Can anyone tell me if there are any good dive ops out of Panama City that are set up for doubles? I understand I will only be diving recreationally, but I have been diving doubles for so long, I dont feel comfortable in a single tank anymore. If there are some tech trips too, that could be interesting as well.
Panama City
- Thread starter diverbob
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Hetland
Contributor
I'm partial to Panama City Dive Charters - Scuba charters & classes in Panama City. If Pat can't help you, he will help you find the Captain that can.
Thanks for the kind words! Honestly none of the local boats are "set up for doubles" ours included. Doubles will fit reasonably well the racks on Better Bottom Time, the roll control racks at the stern of the Steel Slinger (and either of the Newtons the Dive locker runs provided they have roll control racks instead of the standard racks). The big crew boats that PCDC runs have plenty of room aboard but I doubt you want to climb the swim ladders in doubles on the Island Diver. WreckReation also might have have racks that work but I have very limited experience on their (Diver's Den) new boat.
I feel very strongly the need to point out scuba gear is a tool used to achieve a goal, and some goals are best accomplished with different tools than others. For a recreational dive off of a charter boat, doubles are more trouble than they are worth IMHO as it is way more gas than a No D dive requires. On boats space is at a premium, and anything that makes it harder to safely walk on deck strikes me as a liability. Going into Deco puts the diver and others on the charter at additional risk should a problem ever arise. Would should the Captain do if a passenger had a heart attack onboard while a diver was in deco on the line? I would probably opt to risk bending the diver in deco to increase the odds of survival for the passenger having a heart attack and get them to EMS ASAP, and hope for the best.
That said we see people in doubles and side mount all the time and no one has ever fallen over or gotten hurt on our boats. My best suggestion would be to arrange a private trip if you really want to use doubles and do true tec dives. The 6 pack boats like WreckRaider and our soon to be in service 32' Cat are better suited to these types of custom trips than the inspected vessels that take more than 6 passengers at a time.
I feel very strongly the need to point out scuba gear is a tool used to achieve a goal, and some goals are best accomplished with different tools than others. For a recreational dive off of a charter boat, doubles are more trouble than they are worth IMHO as it is way more gas than a No D dive requires. On boats space is at a premium, and anything that makes it harder to safely walk on deck strikes me as a liability. Going into Deco puts the diver and others on the charter at additional risk should a problem ever arise. Would should the Captain do if a passenger had a heart attack onboard while a diver was in deco on the line? I would probably opt to risk bending the diver in deco to increase the odds of survival for the passenger having a heart attack and get them to EMS ASAP, and hope for the best.
That said we see people in doubles and side mount all the time and no one has ever fallen over or gotten hurt on our boats. My best suggestion would be to arrange a private trip if you really want to use doubles and do true tec dives. The 6 pack boats like WreckRaider and our soon to be in service 32' Cat are better suited to these types of custom trips than the inspected vessels that take more than 6 passengers at a time.
DEC0
Guest
talk to Panama city dive center. they have some overnight trips on the Island Diver coming up to the middle grounds.
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