Sailing with dive gear & Diving from a sailboat

[dpbishop]

Cap'n H.

Not commercial, just friends & relatives. They bring food & beverages, I supply the boat. We usually do a week in Catalina, the boat sleeps 4 OK, but it looks like a laundry barge with all the wetsuits & towels hung out to dry.

 

[Nemrod]

Completely dumb question, can you mount a dingy lift on a Catalina 30 that would haul out a 14 foot high speed (25 horse) inflatable? The idea being dive from the inflatable. As far as gear goes, tropical only, no BC, straight simple minimalsit gear, no wetsuits or weight belts or any of that fuss. Tanks stored under or in the aft birth with other gear?

I used to have a part interest in a Cat 30 long ago for a very short period before selling out to get a Montauk 17. Any thoughts on a Cat 30 for coastal ocean cruising and over to the Bahamas etc. No serious ocean crossing but serious foul weather is always about. Suggestions?

N

 

[dpbishop]

A dingy lift on a C30 might look a little ungainly, but it could be done. Or you can deflate, store on the bow and re inflate when you reach the islands. Then just tow it from dive spot to dive spot. That's what I do when we go to Catalina. (14 hour trip by motor). I can muscle it up and down; my Dad uses a halyard & winch to launch & retrieve.

C30 is a good cruising boat for it's size and should be fine for Coastal cruising. The newer models (post 94) have an open stern which makes it easier for diving. We had an Islander 32 for 20 years before the Ericson and loved it, primarily because it had headroom for 6 footers. But in boats, bigger is always better.

 

[CaptainHornblower]

Nemrod,

I'm not following what the dumb question was? It seemed to make sense to me, although I was thinking a smaller dingy and a larger sailboat. My thought was to anchor the sailboat near the dive location and then use a 10 or 12 foot rubber dingy for entry and exit.

 

[scubajcf]

While entries, exits, tank storage and other logistics are important considerations, the most important issue to deal with regarding "self captaining" your dive (sail)boat is your evacuation and emergency plans.

If someone gets hurt .... What do you do?????

 

[Nemrod]

While entries, exits, tank storage and other logistics are important considerations, the most important issue to deal with regarding "self captaining" your dive (sail)boat is your evacuation and emergency plans.

If someone gets hurt .... What do you do?????

Call the CG on the VHF. N

 

[mike_s]

Don't have a great deal of experience in diving from traditional sailboats, but those times that I have I found it to be quite problematic.

1st problem, decent boarding ladders;

Just use the Dingy.

To start the dive, hand down the gear to the Dingy after it's assembled. Then gear put on gear in the dingy and back roll off.


At the end of the dive, put gear back into dingy, then climb the ladder (w/o gear) then hand up the gear from the dingy with your dive buddy. works fine.


As for gear storage, you have that problem on any boat unless you're Paul Allen.


Worst thing about sail boat diving is that unless you've got a compressor onboard, then it's along trip back to get airfills on a slow boat.

 

[OceanObsessed]

Although some do it many people are not willing to take their large, slow & expensive sailboat out over the reefs for diving. In the Caribbean, squalls can appear quickly and out of nowhere. Most people don't want to be caught off guard with their larger sailboat at anchor, in an exposed area, with divers in the water and a sudden squall approaching. Sailboats lack the power to just power out of a situation, or outrun small storms, like motorboats can. Being in a large sailboat in an exposed area, near shallow water, with approaching squall & limited visibility can be a bit risky.

Keep the sailboat at anchor in a protected harbour, cove or docked at a marnina and just dive out of the dingy.

 

[DPJ]

This is easy in the BVI's. A Cat would be better for diving directly off the boat but all the Charter Boats have dingy's. There are National Park Moorings at most sites. You can have tanks and wieghts or full gear delivered to the Charter dock. They will also provide a chart of dive sites. Several islands have fill stations or mix in some rendevous diving and they will bring you full tanks for exchange. Option 2, do all rendevous diving and carry no gear.

 

[Nemrod]

When people say a "dingy" do they mean one of those rubber donuts with a 3 horse or something like a 14 foot Zodiac Futura with 25 to 35 horsepower? Just curious.

I have never dove from a sailboat, well, actually I have, but, strictly a novice sailer, I was just curious but given that sailboats are prone to reefing due to their inability to run and manuver why not have a high speed inflatable to dive from. I know that my wife and I have in the past used our Cancuro 420 to travel as far as 30 miles (not 30 miles offshore but on a few ocasions 10 or so). It would seem to me that the sailboat would stay at protected anchorage or well away from danger and the inflatable would get you to the dive sites etc.

Thinking out loud. Get two OK Scrambler XLs. These can easily be paddled round trips of five miles or more depending on weather and conditions. Stow on deck, not heavy.

I got this one in 84 and a few years ago refitted it, thus the pic, but have not used it again yet due to my having a cc and a kayak for diving and stuff. These are very capable and sturdy boats. Not like the rubber donuts I see tied to most sailboats half flat and half sunk.

N