starting dive charter business

Question
Hi Jesse,was wondering what is the most important thing you look for cusomer service wise and amenitie wise when you choose a dive charter?Currently working on my 6pack licence and have purchased my boat.Have spent alot of money so far in safty equiptment and other storage equiptment(tank holders,local charts of most dived wrecks,etc...)what kind of dive certs am i looking at to be able to open this by spring? RE:insurence?,DIVEcerts?am currently at padi advanced open water,working towards my master. I live in VA beach VA. Thanks for your time in this matter! Chris

Answer
Hi Chris, congratulations on your dive charter business.  

I would say you would want to have at least one Dive Master (not Master Diver) on the boat (you or a mate).  You or mate should be trained in CPR and FA and be a DAN (or equivalent) Oxygen Provider; or better, a DAN DEMP (see their web site).  They would certainly be the usual liability insurance you would need.

I am a regular diver off the NC coast with 4 different operators so I can give my perspective.  3 of them are full service shops with rentals, tank fills, instruction etc.  One is a 6 pack that mostly does technical charters.  One of the boats from another op is a 6 pack that does regular charters.  I will assume you are doing just charters and offering no other service.  You'll probably need to decide if you are going after technical divers or recreational.

My experience with 6 packs is:
- usually just the captain on board which means he stays on the boat all the time
- Tying into the wreck can be a challenge since there is no one to go down with the anchor/hooks.
- They tend to cater to independent divers who need very little in the way of assistance or gear; and they are experienced divers with 40+ dives and wreck/deep/boat specialty certifications
- getting back on sometimes means removing gear in water and lifting it back on board

Things I look for:
- ability to see schedules on line (what times are booked and not); ability to get boat info and possible sites to visit on line
- Captain who is experienced in deep water and long trips out and knows where the good locations are.  Also, not afraid to call the dives or entire charter when conditions are not favorable
- Fresh water on board (or at least a cooler for it).  Hot water if possible (but usually not likely on a six pack)
- On time departures
- Complete set of safety gear including portable oxygen for DCS
- Some kind of cover when it is raining or cold
- A stand up Captain but someone who laughs a lot and knows how to have a good time
- Well done dive briefings with a white board to diagram the wreck and lay of the boat.
- Some sort of hang lines for the safety stop
- Mostly I rely on word of mouth and scuba boards.  If you are good the word gets around.

Good luck to you, hope all works well.  Jesse

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