There is no such thing as the perfect boat brand and model for everyone. If there were a perfect boat out there, then everyone would have the same boat. There are many things to consider when looking into the purchase of a boat. Capacity and size, weight, speed, gas mileage, comfortableness and usage must be taken into consideration. Boats used by scuba divers have the additional consideration of accommodating the necessary equipment used by scuba divers.
A Dive Boat is specifically designed for diving groups and they are available in different shapes and sizes. One of the smaller styles is dive kayaks. These are relatively less expensive and are small enough to store in a garage and transport on top of a car. The downside to Dive kayaks is there is limited room in them, and they are powered by good old fashioned muscle power. Soft bottom inflatable diving boats are cost effective and are also light and easily transportable like the dive kayak. However, they are slow in the water, do not steer well and do not have much room for taking a group to a dive. A rigid inflatable boat is an upgraded soft bottom inflatable as it adds more room, some speed, steering stability and a smoother ride through the waves.
There are more rigid boats that have a higher passenger capacity. A Dive Boat style called a day boat is comfortable for several divers and their equipment, plus have a small dive deck for divers to step off of and return to. Day boats are generally single decked and are not large enough to sleep on overnight, and that is why there are boats called live-aboard boats. Live-aboard boats can take large groups and their equipment out on dive runs. Live-aboard, as the name suggests, have living quarters and have more than one deck and generally have larger dive decks. Of course, these boats will have a higher price tag than the smaller dive kayaks or inflatable styles. Boat descriptions and usages can be found at website, which will give more in-depth descriptions to the different types of diving boats.
