page_title: Dive boat
section_title: Recovery of divers
hierarchical_section_title: Dive boat / Diving from a boat / Recovery of divers
caption_attribution_description: English: Dive boat ladder deployed
context_page_description: A dive boat is a boat that recreational divers or professional scuba divers use to reach a dive site which they could not conveniently reach by swimming from the shore. Dive boats may be propelled by wind or muscle power, but are usually powered by internal combustion engines. Some features, like convenient access from the water, are common to all dive boats, while others depend on the specific application or region where they are used. The vessel may be extensively modified to make it fit for purpose, or may be used without much adaptation if it is already usable.
  Dive boats may simply transport divers and their equipment to and from the dive site for a single dive, or may provide longer term support and shelter for day trips or periods of several consecutive days. Deployment of divers may be while moored, at anchor, or under way. There are a range of specialised procedures for boat diving, which include water entry and exit, avoiding injury by the dive boat, and keeping the dive boat crew aware of the location of the divers in the water.
context_section_description: Divers may be picked up by a small tender or the dive boat may have a low enough freeboard for divers to climb over the side unaided, or with a bit of assistance from the crew. In this case it is usual to pass up heavy equipment such as weightbelts, and leave on the fins to help boost the diver out of the water. This is easiest with inflatable boats, particularly if provided with conveniently sited handles or ropes along the sides. For higher freeboards and easier boarding, mechanical aids may be provided:
  ladders may be provided for boarding from the water.It is easier to climb a standard ladder or stairs if fins are removed first. They can be handed up to an attendant on the boat, clipped to the diver's harness, or carried by sliding the fin straps over the forearm. Christmas tree ladders can be climbed with the fins on the feet, and should stand off the side of the boat far enough for the fins to have clearance.
  stern and side platforms may be used in conjunction with ladders or low freeboard decks.
  passerelles or gangways. These are ramps which are lowered at one end to provide a path to walk from deck to water level.
  lifting platforms (diver lifts) These are platforms attached to the boat on which the diver stands while being lifted to deck level or lowered a short distance into the water
  stages and baskets. Platforms which lowered into and under the water and are hoisted back on board with the diver or divers standing on them. They are not attached to the boat except by the lifting cable.
  boarding stirrups can be used on low freeboard boats, particularly rigid hull inflatables. They are straps with a loop, rung or hook at the lower end attached to the side of the boat. The standard versions require a fin to be removed to get the foot into the stirrup, and have a fixed length, which can be awkward to use as the stirrup may be uncomfortably high for a tall person if at the right height for a short person. Adjustable versions allow the diver to clip the loop around the foot with the fin in place, then the loop can be raised to the preferred height after fitting. Open sided rigid "hook" stirrups allow the foot to be positioned on a rigid stirrup without removing the fin. Stirrup steps have the same ergonomic disadvantages as rope ladders: they swing freely under load.
caption: Dive boat ladder deployed on RIB
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