Rent a boat and dive?

[cabinetman]

Has anybody done this on the island? Was thinking of renting a boat for the day and diving. We enjoy Klein and instead of doing it via a Buddy Dive boat we could rent for a day and hit 3-4 sites. Looks like cost is about 250.00. I live on the water on the East Coast and am an experienced boater.

 

[diversteve]

Is there another experienced boater you can leave on the boat while you dive? It's a long swim back to Bonaire if a mooring comes loose.

Do the rentals come with a boarding ladder or will you take off all your gear and flop over the side.
We actually did this once in Mexico but had someone on the boat to hand gear up to. I suppose you could tie it off on a rope then haul it up once you're back on board also - I know people that do that diving from panga sized boats. .

 

[cabinetman]

They have what looks
Like 18-19' Hurricane deck boats. They have a ladder. You just float your bc while your buddy holds it, climb in, then pull your gear in. Have done this in the Keys before.

Nobody would be on board while we dive. Moorings are permanent around Klein Bonaire so coming loose should not be an issue.

I guess somone could steal the boat while we are under but the key will be in my BC.

 

[diversteve]

I've been on two dayboats and one liveaboard where the mooring has come loose in the Caribbean. Once at the boat.

The liveaboard actually snapped the coral - I shot video of it so the captain could see what he needed to replace it.
Obviously on a 19' boat that won't happen.

I'd seriously doubt anyone would try to steal the boat on Bonaire - where would they go with it? I'd probably leave the key somewhere on board - if someone was going to steal it, they'd probably cut the mooring and tow it anyway.

 

[darook]

I don’t know where I saw it but I am pretty sure that any boat tied to a dive site mooring needs to have an occupant. Unless you have that, the prudent plan is to use a dive op boat for KB or skip hose sites and see the exact same stuff while shore diving from your truck. I always choose he latter.

 

[oldschoolto]

I do believe that it comes with a will not dive provision in the contract.

Jim..

 

[Doctorfish]

Leaving a boat unattended while diving is, in a word, stupid. If you come up and the boat has slipped the mooring, you have a big problem. Knots do come loose, ropes tear and boats drift away. Just have a look at the incidents and accidents section of this forum. Why don't you just go out with the dive op or shore dive on the main island.

 

[Dogbowl]

Having an unattended dive boat while the owners went diving was one of the “incidents” that was documented in the book, “Diver Down: Real World Scuba Accidents and How To Avoid Them,” by Michael R. Ange.

 

[divezonescuba]

I can confirm. No scuba diving from the rental boats. A while back, unless you owned the boat yourself and we're only using it for family and friends, you also had to have a park permit. Don't know if that is still current.

An interesting alternative is that you can rent a TEC grade underwater scooter from Buddy and go to Klein yourself. You can also arrange for a guide led trip like that.