Dive In

If you've fished for years and find it's getting stale, or you've cruised your local area thousands of times, a new hobby may be the kick-start you need to fall in love with boating again.

You've lived the highlife above the water - why not get under it and give scuba diving a go? Swim with protected Port Jackson sharks, observe the schooling patterns of snapper and catfish, or peek under rocks and into crevices at a diver-shy octopus or a moray eel.

Although many Australian dive sites are shore based, there are many more accessible only by boat. Keen divers pay experienced charter operators to ferry them to and fro, but boat owners can take themselves providing they are properly prepared and use some commonsense.

DIY MODIFICATIONS
Gearing your vessel up to be diver-friendly is not as difficult as you might first envisage. The most important aspect is storage - diving requires more gear than a simple snorkel.

Scuba tanks are the most cumbersome pieces of dive equipment, and it's essential to store them correctly, says Max Western - a veteran dive-charter operator with his business Sea Tamer Dive Charters, which now operates under new management off Sydney's Port Hacking. Tanks are heavy and are dangerous weapons if they get loose in heavy seas.

"If you've got gear floating all around the floor of the boat, it's something you don't need when you're coming back in messy seas," Western advises. "Set tank racks up so that everything can be stored away under the gunwales or the base of the boat rather than throwing it in the boat and letting it bounce around."

Western says a tank can be secured with something as simple as an octopus strap or a custom-made stainless-steel rack. Room permitting, racks can be either freestanding on marine carpet to reduce wear and tear on the deck, or bolted through the floor. The former option allows a skipper to remove it should he or she want to go fishing the next day.

Tanks should be stowed on the sides of the boat for optimum weight balance, says Western. This is particularly the case with monohull craft, which can be a little more unstable.

Sydney diving enthusiast Michael McFadyen rigged his 5.6m Marlin Broadbill aluminium catamaran Le Scat to be a specialised dive boat several years ago. He says tanks are best held on their sides, strapped in by inflexible straps run through bolts on the inside of the gunwales.

"Some people use bungy cords, but we found in real rough weather they expand and they can pop open," he says.

Buy a large plastic tub and secure it at the rear of the boat to store fins, masks and weight belts. Alternatively, utilise existing storage compartments depending on the size of your boat.

IN AND OUT
Entry and exit to and from the boat is also a major consideration. Divers either flip backwards into the water from a sitting position on the gunwales or step off the rear.

Most larger boats have large marlin platforms as standard features - and ladders - although these may need to be either extended or replaced to cope with the weight of a diver loaded with tank and gear.

Ladders, says McFadyen, are possibly the most important aspect of the boat for divers. He says they should be as long as possible so divers can hoist themselves onto the boat. Also, make sure your existing transom step or door is clear of clutter, as divers need a fair bit of space.

Some boat owners have installed a hook on the stern, which allows them to remove all their scuba gear in the water and then pull it in rather than climb up with everything on. McFadyen suggests a rope with clips be strung over the side.

"You can attach your gear to these before you get back in, and then pull it over the side once you are back onboard," he says.

Boats with sterndrives are easier to enter and exit than boats with outboards, Black Watch Boats company skipper Bill Morris says:

"If you've got a sterndrive, you've got better access to the duck board of the boat, whereas an outboard obstructs the whole centreline of the boat so you can only come up on the one side of the engine. Ideally a shaftdrive would be the best."

ADDED EXTRAS
Other essentials include a blue-and-white regulation dive flag (code flag A), which must be displayed when divers are in the water. Western says the bigger the better.

"The more visible it is and the higher it is on the boat, the quicker other boats will recognise the flag and keep their distance," he says.

Also consider a mermaid line - also known as a Jesus line - which is tied to the rear of the boat and used as a holding line of sorts. It can stop divers being swept off by a current and allow novices some time to catch their breath before climbing back onboard.

If you don't have a deck shower, consider a portable camper shower to wash the salt out of your eyes and gear.

Until you become more experienced and qualified, you will only use air as an amateur scuba diver. Having an onboard compressor to fill tanks repeatedly is an option for larger cruisers or divers on extended trips, but one that Western believes is unnecessary for the majority of divers.

"A compressor on the boat is just another variable that you can have problems with - just another thing to go wrong," he says. "The fewer things you have on your boat that can go wrong, the better off you are."

Western offers a decanting device as a solution (around $120), which can even up air quotas in tanks through siphoning.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS
Once you've set up your boat and completed your scuba-diving certification course (see inset next page), put some thought into where you want to go. The best dive spots are often the most commonly used by dive shops and noted in Australian dive books - both of which are easily accessible.

