that the experience I'm showing them is actual.

 

[David_57]

I gave up keeping a logbook after 200 dives now I just down load my computer but have never been asked for my log book. A couple of weeks ago I flew to Scotland to dive Scapa Flow in the Orkneys as these are advanced wreck dives in cold water depths between 80ft and 140ft the DM checked me out on a couple of wrecks that could be dove from the shore in about 30ft of water to get a better idea of my diving abilities.

Like previously mentioned log books prove very little I have seen divers with 400 dives plus that look like they have just started, and divers with less than 50 dives who look very capable.

 

[reefduffer]

What 1965 C-card? I dived from 1965 to 1976 without a C-card. I got my first card in '76 so I could get my tank filled.

You started diving in '65 and didn't need to fill your tank until '76 ?
Now THAT's a SAC rate!

 

[TSandM]

We were asked to show our logbooks in Australia -- that's the only place I've been where anyone has wanted them. I think, if I went back to Australia, I'd print out the last few pages from my computer log and show that, and hopefully that would work. I haven't logged on paper in a long time.

 

[NAM001]

We were asked to show our logbooks in Australia -- that's the only place I've been where anyone has wanted them. I think, if I went back to Australia, I'd print out the last few pages from my computer log and show that, and hopefully that would work. I haven't logged on paper in a long time.

sand dollar asked me for mine in coz. but that was when i only had an ow cert, once i got tyhe nitrox and aow i have not been asked.