What is your definition of a Cattle Boat

[BoundForElsewhere]

would the plural of cowfish be cattlefish?

 

[FreeFlyFreak]

would the plural of cowfish be cattlefish?

A herd of Cowfish.
Flock of Sheephead

Example: "look at the herd of Cowfish on that Cattle boat"

 

[TulsaTime]

A herd of Cowfish.
Flock of Sheephead

Example: "look at the herd of Cowfish on that Cattle boat"

Reminds me of a great "dad joke" I've sprung on the kids before. When driving past a bunch of cows:

Me: Look at the flock of cows over there.

Kids: It's not "flock of cows," dad, it's "herd of cows!"

Me: Of course I've heard of cows, there's a flock of 'em right over there!


Anyway, to keep this post on topic, my definition of "cattle boat" would be one of those LOBs with communal bunk areas. Not that I'm deriding them, they're just not for me. If I'd been into diving when I was younger and on a tighter budget, I'd likely have no problem with them. But I like my personal space and comfort too much now and don't mind paying extra for it.

For day trips, I don't know that I've been on a boat that I'd consider a cattle boat. I can tolerate crowded conditions on the boat for the relatively short trip. But if that resulted in crowded conditions on the reef/wreck then I'd probably consider that a cattle boat, too.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

No one's even brought up the catamaran of drunken shiny snorkelers. Can we call that a burger boat since most of them are cooked?

 

[Scubagolf]

BAB?
Now that I wrote that, I am wondering why we use the acronym LOB and not LAB???

Live on board.

 

[broncobowsher]

I will saw it is more of a heard mentality of the boat than the actual loading of the boat. Everyone in the water at once, everyone dive together as a heard, couple of cowboys in the back taking care of the straglers.

 

[Scubagolf]

Slightly off topic...
Hunter dies in Arkansas after deer he shot attacks him

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I've been pondering this myself, so I'm glad you brought it up. I wonder how many people would consider the SoCal boats I go out on, like the Magician, the Peace, the Pacific Star, etc. to be cattle boats. They always have more than 20 divers (sometimes a lot more) and the dive decks are extremely crowded, such that I often have to wait until the folks on either side of my space have geared up and gotten out of the way before I can squeeze in. There really isn't enough room in any one part of the boat for everyone to fit comfortably at once, but there's enough total space that it doesn't feel too crowded. Not everyone has to eat in the galley or at the exact same time. They give you a limited window to splash in but don't cut your dive short, and once you're underwater it can be just you and your buddy doing your own thing until you run low on air. The DM stays on the boat. I like it, but some people might not. Several people in the Conception thread expressed horror at the bunkroom, which is similar on the boats I've been on, and which I'll grant you could most charitably be described as "cozy."

The Spectre might be considered a cattle boat upon first appearance because it maxes out at like 35 divers or so. But then when you look at the overall size of the boat and the type of divers typically on it (locals), it suddenly doesn’t really resemble a cattle boat as I think of one. Even when they have a boatload of open water students doing check out dives it’s not really a cattle boat in my definition because these are their first ocean dives and it’s a class scenario.
A cattle boat in my opinion is characterized by a large population of very low skilled vacation divers (similar IQ to cattle) on an overcrowded boat, and are hearded around underwater just like cattle by a few divemasters that act like border collies zipping around gathering up stragglers and moving the whole mass around in a group on a tour. The divers or passengers in this case don’t really know they resemble cattle because they are just having a great old time and don’t know anything different.
I fell victim to such a scenario out of Port Douglas Australia once. The border collie in this situation was really cool about it and let me do my own thing within eye shot. The heard of cattle were Chinese tourists that were quite a spectacle to behold. I actually was so mesmerized at their utter incompetence as divers that I found myself just watching them from afar instead of taking pictures or really enjoying the reef. It was an absolute clown show.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

 

[prowe]

I have been on some really packed "Cattle Boats". When they are run efficiently, they aren't so bad. The dive masters realized my wife and I don't really breathe and put us into the water first and we came up last.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

I wondered the same when I first started diving. It's also one of those things that you'll know when you experience it. I've only only been on two cattle boats and both were vastly different sizes. Both had no space above and below the water as noted below.

IMHO it's pretty subjective. For me a "cattle boat" is any scenario that makes me feel crowded or cramped above or below the water. It could be a boat with too many divers for the amount of physical space above water or an insistence by the dive op for dive groups to stay in too close proximity below the water (not talking about buddies).

Well said.