Boats and boat diving

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Our dive boats are in the style of traditional Maldivian dhonis.

The dhoni is the main mode of transport in this island nation, they are used for fishing, excursions, diving and as delivery trucks!
The design of the dhoni has changed very little over the years. Traditionally, dhonis have a tall, curved prow which stands up cutting through the sea breezes. This is mainly decorative but is also useful to aid balance when having to stand at the front signalling the captain when close to shallow reefs. The prow is often dispensed with on modern dhonis as it can interfere with docking and loading. The stern of the dhoni is flat and is where the captain stands whilst steering the boat with his foot resting on the tiller. The dhoni design required almost no adaptation to take a diesel engine.

On our dive dhonis you will find your tanks waiting for with your equipment already assembled for you to check. When you have checked everything the instructor on the boat will give you a detailed briefing of the dive site you will visit. On arrival at the dive site the crew will help you to get ready whilst the instructor jumps in to check the current. You will get a last minute briefing about the conditions on the dive site and be given ‘left’ or ‘right’ shoulder instructions! Then it’s time for a giant stride entry and another world awaits you…

All of our dive guides are experienced and know the reefs very well, if you follow them they will show you the best parts of the reef and all the little critters that hide there. When you or your buddy reaches 50bar, sadly it is time for you to go up to the top of the reef for your safety stop and surface. No navigation is necessary – all of our dives are drift dives: we jump in at one spot and wherever you surface the boat crew will come and pick you up. They will lower a ladder into the water for you to get out. Once back on board you will disassemble your equipment and store it under the bench ready for your afternoon dive. The crew will bring the dive register around and you fill in your maximum depth, dive time and ending tank pressure. When all of the work is done you will be served tea, coffee and cake whilst relaxing in the sun on the journey back to Komandoo.

We have dive boats going out every morning and afternoon for single dives, the journey times vary depending on the site but can be anything from 10 minutes up to just over an hour. We also have special activity boats such as 2-tank dives where we leave slightly earlier than normal and dive at two different sites before returning to Komandoo – hopefully just in time for lunch! There are full-day dive boats too, we go a little further away and stop at an uninhabited island for lunch. Night dive boats are scheduled about twice times per week as well as early morning and sunset dive boats.