Dive rules & general guidelines...

[thekl0wn]

Quite simple question came about last weekend while out on Kentucky Lake with a few boats. We were cruising along, and saw a boat in the middle of the lake. It was about a 16' aluminum rig, but there was nobody aboard, and all three boats I was down there with noticed at the same time, and began to shut down and idle over to the boat. When we were about 50' away from the boat, a guy pops over the side and rips off his mask looking mad at the approaching boats, so we turned and left.

Now, it wasn't until we were quite close that we noticed any flags on the boat, which were both quite small... Small enough and low enough that I hadn't noticed them through the binoculars on the way up.

We are all used to boating on the Ohio, and aren't ever around divers unless at a lake. What are the rules and regulations as far as signifying you're on a dive?

 

[droptopgeek]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

I've been a diver and boater for years and can understand both sides. My general rule of thumb is the bigger the better because I would like not to meet the shallow end of your prop. In a quick google I found the FL state laws which is where I do most of my diving but they do change state to state so you may want to talk to your local DNR or coast guard to find the info for your area.

The site I found is

http://www.floridascubahound.com/dive_flag_laws.htm.

hopefully this helps,
Adam

 

[sauce88888]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

I dive tva lakes in Tennessee quite often. I have to display a dive flag and an alpha flag. The problem is non diver boaters do not have a clue what it means.

 

[thekl0wn]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

I dive tva lakes in Tennessee quite often. I have to display a dive flag and an alpha flag. The problem is non diver boaters do not have a clue what it means.

I would have to agree. While at the lake, we basically just stay away from the boats with clearly displayed flags, but the guy last Friday had two tiny flags that were pretty much laying in the boat.

It basically boils down to ignorance... We're not around too many divers on the Ohio.

 

[mp4]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

I'm not aware of specific sizes for dive flags, but the rule is that the diver must display a flag and surface within 50' of it. All other boats must stay 100' away.

 

[fldiver1]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

Dive flags should be no less than 20" X 24" and have a stiffener to keep them standing out. that is kinda a standard size made by most of the manufactureres now also. The smaller, tow behind flags are probably what this guy had.

 

[Aquahound]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

Dive flags should be no less than 20" X 24" and have a stiffener to keep them standing out. that is kinda a standard size made by most of the manufactureres now also. The smaller, tow behind flags are probably what this guy had.

Actually, that is now the law in Florida. Vessels are required to have the 20x24" flags displayed where it can be seen 360 degrees.

Not sure what Kentucky's laws are, but I would assume this guy was in the wrong.

 

[craig240DA]

300 feet away?

300 feet away?

Question from new guy: We were approaching an occupied dive area but not sure what 300 feet was and not sure how we could get into position without violating any rules, so we anchored outside the area while another boat was free-diving (see next question) and we broke out some lunch. Then they packed up and left, so we started to quickly pack up and pull up anchor to move in and another boat zoomed in and popped their flag before we could get close. So we just carefully idled into position while they had their flag up, because they were just getting ready anyway. So my question is,

"How do you get close to another dive boat without violating the 300 foot rule, or do we just stay 300 feet away and swim in?"

 

[Aquahound]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

craig, the 300 ft rule does not exclude the vessel totally. It means you have to proceed at idle speed only.

 

[Bill Adkins]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

I have been diving for more yrs than I really want to admit to. The one thing everyone needs to remember, it doesnt matter about the rules if a diver is hit by a boat he is the loser. Placing a flag that isnt recognizable is only puting yourself in jeapordy. You wont hurt the boat that hits you, trust me on this. I used to set my flag at the top of one of my outriggers set straight up. It may have been 25 feet above the water surface and at least 2 ft square. An individual that would lie a flag on a deck or within the confines of a hull is an idiot, kind of like hunting land mines with a hammer. I have been a freediver also for yrs, I have a covered truck innertube for a tire, the covering is red and it flies a flag 5 foot above it. I have hasps and lines below it for guns and game clips. It follows me where I go as I have seen boat props at work from below.
Bill

 

[stevejeri]

Re: Dive rules & general guidelines...

What you saw in Kentucky lake was a commercial mussel diver. They have a compressor in the boat and their regulator is attached to the end of an air hose that is usually inside a hollow rope attached to the front of their boat. They crawl around on the bottom of the lake picking up fresh water mussels to sell. Most of them have never had any dive training, other than what a buddy told them to do. When they decide to come up, they climb up the rope/air hose and get back in the boat and grade their shells, keeping the ones big enough to sell. I have seen dive flags of all sizes used, and very few have anything to hold them out. It was common 10-15 years ago for a decent diver to make $300 to $500 dollars a day doing this. Back then, you could nearly walk across the lake on the boats because there were so many doing it. Now days, there aren't nearly as many because the market for the shells is pretty unstable.