The Ultimate Charter Boat - Your Views

[cornishdiver]

removed

[Lou]

Originally Posted by cornishdiver

poor/adequate/good/exceptional

RIB/Hardboat - Hardboat, or a rib that thinks it is one..
O2 - Essential
Onboard Compressor (free fills or happy to pay) - A nice extra, happy to pay for fills at a reasonable rate
Teas/Coffees (on tap or limited) - A cuppa after each dive is good service, nore for warming up the hands than anything
Snacks - A very nice extra. the whole nut choccy on Celtic Cat last weekend went down very well.
Speed (planing hull or non planing) - A fast boat is nice, but as long as it isn't a real plodder any speed os ok. I like a relaxing journey to sites to give time to faff with kit and get ready.
Diver Lift - Very nice, but a good ladder is a minimum. That means handholds to help you all the way onto the deck and rungs that go far enough down into the water.
Deck Area - Only needs to be sufficient. Everyone needs to be able to have their own space for their gear, and still room to "mingle"
Shelter - enough for everyone if it kicks up, and an area that isn't fussy about wet divers. I don't want to have to clamber out my drysuit to hide out of the weather.
Toilet - Yes please. Clean too, with duckboard floors
Kitting up Bench - YES, YES,YES. Essential these days. Takes away 90% of the stress of kitting up and divers will get into the water faster and happier, and that is safer.
Emergency Cylinder & Reg on line. -
Dry Access & Egress from boat
On board storage (overnight)
Overnight tank fill service
Basic scuba spares for sale (eg masks,o'rings, fin straps, goodie bags,batteries etc)
Diver Recall System (thunderflashes etc)
fresh water washdown (deck shower/hose)
etc,etc, etc

............so whats acceptable, whats ideal and whats not??

[MATTBIN]

RIB/Hardboat
Hardboat (if its out all day)
O2
Essential (enough to satisfy 4 divers i.e. two lots of dives) so dive 2 doesnt get canned after emergency on dive 1

Onboard Compressor (free fills or happy to pay)
o2 clean, happy to pay, Nitrox prefered OK with premix for depth expected.

Teas/Coffees (on tap or limited)
either not fussed, one after each dive is perfecrtly acceptable (black)

Snacks
not bothered - special dietry needs I'll take care of scoff

Speed (planing hull or non planing)
Faster the better, stable on site for kitting up.

Diver Lift
Yes please, good ladder sufficient though so long as can get out easily onto deck area after dive.

Deck Area

Shelter
Yes please, enough for all divers not just first 4!

Toilet
Essential, clean

Kitting up Bench
Essential, can be portable if required

Emergency Cylinder & Reg on line.
Not essential (30/35m personal limit)

Dry Access & Egress from boat
Nice to have

On board storage (overnight)
Yes please, not essential

Overnight tank fill service
Yes please, doesnt have to be onboard but nice if it is, else local not 15 miles away, good fill essential none of this 190/200 bar stuff

Basic scuba spares for sale (eg masks,o'rings, fin straps, goodie
bags,batteries etc)
Yes please, not essential though

Diver Recall System (thunderflashes etc)
Yes

fresh water washdown (deck shower/hose)
etc,etc, etc
Not that fussed over a weekend but nice to have, offsite is sufficient, big bucket of clean water for reg etc rinse sufficient

Its also nice to have trolloeys to use from car park to boat for kit transfer, some of the marinas on the south coast have token release trolleys. A decent adjacent car park helps too. Advice on cost before arrival, most welcome.

Matt

[Mark Davies]

As much as anything else I want space to move. I've been on a couple of cramped boats and will never use them again - it just isn't safe. So a good size deck, facilities for stowage of kit, bungees or racks to hold tanks secure and a fussy skipper to mither everyone to keep the boat tidy.

Somewhere to sit in order to kit up and to wait to get in the water - don't want to stand in rolling seas with heavy kit on my back.

A good ladder is enough - lifts are good but not essential. What's more important is a skipper who knows how to get people out of the water in bouncy seas.

A skipper who can find and acurately shot a dive site. Don't want to pay money to swim over sand.

A compressor on board can be handy, but frankly if you come with two full tanks (as I do) it can spoil your day with the noise! Useful but not essential.

Everything else is a bonus.

