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Just hit 500 hours of bottom time on my logbook last week | Commercial Divers - Thought Shares

Just hit 500 hours of bottom time on my logbook last week

I've been diving for 8 years in the Gulf, mostly platform inspection work, and that number felt way bigger than I expected when I added it up. My supervisor said 'that's cute' when I mentioned it, but I think it matters because most guys I know don't actually track their hours that closely. Anybody else get weirdly surprised by a milestone they hit in this trade?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_burns3mo ago

...and that's the thing with milestones in this line of work, they sneak up on you because you're too busy just doing the job to notice the numbers piling up. Your supervisor saying "that's cute" is just him blowing smoke, probably because he's never bothered to count his own. It's like how people don't realize how many miles they've driven their car until they see the odometer at a nice round number. 500 hours of bottom time is serious, that's a lot of time underwater whether it's for inspection or just fun, and most folks wouldn't have the nerve to stick with diving for that long anyway.

jason_lewis33mo ago

I gotta push back on the "too busy to notice the numbers piling up" part. In my experience, if you're not tracking your own hours, you're setting yourself up for a bad time, especially in diving. Your supervisor might be a jerk about it, but the real issue is that 500 hours is a lot of time underwater, and that comes with real risks like oxygen toxicity or decompression sickness if you're not careful. Knowing your numbers isn't about ego, it's about safety. I've seen guys get cocky about their bottom time and skip the proper surface intervals, and that's how you end up with a bent meaning a trip to the chamber. So sure, milestones feel good, but keep a logbook and treat them with respect, not just as a pat on the back.

wesleyb203mo ago

Five hundred hours? That's a decent chunk of time no doubt... but I gotta side with @miles_burns on this one. Your supervisor probably just knows that most guys doing real work log way more than that without making a big deal about it. Bottom time is just part of the job when you're doing it year after year.

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