Branch Diving

On this page:
The Diving Programme
Dive Fees

The Diving Programme

The Diving Calendar is located in the Member's Only site. Click on the link to access it, but please read the important notes below first.

Dive plans for the year are usually put together early in the New Year for the following 6 or 12 months.

Pre-booked days

There are certain days when the boat will not be available for Club Diving, and such days are marked in  PINK , which includes Expeditions (see the Expeditions Calendar) and certain Training Events such as Boathandling Courses. Check latest details with the Equipment Officer.

Marshalling

Trainees for Sports Diver, Dive Leader and Advanced Diver all have formal lessons involving Dive Marshalling, and they are encouraged to go out and make it happen. All such formal lessons will require an instructor to supervise, so when you plan a day, find an instructor to help you with it.

Remember that all dives must have at least a Dive Leader supervising, and in overall charge, but there is no requirement for the Dive Leader to be the formal Dive Marshal!

So please step forward, and Marshall a dive - you can book it online on the Diving Calendar page.

Dive Fees

These will change from year to year as the Committee decides the best way of charging for Branch Diving, ensuring that the fees collected are adequate to cover the expenditure whilst trying to keep them at an affordable level for most members.

The purpose of charging for dives is to provide money to cover the costs directly associated with diving.

Costs on the day:

Boat fuel, boat oil, launching fees, and towing fees.

Periodic Costs:

Maintenance and servicing, radio licenses, insurance.

Loss and Breakages:

Shots, shot lines, buoys, propellers, radios.

Depreciation:

Putting some money aside for a new boat in the future.

Comparative diving costs

Inland sites:

Unlimited diving for about £10 (Stoney Cove, Vobster Quay, Horsea Lake).

RIB Charters:

Variable according to distance. Typically £15 to £25 per dive.

Hardboats:

Variable according to distance. Typically two dives for between £26 and £40.

Dive fee basis 2008

In previous years, we operated on a fixed-fee basis, but the accounts show that the income received was far short of the costs of running the boat.

More recently, we returned to a variable cost basis, with a fixed dive levy, and the costs on the day split between the diving members of the party. The dive levy will be as follows:

We wish to encourage non-diving Cox'ns and crew, as it can make the diving less hurried, and safer. However, when the boat is taken out specifically for boathandling or diver cox'n experience, then we would charge the same per person as we would on a regular dive.

Dive calculator

Members have expressed a desire to know roughly how much a dive is going to cost before they commit themselves. Obviously, when operating on a variable basis, the real cost isn't known until all the expenses for the day have been paid, the most variable being the amount of fuel used. However it is possible to give an estimation based on miles traveled and number of divers.

We have provided two resources for you on the following pages..

1. Dive Cost Calculator - primarily for Marshals
2. Example Dive Costs - for the interest of all members

Administration

Dive Marshals will be encouraged to provide an estimation of the likely cost before the dive.

Dive Marshals may need the estimated fee paying up front to cover fuel, oil and launch charges. Please have the cash ready to pay this if requested.

When collecting fees, Dive Marshals will be instructed to round figures up to the nearest pound (it makes it easier to collect!) and forward the balance to the Club Funds.

Fuel Used

One of the main problems will be assessing how much fuel has actually been used during the day. The obvious way is to fill the boat up at the end of the day, but this means always towing with a full tank, and leaving the boat full of fuel in the Club Hut, neither of which we want to do.

We are currently investigating methods of addressing this conundrum, probably by the use of a fairly accurate fuel meter.

Boat Weight

One of the last things that a Marshal thinks about is how much weight is being put into the boat. However, each boat has a design limit, and overloading is both inherently unsafe, and also results in a boat that does not have enough power to propel that weight properly, resulting in slow speeds and high fuel consumption.

Our boat is a 5.5m Tornado, which is no longer made, but current specification show a maximum loading for a 5.4m Tornado of 1,100kg. This weight allowance includes the weight of the engine (about 170kgs) and a full load of fuel (100kgs), reducing the passenger capacity to 830kgs.

An average diver, of average male weight (70kgs) plus a single full cylinder with valves (20kgs+), a weightbelt (10kgs+), suits and accessories will easily reach 105kgs - and most divers are of above average build. If we factor in pony cylinders and the occasional twinsets then we are going to be very close to the limit sometimes.

It may be sensible to restrict diving to a maximum of 6 divers and one crew, or 7 divers, and we have amended the Example Costs Page to reflect this.

Non-diving Cox'n / Crew

We have included a token amount for non-diving cox'ns and crew, which was originally introduced to charge those members who wished to develop their boat-handling experience, but which is hardly appropriate for experienced Diver Cox'ns.

We recognise that it is very convenient to use non-divers, potentially increasing safety, and certainly ensuring that divers do not have to spread their dives widely around the slack water, and is therefore recommended wherever possible. However, members should realise that the added weight will increase fuel consumption, and thus the cost of the dive.

While this token amount appears above, and in the calculator, we do not intend Dive Marshals to collect this fee during the current year, as we expect the rounding up of dive fees to more than cover this expense.