[Juz]

RIB/Hardboat DEFINITELY HARDBOAT
O2 DEFINITELY
Onboard Compressor (free fills or happy to pay)
Teas/Coffees (on tap or limited)
Snacks
Speed (planing hull or non planing)
Diver Lift NICE TO HAVE - but if no lift, then a good ladder
Deck Area
Shelter
Toilet
Kitting up Bench DEFINITELY
Emergency Cylinder & Reg on line.
Dry Access & Egress from boat
On board storage (overnight) NICE TO HAVE
Overnight tank fill service
Basic scuba spares for sale (eg masks,o'rings, fin straps, goodie bags,batteries etc)
Diver Recall System (thunderflashes etc) DEFINITELY
fresh water washdown (deck shower/hose)

DECENT SHOTTING SYSTEM

Juz

[Helen F H]

Essential: o2, 1st aid.

Good skipper who doesent act as if divers are a pain in the bum (even when we are).
A well thought out boat. Wide benches with bungee to hold cylinders upright. Boxes for bits under the bench. No ropes sat on the deck to fall over, loose mats to get your fins caught under.
If a compressor on board make sure it has long hoses.
If a deckhand, make sure they know about diving.
Clean bucket for rinsing masks.
Loads of places to hang onto on the ladder. Rungs not too far apart!
Skipper who takes basic details - contact number etc.
Spares - fins, lead, mask.
Tea, coffee, blackcurrant (cos not everyone drinks tea/coffee)
Chocolate

[Lou]

For a well designed kitting up area the best I have seen is Skindeep out of Weymouth - a role model for all boats! Have a look at that if you don't know it - can't get the website I had working at the moment but I am sure someone here will have a photo.


Lou

[nigelH]

Hard boat - obviously. Kitting up for a deep dive on a RIB is a joke. Not even a funny joke.
O2 - obviously
Onboard Compressor - not significant to me
Teas/Coffees - on tap but push it into their hand when they get back.
Snacks - it has been nice when we could anchor up but not on a deep water trip.
Speed - not dog slow but don't fight this one.
Diver Lift - vertical, at the back
Deck Area - plenty
Shelter - handy but not vital
Toilet - obviously
Kitting up Bench - big, deep, solid and space for each to set up their kit before we ropes-off, space underneath for boxes/bags.
Emergency Cylinder & Reg on line - a drop tank? Very good, thinking skipper, a trapeze, even if it is just a 6m bar on a lazy shot is wonderful, quite simple and reasonably compact.
Dry Access & Egress from boat - obviously. AND have a door in the side. Don't ask me to clamber over a bar, in swell, with a twinset or rebreather on my back.
On board storage (overnight) - some people like it a lot for the weight belts, fins, rebreather stages et. al.
Basic scuba spares for sale - maybe but have duck tape, tie wraps and basic tools and just hand them out.
Diver Recall System (thunder flashes etc) - Be serious. Throw what you like in the water. If I have 30mins of stops to do I'm doing them.
fresh water wash down (deck shower/hose) - very nice. One live aboard said they eliminated tummy problems when they eliminated the mask dunk bucket for a push the button shower head on a hose. Squirting that in your face when you came back aboard was wonderful.

Divers, especially deep/deco divers, are at their most vulnerable when they just get back on board. They know they ought to take it easy but there are things they feel they have to do. Hit them with the TLC then and they won't remember it but they will have good vibes about you and that spreads by word of mouth. What the best boats have is that indefinable feeling that the skipper/crew are on your side. I know good boats that I can't fault but where I know I am just the weekend's job and, frankly, I feel no reason to go back.

Build any service into the price. Paying a couple of quid more you don't notice, being asked to find £1.80 at sea sucks. Similarly if 'selling' spares don't have a price list (except in your head) - keep up the image of being there to help and me paying to replace the one in your box of spares.

[TerryH]

Easy one.

You can have a wonderfully thought out list of must haves, but the one
thing above all else that you need is a good skipper.

Without that a luxury cruiser would be naff.

So my top three in no particular order are ..........

Phil Corbin (Tango)
Pete Street (Trojan)
Dave Wendes (Wight Spirit)

And the dont ever go there list?
Well I have two on it, but bit tricky naming names.
One works in Weymouth the other Swanage.

TerryH

[MATTBIN]

Ere Tell an easy answer but the question said .....

"With the exception of skippers abilities"

so which bit did you miss

Matt