Scuba from a trawler

[Otisguy]

48' Hatteras LRC built for diving.
I have Jr. Baur Dive compressor capable of filling 4 tanks at a time with a pelican rack on back deck to hold tanks & use a bait well for masks, Fins etc but stow everything below in lazzerette under rear cockpit.
We have a mid stateroom wit full queen walk around bed plus tub & shower in master bath with forward stateroom. We extended the dive platform with granny rails and dive ladder capable of handling me at 250 lbs fully loaded with gear

 

[CWO KPM]

Meant 35 feet and 100 from the boat. I like the idea of a hose as I am usually solo,
no dive buddy and no-one on the boat.
My thought is 100 feet of hose on a reel in the cockpit. Question is Hookah or just a tank?

 

[Jetstream]

We like the idea of the door. Are they a lot of work to maintain with seals and all that or do they not have them. I've never been on a boat with a transom door

No seals or maintenance required as ours and most others are just hinged and latched in a self draining cockpit. Once you've had a transom door you'll wonder haw you did without it. You just walk straight out through the cockpit onto the swim platform.

 

[O C Diver]

Meant 35 feet and 100 from the boat. I like the idea of a hose as I am usually solo,
no dive buddy and no-one on the boat.
My thought is 100 feet of hose on a reel in the cockpit. Question is Hookah or just a tank?

Make sure the hose floats. If the pressure in the hose is 120 psi or greater, 35' of depth and several hundred feet of hose is very doable. If you have the tank and regulator already, just buy a long hose for between the 1st and second stages. You may be fine with a compressor as opposed to a tank. Oil lubricated compressors without proper filtration are an absolute no no, unless you want to risk lipoid pneumonia. Personally, I choose the quality of properly filtered scuba air designed for human consumption. It costs a little more, but I'm worth it.

Ted

 

[CWO KPM]

Thanks, Clean air is a non-negotiable.

 

[Diesel Duck]

Meant 35 feet and 100 from the boat. I like the idea of a hose as I am usually solo,
no dive buddy and no-one on the boat.
My thought is 100 feet of hose on a reel in the cockpit. Question is Hookah or just a tank?

NOTE: A made the following comment earlier in this thread:

If one has, or is going to install, a compressor onboard for filling dive tanks I see no need for buying a separate compressor a.k.a hookah rig. A better solution for those wanting to eliminate donning a full complement of scuba gear for cleaning their hull or doing a quick prop check etc. is to use one of their scuba tanks mounted onboard their boat with a 50' hose with their normal regulator.

If they want a bit more mobility to move around while using a hookah type rig, a 50' hose, they can simply mount one of their scuba tanks atop a scuba tank float system.

Here is just one of many examples of a scuba tank float system:

Hookah Float System. Scuba Tank Float Surface Supplied Diving. | Safety First Diving

*Another, much cheaper, option would be to use a few wheelbarrow sized inner tubes to float your scuba tank.



__________________

 

[CWO KPM]

Thanks again to all.
Mostly running solo, I don't want to get far from the mother ship. I also don't want to be tied to the anchor. Maybe standard gear and a 100 foot line (rope)?

 

[Semi-Retired]

Ok so how did we get to hooka for me asking originally how y'all get ur dive gear on and off the trawler for diving. Now we are on bottom cleaning etc. I just wanted to see how other rec dive to help us choose a boat??

 

[psneeld]

Have you answered that diving is more important than long term staying aboard?

A couple experienced people said pick the boat, then work on how to get the gear onboard.

If diving is way more importsnt, then buy any boat suitable for diving and make that work staying aboard.

You might check dive forums too if you haven't and the diving is more important than long term staying aboard or cruising.

 

[Semi-Retired]

Have you answered that diving is more important than long term staying aboard?

A couple experienced people said pick the boat, then work on how to get the gear onboard.

If diving is way more importsnt, then buy any boat suitable for diving and make that work staying aboard.

You might check dive forums too if you haven't and the diving is more important than long term staying aboard or cruising.

No living aboard is number one. But we just asked for opinions about how people get equipment on and off. So we can be informed...

 

[O C Diver]

Ok so how did we get to hooka for me asking originally how y'all get ur dive gear on and off the trawler for diving. Now we are on bottom cleaning etc. I just wanted to see how other rec dive to help us choose a boat??

It's called thread drift or creep. Think the simple message here is that most of us wouldn't put diveability in the top 10 must haves for our boat.

