A pair of dive boats

[Furnari]

I remember doing some casual internet searches to find ideas for setting up a dive boat, so I figured I’d payback the knowledge I gained by posting some shots of the two boats my group dives off of. First is an 18’ open tri-hull my brothers and I went in on together. Ugly White Boat has been in our local dive community for a couple/few decades. It’s sturdy and very functional, but a little small for the offshore diving we like to do, and a little cold for winter trips up north. It was a good learning experience, and hopefully will soon serve another group of divers on their underwater adventures.
My brother spent most of this year looking for an upgrade, and he finally settled on a 22’ Sea Sport a couple of months ago. He named it Mazzi Girl after the family dog that passed away around the time he bought it. This boat had spent some time as a halibut charter in Alaska, so it needed work to make it suitable for diving. Tank racks were fairly straightforward, although like anything else involving boats it ended up being a pain. It came with radar and a chart plotter/fish finder, and my brother added the side scan unit we had on UWB.
The real challenge was adding a swim platform and dive ladder. My brother wanted enough room for a fish cooler as well as a diver, so extra reinforcement was added to the transom. A friend who makes his living as a fabricator built the platform; the end result is pretty sweet.
We took it up to the Hood Canal over New Years, and I can tell you that this boat is a dream to dive off of- the ladder is easy to climb with gear on, and the heated cabin will make sissies out of all of us. We’re looking forward to many trips on her.

[Dusty2]

Looks like you've got a winner there. If she survived haulin in slabs in Alaska she has got to be well built and it looks like the platform is well done. Congrates!

[sitkadiver]

That turned out very nice. I always get a little nervous when I drill holes in fiberglass, so I can imagine your thought process was something like... "measure 9 million times and then review before drilling...." ha ha

Does that have a Volvo-Penta? My buddy has one in his glass ply and there are a few other VP powered boats in town. They absolutely sip the fuel... As in 2-3 gal/hr. I wish I could put one in my whaler....

Anyway, you have nice set-up. Thanks for sharing the photos and getting back on track to working on my boat.

[Tom Nic]

Nice!

[Furnari]

Thanks for the comments, guys. It does have an older VP but my brother has plans for a TBI 305. He's a diesel mechanic, so to him carburetors are evil and not to be trusted...