Tips for a liveaboard

[shugar]

hi guys, looks like i'll be experiencing my first liveaboard sometime in the next 2 or so months... can't wait really

what i need are tips and advice on liveaboard diving... tips may include:

packing/ clothing/ baggage
extra money/ cash/ etc
non-dive related stuff (books, games, cards)
dive gear (what to bring, what to leave, what to double up on)
other related tips

anything will help... also, i'm doing this liveaboard in the philippines so you may want to consider local weather/ conditions/ culture whatever in your tips

thanks in advance people!

Jag

 

[OrcaBlue]

hi guys, looks like i'll be experiencing my first liveaboard sometime in the next 2 or so months... can't wait really

what i need are tips and advice on liveaboard diving... tips may include:

packing/ clothing/ baggage
extra money/ cash/ etc
non-dive related stuff (books, games, cards)
dive gear (what to bring, what to leave, what to double up on)
other related tips

anything will help... also, i'm doing this liveaboard in the philippines so you may want to consider local weather/ conditions/ culture whatever in your tips

thanks in advance people!

Jag

Congrats to you Jag! Liveaboard diving will bring your diving experience up another notch. Only a few points I'd like to bring up:

Clothing - Personally, I only bring a couple of extra tshirts and a parka on board, for the cold nights. Of course, sundries and a towel would be part of the list.

Cash - No need to bring too much, unless you've intentions doing trading with fishes, or your liveaboard is also a floating casino.

Dive Gear - Your usual gear will do, since it's just an extended boat dive. However, I would recommend bringing a save-a-dive kit, comprising of extra mask straps, o-rings, white vinegar for stings, extra torch, buckles, etc.

Non-dive related stuff - anything to keep yourself entertained in between dives and at night.

Last but not least, plenty of seasick medicine!! Start taking them about 2 hrs before you actually go on board. You wouldn't want something like this to ruin your liveaboard, would you?

 

[Damselfish]

This depends a lot on the liveaboard, which one are you doing in case someone has been on it? For example there's liveaboards where you'd want to bring towel(s), and others where there's no need and it would be a waste of luggage space. Some already have plenty of books, movies, and all sorts of stuff, some are more bare-bones or don't have room for a lot of goodies.

Soft luggage that collapses is almost always a better idea than not.
You probably won't need shoes on board.
Spare batteries are good, even if a boat has them they'll probably be expensive.

 

[dilligaf368]

Hydrogen Peroxide, for wax build up or infections. I had a small bottle and everybody used it. Cameria film batteries recharger for "C" batteries and buy lots of rechargeables. Sunscreen, Even more money for all the presents to bring home. Video tapes, extras like silicone grease for cameria equipment, and Q tips for everything. A good book for all the surface intervals. Extra batteries for diving computer. Basically eveything from home or nothing. Depending on what You concider You cannot live without. Don't forget the tips for the crew on board. The booze if not supplied by the liveaboard. Some Countries require a departure tax. I went to the Philipines during the navy so I don't know what they require. Bill

 

[Mike Veitch]

10-15%

 

[tvictory]

Bring clothes pins for securing wet gear to be hung out to dry. The best kind are the very heavy-duty clips found in the building materials section of a store like Home Depot.

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
Dive Gear - Your usual gear will do, since it's just an extended boat dive. However, I would recommend bringing a save-a-dive kit, comprising of extra mask straps, o-rings, white vinegar for stings, extra torch, buckles, etc.
..snip..

Some liveaboards permit a lot of dives and this can generate a certain wear&tear on equipment, so I normally reinforce my save-a-dive kit with a complete SPG, an extra 2nd stage reg, an extra BC hose and a complete fin strap with buckles already mounted so anything that gives problems can be changed in just a few seconds, right at the platform.

..snip..
Non-dive related stuff - anything to keep yourself entertained in between dives and at night.
..snip..

Depending on the liveaboard there is no time to do anything except dive, check equipment, review photos, sleep or eat.