If it were that important to me, I would make my tender / dinghy the dive platform. If you anchor or take a mooring in an area with lots of good dive sites, why would you want to move the mother ship every time you wanted to try a new site? If you set the tender up to dive out of, it also could give you a fast boat to go get tank fills with.

Ted

 

[Semi-Retired]

Thats a great idea. I wouldn't have thought of having to move the big boat to dive else where. Thank you. This is the kinda things us current dirt dwellers, soon to be liveaboards, wouldn't think of...

 

[psneeld]

If you wind up with a sundeck, which I didn't pick because of water accessibility, then a gear bag to a rooftop davit or crane would be my choice, many have them for the dink anyway.

Ted has expressesed the same theory of dink use I believe in. But you still have to get gear on some boats up 5 feet or so...thus the gear bag or platform on the hoisting rig.

If just getting it out of the water, the zteds suggestion to clip it to the dingy works for me.

Even if the boat doesn't have one, just for gear lifting, adding one would be cheap enough.

 

[Art]

If you can't get scuba equipment back on board then how would you get an injured man overboard back on board?

There are small davits that can lift a basket full of equipment back onboard...take it off in the water or swim platform, load up the basket, get onboard and haul away.

Practical, truthful, thoughtful ways = Refreshing!

EDIT: Wooha - Just saw the high post #, as I was responding to post #3. Guess I'm ages back on this thread. Will read through most posts.

 

[CWO KPM]

Sorry for the drift/creep.
We went with:
1: Good size Cockpit
2: Decent swim deck
3: Transom door
4: A roomy dry Lazerrete under the cockpit is also a good feature.

 

[Art]

You can get aboard a boat with a swim platform if it has a fold down ladder from the platform and some hand grabs mounted on the back of the transom. But it is lots easier to hand your tanks up to a buddy so you don't have all of that weight on your back as you go up the ladder.

I like hookahs. That is all that I have used for the past few years for bottom maintenance. I use an oil free big box air compressor with 50' of hose and a low pressure regulator. Most regulators designed for scuba tanks won't work with a low pressure air supply. I can easily run the air compressor from the inverter.

David

David - From what I've heard... standard big box oil free air compressor is not to be used for breathing purposes. Can you explain your thoughts? I'd do bottom cleaning at anchor that way too, if it is not a danger. - Thanks, Art

 

[Art]

Yes I love that style. Wife is just hard set on and aft cabin with a queen bed. So if I can find one likw that we/she will be happy. Lol

Note the ladders for access with full sundeck above and queen size as well as full head etc... in master stateroom underneath.

Access for you, comfort for wife. That's our 34' tri cabin Tollycraft. Many 40' and larger Tolly's have similar layout. Six foot ladder to water standing in up-position on left of swim step is my creation. Makes re-boarding easy, especially with knotted pull-line hanging down.

 

[psneeld]

Dave - From what I've heard... standard big box oil free air compressor is not to be used for breathing purposes. Can you explain your thoughts? I'd do bottom cleaning at anchor that way too, if it is not a danger. - Thanks, Art

Just the opposite from my research...

Big box compressors are fine, food grade or scuba air line, and a decent filter are more than adequate for light to medium recreational use.

I hope fastbottoms will chime in to correct me if I am in error...pretty sure he thinks there are better compressors to use for the money (still not that bad) but know of pro divers that use just name brand contractor oiless compressors.

I have been using one for bottom work for 5 years now...just light use...but I breath through it for 5 minutes every couple months after checking everything out for cleanliness and proper function.

 

[diver dave]

If it were that important to me, I would make my tender / dinghy the dive platform. If you anchor or take a mooring in an area with lots of good dive sites, why would you want to move the mother ship every time you wanted to try a new site? If you set the tender up to dive out of, it also could give you a fast boat to go get tank fills with.

Ted

This is the best idea to work with. If we are including diving in the islands without "mooring balls", that is, primitive diving, then big boats are a bit of a liability. I've gone for two week diving vacations, using various size large boats to get to the general location, and then only dove off dinks. Pretty much have to be inflatables, though. Take off the tanks in the water, propel up the boat with fins, then lift the tanks up. No diesel in the lungs, many, many reasons not to involve large boats and diving.

 

[Insequent]

My boat has a cockpit, transom door, swim platform and a ladder. All good except the ladder is not very strong and only 3 steps.

