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#38
Just a few questions
Rudd83 - 4/11/2012 10:56 AM
Category: New Diver Q&A
Replies: 7

Im new to this whole diving thing! Matter of fact, I’ve never dove and will be taking lessons starting 23 Apr 2012! My question is this. I am an avid tournament bass angler and was looking at using this scuba thing as entertainment as well as lake research for fishing. I have a 20 ft fiberglass bass boat and was just curious that with the exception of a diving flag and safety gear, could I use this boat to dive out of? It will 90% of the time be just me and maybe 1-2 more people going so I wouldnt need to accomodate a large group! As well are there any boat specifications that are required for diving? Thanks in advance for any help with this!
#20384
LatitudeAdjustment - 4/11/2012 12:16 PM
You’ll want a trail line, 100’ yellow pollypro with a fender floating out behind the boat in case you come up in a current.

With that tag line for your gear please remember to remove your weights first and add air to the BC so it doesn’t go to the bottom before you clip it on! I know one boat Captain in Boca who found a nice set of doubles, regs and uninflated BC on the bottom.
#38
Subscribed
Rudd83 - 4/11/2012 12:30 PM
Thats a great point! Will definitely remember to inflate before connecting it!
#51828
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Greg - 4/12/2012 6:52 AM
You mentioned it would be you going by yourself 90% of the time. In a lake that is primarily used for fishing, that’s probably a bad idea. The viz will be near zero. You will run into sunken tree limbs, fishing line, rope and other debris that could easily snag you. And since you’re new to diving, a simple snag could mean death.


If you get caught on something, you’ll initially freak out. You may end up freaking out so much that you forget the simple things that can be done to save yourself. The more you freak out, the more air you use and the more you want out of the water. It’s easy for an inexperienced diver, who is diving solo, to get caught up in a situation like that.


Not to mention you’ll be leaving the boat without a captain.


I would recommend you dive with a buddy at all times and leave one person behind to watch the boat and act as surface support. I don’t mean to scare you, I just want you to be aware of some safety concerns.
#2635
John_giu - 4/12/2012 7:55 AM
First things first.. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY! And welcome.


I don’t know much about diving a small boat except for what has already been posted.

We dive from a private boat and either take a bubble watcher non-diver with the boat or do one set of divers down while the other set takes their surface interval, a round robin of sorts.

In as much of diving lakes many of the the state parks in Pennsylvania allow scuba diving with registration at the park office, and a few rules. Usually there’s not much to see. I would check your local area for the rules.


There are many lakes and quarries such as Dutch Springs http://dutchsprings.com/scuba.html here is PA. that have been converted to SCUBA parks. These are great places to hone your skills in a relatively controlled and safe environment.



Good luck

john
#38
Subscribed
Rudd83 - 4/12/2012 8:30 AM
Thanks for the advice Greg! Its definitely noted! I will most likely not be going by myself for a while if ever. I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading in the past few days and have come to the conclusion it would not be a good idea to be a novice diver diving solo! I may have to see if I can get with a few people off here to head out with me to make it safer for one and for more fun thru the fellowship and experience of other divers. Thanks again for all y’alls advice!