Dawn dive, breakfast, sleep, morning dive, lunch, sleep, afternoon dive, snack, sleep, dusk dive, snack, review day's photos, night dive, dinner, stand in line for shower, sleep, early am dive, snack, sleep, and then restart cycle. On the third day replace sleep with collapse.
Often the boat will will spend the night somewhere shallow so the dusk, night, early am and dawn dives tend to be very shallow and very long. The morning dive will normally be the deep dive of the day and the afternoon, medium depth.

 

[diveborg]

more than one swim suit (warm water liveaboards only). I would say 3-4 so you'd have a dry one to change into after a shower or such.

You will only need shoes/sandals to get to/from the ship.
1 pair of socks
4-5 t-shirts

Gifts for the crew can be very welcome, especially in some of the more exotic parts of the world. Actually I have heard that extra dive gear is sometimes a good gift. Or if the boat has a DVD player, DVD's make a good gift. You watch it there then leave it with the crew.

I take ear plugs when ever I travel especially if I might have to share a room with some one. Most liveaboards move to a new site during the night and engine noise might be an issue.

If you think you might get seasick, bring something for that. Non-drowsy is best for diving.

Bring more exposure protection than you might normally use. If you are diving 3-5 dives a day, you core temperature will go down and you will get cold much easier later on in the week. Bring a hood if nothing else. A hood can really make a big difference.

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
Or if the boat has a DVD player, DVD's make a good gift. You watch it there then leave it with the crew.
..snip..

If you do this, don't forget to check the region.

 

[mike_s]

hi guys, looks like i'll be experiencing my first liveaboard sometime in the next 2 or so months... can't wait really

what i need are tips and advice on liveaboard diving... tips may include:

packing/ clothing/ baggage
extra money/ cash/ etc
non-dive related stuff (books, games, cards)
dive gear (what to bring, what to leave, what to double up on)
other related tips

anything will help... also, i'm doing this liveaboard in the philippines so you may want to consider local weather/ conditions/ culture whatever in your tips

thanks in advance people!

Jag

The other folks here had some good advice.

Here's some of my suggestions.

Soft luggage is best as it collapses up and stores easily. If you must take hard luggage, call the liveaboard and ask if they have a place (on or off the boat) to store it.

Don't forget tip money for the crew.

Any snacks you want that they won't have. Same for alcohol, etc.

plenty of sunscreen and even lip balm/blistex, etc for your lips. water, salt and sun will irratate them.

For clothes you'll mostly wear swimsuits and t-shirts. A pair of polartec sweat pants or polartec pullover is good for cool nights. The reason I said polartec is that it won't absorb water and drys quickly. Cotton will get wet of damp and won't dry for the entire trip.

Go ahead and replace your dive batteries before you go, and still take an extra set. Diving 3 to 6 times per day for a week might wear out the batteries you have in your computer and depending on your computer, if you replace the batteries during a diving week, you might loose all your previous dives (and nitrogen saturation you are off gassing).

I like to take a small plastic bin a little larger than a shoebox to put under my dive bench location seat. You can use this to keep small items in that would get knocked off the bench or easily lost. Like goves, compass, mask, dive light, etc. Keeps it all together. drill small holes in the bottom of it to allow water to drain out since your wet gear will be dripping into it. Or get a plastic mesh bin.

Other usefull items:
a small flashlight to keep at your bunk in case you have to find bathroom in the dark.
earplugs - other people snore and the boat is loud.
Your own cup - for drinks a coffee. A large insulated one is my favorite.
reading material.
extra batteries for everything.
extra buckles, straps
extra flashlight bulbs.
heavy duty cloth band-aids, to put over heel blisters.
"liquid" band-aid, also for heel/foot blisters.

Actually take a small first aid kit with Asprin, ibuprofin, cloth band-aids, tape,etc.... for any small items you might need. A small sewing kit is good too. I had to sew up a wetsuit seem once that the thread "rotted" out of on an old wetsuit.


Hope this helps some -mike