MINIMUM Depth to Log Dive

[dsteding]

I'm not sure they count as dives if I can't get my head underwater.

. . . .
I was borrowing a friend's set of double LP95s to try with my new Agir 38lbs doubles wing. I got in and as soon as I tried to hover, the tanks almost face-planted me into the bottom of the quarry. My buddy was having a fun time laughing at me as I was doing loop-de-loops...:14:

Sounds like those 95s are the perfect tank to get your head underwater in your tub

 

[talonraid]

Thanks so far, folks. I agree that the log is mine and I can log whatever my conscience allows, and I do that.

I was just hoping that someone could point me towards a reputable document that clearly states the requirement. I've been a military guy forever and I NEED REGS to function, I can't help it. Blame it on the government.

I have probably witnessed in person, four or five people engage in this topic over the past few months and I cordially stayed out of the arguement, because I didn't know the right answer. I was hoping that I could chime in on the next one with "well it clearly states in Scuba Diving Reg blah blah blah that it must be X feet for X minutes, so stop arguing." Guess I'll have to watch a few more of these discussions from the sidelines. Perhaps the next one will get physical and I can get some real entertainment!

 

[PerroneFord]

There is no Regultion. There is only conjecture and opinion. This is just diving.

 

[ClayJar]

I log all my non-pool dives, and once I start working on DM (and later Instructor), I'll log all those pool sessions, too, but I might use a separate sequence for them (something like plain numbers for OW dives, and P-numbers for pool sessions, maybe?).

I don't log my backyard pool dives, but if there is any useful information from them (such as going through an entire gear series to work out a weighting algorithm), I'd certainly donate a page of my logbook for that info. I just wouldn't give it a sequence number.

Anyway, that's my way of saying that, yep, it's my own business.

(Incidentally, since I use my own logbook pages in a binder-style logbook, I don't have to worry about "wasting pages". Oh, and when I need to log DM/instructor-style information, I'll just whip up a set of pages with that info.)

 

[Rick Murchison]

Of course, if I ever were to become a DM or instructor (not that I want too right now, just for example's sake), I would probably log instrucional pool dives just so that I had a "work record" for my personal use.

I keep a record of both academic sessions and pool work in my dive log, along with a planning calendar, points of contact, dive site info and planning data, weighting info, tank hydro schedules and so forth, as well as "logged dives." Only the last 20 or so logged dives actually live in the logbook. The rest are in the "dive log drawer."
Rick

 

[rakkis]

I heard there was no depth requirement, just needed to be underwater for 20 min. or longer..............

There is no time limit either.

If you want to count putting your head in the bath tub for 10 seconds while breathing from your regulator, you can. Like the above posters said, it is a diary. Do what you want.

The only times you have to subscribe to guidelines when logging:
1. During a class
2. If you want the dive to count towards a rating that has a minimum dive requirement.

Additionally, you should subscribe to guidelines when:
3. Anytime someone asks you about your experience (dive operator, buddy, instructor)

You seem to already know what the general guidelines are.

I was just hoping that someone could point me towards a reputable document that clearly states the requirement. I've been a military guy forever and I NEED REGS to function, I can't help it.

There are no such reqs. Sorry!

 

[Walter]

If it's a training dive, there is a minimum depth before it can be counted. If it's counting towards a minimum number of diver for a particular certification, there's a minimum depth before it can be counted, but any dive can be logged.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I was just hoping that someone could point me towards a reputable document that clearly states the requirement. I've been a military guy forever and I NEED REGS to function, I can't help it. Blame it on the government.

Ain't gonna find it. It's a hobby! Keep reminding yourself. IT'S JUST A HOBBY, IT'S JUST A HOBBY, IT'S JUST A HOBBY ....

Do you see golfers arguing about how long a course has to be before it is truly considered a round of golf? A pickup game of basketball is still basketball, right?

If you couldn't do it without a tank and a regulator and you feel like logging it, log it.

 

[rottielover]

The rest are in the "dive log drawer."

Is that like "File 13" in accounting?

 

[ClayJar]

I was just hoping that someone could point me towards a reputable document that clearly states the requirement. I've been a military guy forever and I NEED REGS to function, I can't help it. Blame it on the government.

Okay, let me try...

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! By order of ClayJar, it is hereby decreed that each and every non-pool dive on which compressed gases are breathed must henceforth be logged. For a dive aborted prematurely due to conditions such as, but not limited to, blatant gear misconfiguration (eg. forgotten weight belt), the initial aborted dive and a subsequent continuation of the aborted dive may be combined and reported as a single dive, provided the dive is continued within the same calendar day (in the dive's local time zone) or the subsequent four hours, whichever is longer. For any dive with a depth of less than 15' or a duration of less than 15 minutes, the dive shall be numbered in sequence, with the sequence number being annotated by an asterisk (*), thereby indicating that any logbook-inspecting party may, at their behest, discount such a dive (as "provisional") when considering the diver's total number of logged dives. The diver is under no obligation to keep a running total of the number of such provisional dives.

There. That seems like a logical answer.

(Okay, I just wanted to say "HEAR YE!"... )