I have a compressor and a couple of 80's on board. Don't do a lot of diving anymore - 65 and solo on the boat mostly.

Last cruise I used the RIB once for a dive. Yes, just remove weights from the BC and put them aboard, clip the BC to a line and then a good kick with the fins to get into the RIB, and then haul the BC and tank aboard. I'm about to buy a ladder for the RIB, but that's mostly for when I'm just swimming without fins.

A couple of days ago I wrapped the painter for the RIB around one of my props. A story for another time! So I used a tank to sort out the mess. Afterwards I tried lifting the tank onto the swim step (about 9" above the water) while in the water, but really struggled. Later I realised the weights were still in the BC Next time I'll rig a clip to be able to hold the BC while I board, but still take the weights out and put them on the swim platform as a first step. I grab hold of the ladder and remove fins - cant really climb my ladder with fins on.

As others said, just work out a system that gets it all back on board, either boat or the RIB. Its not that difficult if you have a plan, AND remember to follow the plan!

 

[Pmcsurf1]

I float a line behind the boat. Take off bc. Tie bc and tank to line. Climb aboard. Then haul up gear after on dive platform.
I can barley get myself up a three rung ladder without any gear

 

[klee wyck]

Timely resurrection of a good old thread.

We did a spur of the moment dive from Klee Wyck this weekend on the way back to Seattle from Port Hadlock. We noticed that it was a warm bluebird day, slack tide, and little wind as we were passing a dive site called The Quarry near Port Ludlow/Mats Mats. Always wanted to dive there.
Klee Wyck is not exactly an ideal dive boat. Canoe stern step deck with no access to the water except by ladder to the side deck that sits 6 feet above the water. Our choices are to launch the tender and load our gear off the deck down the ladder, or just dive off the big boat and plan to climb the vertical ladder to the deck after the dive. We chose the latter that day but we do either depending upon the occasion and if multiple dives.
This is cold water diving in dry suits. Steel 80s and I am in 24# of lead in pockets. I am pushing 60 years young.
When we were done with a spectacular dive, I just pitched the two front pockets with 10# each up on the deck while holding onto the ladder with the other hand, then pull my fins and pitched them up, then climbed the ladder with the remaining weight and BCD. I could then assist my wife.
This is a good reminder to stay in shape since I love this boat and want to keep diving from it for another decade at least.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Well worth it I would say.....
Filled the tanks from the onboard compressor when we got back underway and ready to go again!
What a great life.....

 

[FlyWright]

Bill, Have you considered hanging a line with a carabiner over the side for each diver to unload the gear before climbing the mountain?

 

[klee wyck]

Bill, Have you considered hanging a line with a carabiner over the side for each diver to unload the gear before climbing the mountain?

Yep, and that day will come for sure. We have done that from the tender. Right now I think I climb it because I can! :lol:

 

[Mako]

That's a nice story Bill. Why don't you consider welding up a ladder to hang off your side boarding gate, with a fold-down platform at the bottom hanging a few inches above the waterline. Basically a small, portable swim platform. Help with boarding the dinghy also.

 

[Pmcsurf1]

Klee,
"Filled the tanks from the onboard compressor"
I'm looking for a good, not too expensive, compressor.
Suggestions? Ballpark price?

 

[klee wyck]

That's a nice story Bill. Why don't you consider welding up a ladder to hang off your side boarding gate, with a fold-down platform at the bottom hanging a few inches above the waterline. Basically a small, portable swim platform. Help with boarding the dinghy also.

Yeah Mako, just like that you describe except built as stairs rather than ladder is something we dove from on a motor sailor live aboard we did on the reef in Australia. It was somewhat retractable though a bit cumbersome.
We will get more creative when the inevitable decline requires that we do. I am certain of that.

 

[FlyWright]

Yep, and that day will come for sure. We have done that from the tender. Right now I think I climb it because I can! :lol:

I think that's called "yacht yoga". I get it in my ER, you on your way back into your boat. Gotta love yachting!

 

[klee wyck]

Klee,
"Filled the tanks from the onboard compressor"
I'm looking for a good, not too expensive, compressor.
Suggestions? Ballpark price?

Max air 35 dive compressor. Not high end but very workable for us. About 15 minutes per tank to 3100psi warm which cools to about 2900 psi after the tank sits. Plenty of dive time for us.
Around $3k I think.

 

[Mako]

Did you go gas or electric?