Sarting a Dive Op... a candid discussion.

[Scubakevdm]

You know, one of the things I like on a boat is enough room to gear up without constantly elbowing or kneeing the person next to me. But I don't need enough room to dance . . . I don't know how big your boat is, Kevin, but I've been out on boats with 12 or 14 divers, where the experience was great and I have recommended the boats to other people without reservation. It has to be ORGANIZED, and there has to be a minimum amount of room, but you can have a larger group of divers and still have everybody feel good about things.

I think we had 10 or 11 on the Sea Bass, going out to the oil rigs, and I don't think anybody felt cramped.

If it makes the difference between economic survival or not, it might pay to up your capacity.

Maybe. I suppose if it ever comes down to it I would have to, but that would be a last resort. If this doesn't look like its gonna work out with me in the water and someone else driving, the first thing that I would change would be that arrangement. I feel pretty strongly about the six passenger thing.

It's not just an issue of whether or not the boat is crowded, in fact that's one of the most minor effects, because after all, once you get off the boat you have all kinds of room. Running with six is much more manageable, gives me a much higher chance of being booked by a homogeneous group, has a much greater chance of leaving the dock on time and allows more time for a surface interval. This "extra time" also allows me some flexibility with the one hour time limit for each dive that seems to be the standard for this area.

On top of all this, most of my regular customers are photographers with GIANT cameras, and they like the room for their stuff.

 

[riverserf]

Kev, Congratulations on opening your own business. Great story so far....keep us posted. I haven't seen any other threads like this on Scuba Board so it's bound to get a large following! Thanks for sharing!