Boats Good for Ocean Diving

Ocean diving can be a dangerous undertaking and must be done with the right boat and the right equipment. The oxygen tank and wetsuit are pretty standard no matter where you're diving, but the type of boat varies depending on the body of water and the region of the world. You can live on a dive boat or have a team of experts take you on a group expedition.

  1. Catamarans

    • For the beginning diver, catamarans are very good for ocean diving. They have non-skid decks and dive platforms, as well as dive ladders on both the side and the end of the boat. Most take from 12 to 18 divers at one time, so you won't be alone in the deep. Never go ocean diving off a big boat without a crew there to manage your ascent as well as your descent. Most ocean-diving companies will use an anchor line and as many granny lines as necessary to make sure you can easily find the boat when you need to.

    Live-Aboards

    • For experienced divers who like to spend several hours a day in the water, a live-aboard boat is ideal. You eat and sleep on the boat during diving excursions of days, weeks, or months. From Australia to Indonesia to the coast of Mexico, live-aboard boats for ocean diving are not difficult to find. Even in the Galapagos Islands, a luxurious live-aboard dive yacht operates during whale and shark season from May to November and manta season from December through April.

    Power Boats

    • Fishing and whaling boats are often adapted for ocean diving. This involves a depth recorder and various safety equipment to protect the oxygen supply to the divers and to make sure that they can be rescued quickly if anything goes wrong. A dive flag is essential to let other fast boats in the area know that divers are in the water. Everyone going off the boat should know exactly how much air time they have on their tank and have access to the boat's grapple. The boat's driver/operator must stay on the boat in case of emergency.

    Dhow Boats

    • The traditional wooden boat of the Indian Ocean, dhow boats have been adapted for ocean diving, with a full crew for inexperienced as well as seasoned divers. Dhow boats are the kind where you quietly slip over the side, instead of doing a dramatic dive or climb into the deep. They seldom have ladders for re-boarding the boat, but they do carry plenty of hands to help you at the end of your dive. They also have small fiberglass rescue boats along, if you wind up too far away to get comfortably back to the dhow.