Dive Boats
Dive Boats, Your Guide to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
John Francis
Boats that are either not designed for diving or not extensively modified to accommodate divers make uncomfortable dive platforms. A dive-ready boat has distinctive physical characteristics and procedures:
A dive-ready boat must have:
Oxygen. Essential first aid for decompression sickness, an oxygen kit (and training to use it) should be on every dive boat.
Assigned divemaster. Someone's first responsibility should be dive safety. The divemaster should know the location and conditions and should be prepared to enter the water if not actually diving with the group. On smaller boats, the captain or mate may do double duty.
Pre-dive briefing. You need to be told the depth, current, vis and general configuration of the site in order to plan a safe dive. Demand it, pay attention, and insist other divers keep quiet so you can hear. Diver count system. The boat should have some way of keeping track of every diver. Some boats assign each diver a number and do a roll call before and after each dive. On others, the divemaster checks names off against a list.
Current line. The boat should lay out a "current line" or "tag line" even when the current is very weak. The line will be an aid to tired divers returning to the boat.
Ascent/descent line. This line controls the descent for divers who have trouble equalizing their ears, and makes slow, controlled ascents and safety stops much easier. The anchor line is often used for this purpose.
Ample drinking water. A small jug, hard to get to, with thimble-sized paper cups, does not promote adequate hydration.
| page 3/8 |
  |
| 
