Boat Sign-Out Sheet: Fill & Download for Free

This has, almost since the earliest period of SCUBA diving, been a topic of discussion among divers and suit makers. In fact it has even been a bone of contention among both groups. When neoprene was first used for protection and warmth it was BLACK. That ended about 40 years ago in the lighter weight suits and over the years in all the suits. Colors were the first to change and later patterns were added to give divers the ability to customize “their appearance”. There is one thing though that has changed very little in all that time and that is the actual appearance of those colors as depth increases.Here are the depths that colors maintain some semblance of the original colors:Notice that the first color that “disappears” is RED! I know this from first-hand knowledge because my earliest drysuit was ORANGE and after that RED and below about 3 meters (10 feet) both were GREY (please note my personal spelling of the color since my name is spelled the other way!) and stayed that way UNLESS artificial light was used. The above chart also explains why I PERSONALLY recommend the BLUE and GREEN colors when asked.Here are two examples that will give you a better idea of how some colors appear:This effect is one of the reasons that it is so difficult most often to be able to identify other divers while underwater. It is so difficult that when boat loads of divers enter the water unsupervised it is not unusual for divers to buddy-up with divers from another boat. I have actually had the divers not realize the mistake until the boat they were on departed for the harbor, meanwhile people on the boat they arrived on are frantically searching for them. Such things can easily be prevented by counting divers INTO and OUT OF the water on every boat. At one time it was not the rule but it has changed for the better over the years.ADDED Oct/2020 - Someone asked me again about “checking divers in and out of the water” so I decided to share a story that happened to me a number of years ago in the Puget Sound (cold water/low vis).I was dive mastering a boat out of the San Juan Islands, in Washington State, so that I did not have to pay for the trip, that and because I needed some “away time” from my family. I had a boat crewman check people into the water while I assisted their final checks on gear and their “giant stride” entries. (About a seven foot drop!) As I knew that there with an odd number of divers on the boat I thought I would just end up with “tail-end Charlie” (or Charlene) and everything would work out. What I failed to notice until the last two divers went in was that one diver made up a group of three, making me… wait for it… “tail-end Charlie” or a lone diver. I quickly geared up, checked myself (dry suit zipped, air on, etc.) and plunged into the water. Did about 33 minutes at 45 fsw in a moderate current and went back to the surface to find NO BOAT! Damn. How did that happen? Too far from shore to swim so I floated along about 20 minutes moving closer to one of the islands just as a family in a good sized boat came by and found me sitting on my inflated BC and tank, about half out of the water. They stopped nearby and inquired as to my predicament and after a chuckle and a snort or two they asked me if I “wished a lift into Anacortes”. I, of course, replied that ONLY because it was late in the day AND because they were heading that direction that I would be happy to accommodate them (and rescue me) and share numerous diving tales as a means of in some small way repaying them for the hospitality. They assured me that was not necessary so they missed my huge Pacific octopus story that always assured me of consideration for “the life of the party” at all such gatherings. Actually their boat was a little noisy but it was also fast. We caught up with my original boat and passed them just before they reached the harbor. Needless to say my original boat crew were MOST embarrassed about leaving a diver behind unknowingly and the others divers thought I was simply “below deck” racked out. They did not seem to know that I was expected to dive also that day.So, how did it happen? Simple. The crewman handed me the sign in sheet as he was going back to the bridge and I (“tail-end Charlie”) FAILED to add my name to the list! That story and those facts cost me a round of beers anywhere that divers congregated for must have been 12–15 months as I bribed people to NOT tell anyone about my little MISTAKE. Not signing into the water means they did NOT leave a diver behind because I LEFT MYSELF BEHIND! Ah, semantics!Colors have yet to be shown to have any effect on the attitudes, the appetite or even the habits of any of the shark species known to “taste test” humans. There is some scientific evidence that PATTERNS may have the desired effect but so far that effect has been tempered by geographical limitations. That means that a pattern that might cause a shark to modify its behavior or even flee in one area has little or no effect on the same species in another water body. I suspect it may well be a combination of pattern and chemical repellant but I have never found, as a diver, that sharks require any such attention IF the sharks are respected in their environment such as NOT feeding them by hand. Sometimes the sharks are reluctant to give the hand back after taking the treat.

Sounds pretty easy actually, and I definitely don't need 10 billion. More like 20k tops.My plan is simple, buy a big metal cylinder, kinda like this one:Buy 3 large metal sheets:Weld the large steel sheets at either side of the cylinder making it airtight and one at the bottom creating a floor, with a large space beneath it. I also add a hatch.I now have a very large immobile submarine. This costs maybe 10k.Next I buy an old tugboat.This costs another 8kNow I buy a bunch of explosives.I also buy a long fuse for it. Maybe 1kI also buy food, water, oxygen tank and mask. Maybe 1k.This takes maybe a week or two.Now the fun begins, I tie my submarine to the tug boat and sail a few tens of miles into the ocean. I flood the space beneath the floor with sea water, light the very long fuse, cut the rope connecting me to the tugboat. Get into the sub and quickly close the hatch. I'm now invisible, there is no real way for anyone to find me if I'm quiet. When the explosives detonate the tug will sink too leaving no sign as to my location. The large tank I'm in would definitely have enough air for me for 24 hours.After the 24 hours have passed I simply put on the oxygen mask, open the hatch and slowly make my way to the surface. I swim my way to shore and live the rest of my life with 9,999,980,000 dollars in my bank account.EDIT: some people have brought up something I didn't think about, the water pressure would prevent me from opening the hatch. For that I have come up with a solution I think is pretty genius.Line the ballast tank with a bit of plastic explosives. When the hunt is over all I need to do is detonate it, by doing that it'll detach from the tank which means I can quite simply float my way up to the surface again.I can also just buy a strong pump and suck the water out but that would be extremely expensive.This whole answer feels a lot like this video:

The trolling motor was stolen from my boat. The police arrived 10 hours later, wrote the report, would not take visible fingerprints. I missed my work that day. My boat was on my trailer in our driveway.We don’t think you are covered on this. You should have called the police earlier. Why was it parked in the driveway, it should have been in an enclosed garage. Sorry, you should have read the policy before signing.In the mountains garages are few ad far between. The police were called at 05:30. A stolen motor is low priority.I reread the policy and went on down and had a discussion. A year later I had still not received my check. A year later they decided they had to cancel my insurance as I was a liability. We had another discussion.I then went to an expensive boat accessory store. My trolling motor was no longer available. I got a “really” good one. My deep cycle battery had failed due to non-use. It was also no longer available, I got a “really good one”.The store said that insurance company did that to most boat owners. They took my bill and went direct to S,F.I. company.No they didn’t succeed. If they had honored the contract between us, their payout price would have been 1/3 of the new total. Keeping the account on the data sheets as a projected loss, more money. Then after they closed it before paying out, and having to reopen, more money.Do I feel guilty about buying better equipment? No, they were paid to do a job, I was without necessary accessories on my boat. They attempted to renege, were caught, and a small price for their dishonest activities and practices.