44 replies to this topic

[Walter]

simply a situation that can be solved at booking by taking two seconds to say "I dive doubles is that a problem?" ... When they state their policy you make adjustments according to your desires.

all I'm saying, making sure the op allows use of certain gear is OUR responsibilty not theirs.

Nope. I will ask if they have any unusual rules, but I never specifically ask about doubles. Any operator having unusual restrictions is obligated to disclose those restrictions. No deco diving, be on the boat with at least 500 PSI are common restrictions. Not allowing doubles is an unusual rule. In fact, I've never encountered it. I show up with two tanks, sometimes they are singles, sometimes twins. I've never had a problem. Usually, my twins even fit nicely into slots designed for two singles. I was on a boat Sunday morning that had a few slots designed for twins - sweet.

[PerroneFord]

Don't come up and dive panama city Walter. You can bring 8 spearguns but not a set of doubles.

[Walter]

I've dived Panama City several times. I'll check my logs, but I'm pretty sure I've dived my doubles every time.

February 2000, I dived my twins off the Aquanuts.

October 2001 & August 2002, I dived my twins off the Splash.

June 2004, I dived my twins off the Captain SCUBA II.

I do know my friends who live in the area haven't been very happy with changes that have been taking place up there recently. I'm not sure what those changes are.

Edited by Walter, 21 March 2007 - 11:03 AM.

[Diverbrian]

Maybe this operator has changed, but I know of one who could only carry four divers if they brought doubles (and charged accordingly per diver) and six if they brought singles. He had you put the second single (and gearbags, etc.) on the beds in the cabin, but didn't have enough room topside for six sets of doubles. As a result, he didn't allow doubles about a recreational charter. This was in the Straits of Mackinac where there are a couple of wrecks at ninety ft. or deeper where divers tend to prefer doubles if they know how to use them.

I didn't dive with the guy after I heard about that policy. It was a change from the previous year. By then, he was pretty much booking for LDS work anyways.

It happens. That is why I specifically ask about doubles.

[DandyDon]

Dive boats do get crowded, and I can see an Op wanting to maximize income on a trip by loading as many divers as CG approves for the craft, so the doubles can give a space problem - especially if the tank holders are PVC pipe set up for single 80s. Then even a 100-130 cf tank is a problem.

Edited by DandyDon, 21 March 2007 - 11:21 AM.

[PerroneFord]

October 2001 & August 2002, I dived my twins off the Splash.

I do know my friends who live in the area haven't been very happy with changes that have been taking place up there recently. I'm not sure what those changes are.

I dove off Splash last year and was told my doubles were not welcome. This was on the FAMI tugs at about 105ft.

[PerroneFord]

Dive boats do get crowded, and I can see an Op wanting to maximize income on a trip by loading as many divers as CG approves for the craft, so the doubles can give a space problem - especially if the tank holders are PVC pipe set up for single 80s. Then even a 100-130 cf tank is a problem.

Fine, then charge me more. I'll pay the steeper price to do what I feel is a safer dive. It's when they say "no thanks", that I start looking for other options.

[DandyDon]

Is Panama City diving going thru a lot a changes with the increase in business....??

[Geek]

October 2001 & August 2002, I dived my twins off the Splash.

I do know my friends who live in the area haven't been very happy with changes that have been taking place up there recently. I'm not sure what those changes are.

I dove off Splash last year and was told my doubles were not welcome. This was on the FAMI tugs at about 105ft.

I think that at 105 ft. you would be smart to carry redundant gas.

[PerroneFord]

Is Panama City diving going thru a lot a changes with the increase in business....??

Increase in business? Dive business? There is a marked DECREASE in dive business in the area. Hydrospace sold out several years ago, and other businesses are struggling. They can't seem to figure out that people are simply NOT interested in diving the Black Bart / USS Strength, and the bridge rubble EVERY trip out.

There was a thread on the big board about this topic 2 weeks ago.

I no longer consider PC a diving option, and will not recommend it to anyone either. It's a shame too because Splash is tied up about 95 miles from my house.

[ncdiver43]

If a dive boat doesn't allow doubles. What about diving a single with a slung 80? You have reduntant air sorce, and doubles. Ive done this before. The capt was happy, I was happy, all was good

greg

[PerroneFord]

I didn't have a slung tank to do this with. I am now just getting there. Essentially, I'd have a single 80 on my back, and one slung like a stage. At the end of the dive, I'd just swap them. The trick to making this work is to have a solution that allows you to sling over an installed valve.

The danger in this solution is that

1. Your slung tank is now going to only have about 500psi in it. But that should be enough if you aren't going into deco.

2. That bad boy is gonna be butt light in a big way!


I'd almost rather sling a 40 if it's allowed.

[DandyDon]

Is Panama City diving going thru a lot a changes with the increase in business....??

Increase in business? Dive business? There is a marked DECREASE in dive business in the area. Hydrospace sold out several years ago, and other businesses are struggling. They can't seem to figure out that people are simply NOT interested in diving the Black Bart / USS Strength, and the bridge rubble EVERY trip out.

There was a thread on the big board about this topic 2 weeks ago.

I no longer consider PC a diving option, and will not recommend it to anyone either. It's a shame too because Splash is tied up about 95 miles from my house.

Sorry, I thot that's where the Big O (I always think of a woman when I hear that term) went down. Poor memory here.

I think that at 105 ft. you would be smart to carry redundant gas.

Yep, but most don't - and some Ops don't even like a pony bottle, much less anything other than Std 80s. I think some of that is so that they won't spend much time at the site, as a diver will blow thru an 80 at 105 ft faster than a 100-130 cf, or doubles.

[PerroneFord]

Sorry, I thot that's where the Big O (I always think of a woman when I hear that term) went down. Poor memory here.

Oriskany is in Pensacola. Two hours west.

[ScubaDadMiami]

I just don't understand why anybody would pay money to an operation that imposes unreasonable limits on diving freedom. I should not have to find a loophole in the "system" just to carry enough gas for the day's diving. (This does not mean it is unfair for the operator of a small boat not to allow doubles and the like. That is understandable. What I am talking about is the large boat operator that does not like doubles, deco bottles, rebreathers and the like.)

I have lost good money by leaving trips (without refunds) when the operator became unreasonable in its demands (even after I drove 14 hours for the dive trip). Diving is freedom. I will fight for my right to be free even if it amounts only to showing my opinion in the only way I can: by leaving never to return. Oh, and I might mention the event to other people, too.