What do you do for Boat Diving specialty?

[Michael Schlink]

Well I just don't agree with some of this at all. The boat diving "specialty" can actually be a fun and informative class- Not everyone that learns to dive has the benefit of diving from a boat during their training. In fact there are quite a few divers that will spend their first year of diving inland, doing shore dives in a quarry. I can't count how many discussions on SB have been about how some divers act on boats, poorly or properly. Now I certainly agree that it doesn't require a card and I suppose that some folks can get this info for free but why don't we open this up to some of the DM's working boats and find out if they'd like to see divers showing up with a little better understanding of what it takes to dive from a boat, things like getting on and off with your gear, how to act, where to p, how much to bring and what to leave at home,etc. etc. Some people learn better in a structured environment than by osmosis. Plus some of the info being passed around on the tail ends of diveboats by those that think they are in the know is just plain bad info.
So actually a boat diver specialty just might be the ticket for some.

 

[PaulChristenson]

So actually a boat diver specialty just might be the ticket for some.

Especially for the people who use the camera tank to dunk the BCDs!!!!!

 

[Diver0001]

Excuse my ignorance, but what do you do in Boat Diving specialty class? I have been on a few dives, they all required me to jump or step off from a boat. Besides entrance/exit water strategy, what else do they teach you? I somehow feel like this is one of those specialty that agencies just want to make money off you.

Well....that will depend on where you take it. In some places it will involve nothing more than entry and exits from boats, which you should have been taught in your OW pool sessions..... In other places it will involve all kinds of boat rigging, line rigging, boat protocol, dive protocol, etiquette, tips and tricks, packing, dealing with being sea sick, boat safety, risks, rewards and, of course, the entry and exit strategies.

And not all boats are created equal. A zodiac is one thing but the ship shown in the thumbnail at the bottom of the post is one we use a lot and if you get that that one without knowing what you're up to, then you'll wish you took a course.....LOL The drop from teh deck to the water on this boat is about 3 metres......

R..

 

[garyfotodiver]

Dive from the SE Florida boats. Tell the DM that you have never dived from a boat and LISTEN to what s/he tells you. If you are stag, try to get hooked up with an experienced diver.

Have fun!

 

[Halthron]

Especially for the people who use the camera tank to dunk the BCDs!!!!!

Or the ones who use it to rinse their wetsuits. One ANDI instructor I know lost $1000 in business after someone who was considering some classes saw him rinse out his wetsuit in the camera bucket.

 

[Cacia]

hey! everybody....JustBruce has a boat in Marina del Rey, right by the Ritz Carlton, I bet. I think we should all get together and get our "advanced baot diver" card.

I did this course because I wanted to learn about the various moorings, how to hook up different boats, current, how to read conditions for putting divers in at various sites. Visual line-ups used in conjunction with GPS for various sites. I made up my own objectives and then got the captains to help me. There is some good info about the radio use, dive flag laws, etc that can be incorporated into the class.

 

[oly5050user]

the boat speciality can teach some people things that they would not have picked up.Gives them another shot at a supervised dive.Some people once certified are still leary about going without an instructor and this may fit the need.If priced inexpensively ,say a bit more than the actual boat fee,some nervous people will do it and most likely benefit from it.

 

[Diesel298]

thats what divemasters are for, and thats why tipping the DM is also a good idea

 

[divnamite]

Umm, wouldn't it be cheaper to just hire a DM to go on dive with you than to take a class if you want to get more comfortable in water? I understand the boat operation part, but I seriously doubt I'm gonna learn how to work on a boat. If that's what someone want to learn, why not just to some real boat lessons?
P.S. I don't want to sound like a jerk about the dunk tank. If I was getting on a boat, I would expect the captain or the DM to tell me which tank to use. If not, they can't blame me for using the wrong one assuming they didn't put a camera in one of the bucket already.

 

[AndyNZ]

I offer 'boat' as a dive on AOW courses as it gives student divers a chance to have a fun dive and enjoy themselves. I don't see much point in getting people to do say, search and recovery, when we're diving in some of the most beautiful dive sites in the world.....

In terms the specifics, I think it gets people thinking about what they are doing on boats and asking questions. Where are the lifejackets? Where is the O2 kit? Who onboard is trained in O2 provision? What is the VHF channel for the local coastguard? What is the emergency VHF channel? What mayday procedures should be used if the boat crew are all incapactitated? Where is the EPIRB? How to rig lines such as a trail line if there's a current? How much chain to let out on the anchor for a given depth and set of conditions? Why you need to carry spares? What to expect from different charter companies?

I think that if it's approached the right way, the AOW boat dive really starts getting people to accept responsibility for their own diving, rather than turn up and blindly trust that things will go right...