Nekton boats may come back!!

[Bruce Purdy]

I went by the Nekton yard about 2 years ago. It was sad. Both boats were firmly sunken into the bottom. It appeared no one had been in the yard for quite awhile since the grass was high everywhere. All the conatainers with there tools were open with lots of expensive tools just sitting there. The odd thing was the office air conditioner was running but again the grass outside the door was high so it appeared no one had entered the office in a long while. It was a shame no one had tried to sell or salvage anything.

Bruce Purdy
www.allstarliveaboards.com

 

[DebbyDiver]

They would make awesome dive sites.

Just sayin'.

 

[tarponchik]

I just realized what I miss most about Nekton: freedom. "Guys, the pool is open!" and off you go.

 

[The Chairman]

They would make awesome dive sites.

That they would. That they would.

 

[daniel1948]

I was on the Nekton Pilot for my first liveaboard scuba trip. I really liked it. Since I get seasick easily, the stability was nice. I was a fairly new diver and I decided I was not going to exceed my OW certification of 60 fsw. As a result, none of the other guests would buddy with me. But every time I wanted to dive, a crew member would suit up and dive with me. I'd speak up, and within ten or fifteen minutes someone would be ready to dive with me. (My first dive trip after getting certified was to Cozumel, where I told the DM that I was OW and not supposed to go below 60 fsw, and he just said "You'll be fine" and routinely took me to 80 or 85 feet for the first dive of each day. Nothing bad happened to me, but on reflection I decided there was a reason for the 60-foot limit. On the Pilot, the captain did tell me I'd be fine going deeper, but didn't push it. I appreciated that. The boat was comfortable, my cabin was large (for a boat), the food was good, and the crew were great. The boat was the ugliest thing on the water, but was really nice to sail in.

I was very sorry when Nekton folded. I gather the boats were expensive to run and maintain. Seasickness prevents me from doing liveaboards again, after getting sicker then I've ever been in my life on the Aqua Cat (which in every other respect was the height of luxury and a solid five stars) during a rough crossing, due to its shallow draft.

If I had Bill Gates's money, I'd commission the building of a boat similar to the Pilot (probably easier than trying to restore the boat now) and run it at a loss for divers who get seasick.

 

[Shasta_man]

Interesting that you found them to be helpful for seasickness because while I felt they were quite stable when stopped but worse than other typical liveaboards when underway, because you are essentially driving a building around. Perhaps I got it toward the end of its "life" when maintenance, crew, etc had deteriorated. It was certainly better than something shaped like that should feel, but since I nearly got seasick on the way home from the constant sudden rise and fall, I didn't think it would be the best choice for seasickness. BTW, if you could handle the Nekton, there are other boats in the Pacific that you could go on. Look into the Dewi Nusantara. It's 187 feet long, so big boat and you hardly know you are moving. They would mostly blow away Caribbean diving.

 

[KathyV]

I was on the Nekton Pilot for my first liveaboard scuba trip. I really liked it. Since I get seasick easily, the stability was nice....

Interesting that you found them to be helpful for seasickness because while I felt they were quite stable when stopped but worse than other typical liveaboards when underway, because you are essentially driving a building around. Perhaps I got it toward the end of its "life" when maintenance, crew, etc had deteriorated. It was certainly better than something shaped like that should feel, but since I nearly got seasick on the way home from the constant sudden rise and fall, I didn't think it would be the best choice for seasickness...

I am prone to seasickness and I got terribly sick on some Nekton cruises. I figured that the "No Seasickness" advertisement was just hype. The cruicial factor for me was the deep water crossings, like between Florida and the Bahamas. I had some terrible first nights on these cruises when all I did was vomit. I don't recall getting sick on the Nekton cruises in Belize and St. Croix, but I was very ill during several trips to the Bahamas.

 

[daniel1948]

Interesting that you found them to be helpful for seasickness because while I felt they were quite stable when stopped but worse than other typical liveaboards when underway, because you are essentially driving a building around. Perhaps I got it toward the end of its "life" when maintenance, crew, etc had deteriorated. It was certainly better than something shaped like that should feel, but since I nearly got seasick on the way home from the constant sudden rise and fall, I didn't think it would be the best choice for seasickness. BTW, if you could handle the Nekton, there are other boats in the Pacific that you could go on. Look into the Dewi Nusantara. It's 187 feet long, so big boat and you hardly know you are moving. They would mostly blow away Caribbean diving.

I am prone to seasickness and I got terribly sick on some Nekton cruises. I figured that the "No Seasickness" advertisement was just hype. The cruicial factor for me was the deep water crossings, like between Florida and the Bahamas. I had some terrible first nights on these cruises when all I did was vomit. I don't recall getting sick on the Nekton cruises in Belize and St. Croix, but I was very ill during several trips to the Bahamas.

This is interesting. Maybe I was just lucky to have calm conditions on my trip??? The logic made sense: Have most of the floatation below most of the wave action; just as I feel okay once I'm 15 or 20 feet down but get seasick on the surface if there's a swell. I certainly do not remember any sudden up and down movement, which would indeed have made me seasick.

I will look into the Dewi Nusantara, though being big is no guarantee when conditions are rough. I know people who've gotten sick on cruise ships.

Okay, I looked at their web page and saw a picture of the Dewi Nusantara. Looks a lot like the tall ship I sailed on once where I was more seasick than I'd ever been in my life. The description makes it look very nice, but there's no way that ship is stable enough to prevent my getting seasick. Sigh!

 

[DeputyDan]

My first ever liveaboard was the Rorqual in the Caymans.
It was a great time and I am glad I dove with them.

That being said - these boats have gone the way of the dodo bird!

 

[Darnold9999]

On the seasickness front I found that the Nekton boats were extremely stable on a dive site even in heavy swell. However in transit they pitched a significant amount. I just took drugs that knocked me out for transit.

Dewi Nusantura is a very large boat and the waters around Raja Ampat and Komodo have been extremely calm every time I have been there so as long as you don't do a relocation cruise, or get unlucky with weather you should be able to dive these boats. The diving is spectacular, so much better than the diving in the Caribbean. (you might try a shorter cruise to try - there are some boats that do short term liveaboards if you don't want to risk a long cruise.