Knowing the area where you are going to dive is a must. Divers need to know about current direction and strength for navigation purposes, and so do skippers. Talk to the locals and ask about tides, currents and predictable weather patterns.

Just as finding a favourite fishing spot is a matter of precision navigation, so too is a top dive site. Utilise your compass and landmarks, but your GPS will be worth its weight in gold - particularly when referring to dive-specific books.

The basics of boating don't change just because you've decided to go diving. Western says too often he has seen inexperienced boaties on a dive have their craft drift off because their anchor chain was too short, and the rope has chaffed on rocks and split. He recommends between five and seven metres of chain as a minimum.

McFadyen uses the opposite anchor for diving as fishos on a regular trip. He says a sand pick is best on reefs and a reef pick is the best choice if you're diving on a wreck sitting on a sandy bottom.

"When we're diving on a wreck on sand, we want the anchor to run along the sand until it hooks into the wreck. The reef hook will go in and not come out," he says.

SAFETY FIRST
Before launching off on a scuba adventure with your family or dive buddies, consider spending some time on a professional charterboat for firsthand experience. You will pick up tips on boat handling, navigation, gearing up, weight distribution, and you'll become comfortable pushing off into the water and climbing back on in all kinds of conditions with expert assistance.

Someone, preferably with first-aid qualifications, should be on the boat until divers surface in case of complications - or if the weather turns nasty. Western claims to have seen millpond conditions off Sydney's Port Hacking turn to gale-force winds from a raging southerly in less than 10 minutes.

"If you're not up top, then you won't know. You can get down there and check your anchor in its little crevice, then the wind changes - your boat turns 180° and instead of being hooked in that crevice, it's off," he says.

Both Western and dive-charter operator Dive Victoria claim to have rescued many inexperienced divers whose boats have drifted off anchor.

Grab a sticker from any dive store with emergency numbers to call by radio - or even by mobile phone - should anything go wrong. These can be easily stuck to your console.

Trial and error will play a major role of the setup of your craft for diving - which, for many tinkering boaties, will be just as much fun as the diving itself.

GET CERTIFIED
Before leaping wholeheartedly into your DIY plans, become a certified scuba diver. There are various training organisations - most notable are the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and Scuba Schools International (SSI).

You must also pass a medical examination, not suffer from asthma or diabetes, be pregnant or under the influence of drugs.

The PADI Open Water course, for example, is conducted over four days with an equal measure of theory and practical training - the latter first conducted in a pool or restricted swim area, then the ocean.

Throughout the course, students must demonstrate confidence with underwater manoeuvres including removing and refitting your mask and weight belt, controlling your underwater buoyancy, communicating with your buddy and what to do in an emergency. A multiple-choice exam tests your theoretical knowledge.

Scuba diving is not restricted to adults - most training organisations offer junior programs to encourage children into the sport. For more information, contact SSI at www.ssiaust.com, and PADI at www.padi.com.

WATCH YOUR WEIGHT
Scuba tanks and related gear can weigh over 40kg on their own, and coupled with a diver's body weight can seriously affect the balance of your craft - particularly if it's a smaller vessel.

Try to keep the number of divers on each side of the boat even, and roll over the side simultaneously. Watch the weight distribution when the divers are climbing back onto the boat, particularly on smaller outboard-powered vessels, as they can pull the boat over to a fair degree.

Entry back into the boat is a major consideration for smaller outboard-powered craft, as access is limited and divers are much more "bulked up" than swimmers or snorkellers. Make sure the engine is turned away from the exiting diver and the deck is kept as clear as possible.

COSTING IT UP
Compared to buying a boat, setting up to go diving is relatively inexpensive. Tank straps will set you back around $40, a dive tub $10, and a compact camping shower from $20. A mermaid line and buoy will cost around $35 from Whitworths, and a large dive flag will set you back $30.

Cost of the course will vary depending on the training organisation. Melbourne-based AB Ocean Divers (www.abocean.com.au) charges $550 for the PADI Open Water certificate, including theory and practical sessions, gear usage, manual and PAFI membership.

Buying your own scuba gear is the most expensive part, but once you have it you'll only need to pay for tank refills (around $7). A mask, snorkel and fins on average will cost $250; a BCD (buoyancy control device) upwards of $800; steel tank $300; regulator (mouthpiece and hoses to inflate your BCD) and a pressure gauge $1000; weight belt $80; dive computer from $500; and a 5mm wetsuit for around $400.