North River Seahawk O/S

The Ultimate Northwest Dive Boat

The best diving in the Pacific Northwest happens during the winter months, when the plankton die off and the visibility improves.   After years of freezing our butts off running back to the ramp in our Zodiac, we finally decided to invest in the ultimate Northwest Dive Boat.  Named the "Dive Bum", our 22 foot North River Seahawk O/S (Offshore) is powered by a 250 HP Yamaha.   The 8 1/2 foot beam is super stable, and provides lots of deck space and load capacity for the tons of dive gear we always seem to be hauling around!

The boat handles extremely rough water with ease, has a self bailing deck with custom benches for our dive gear, along with a sturdy dive ladder custom built by Zeigler Welding.  The cabin is extremely comfortable, with seating for four divers, a V-berth with lots of storage and a port-a-potti for the Admiral.

Outfitted with the best in modern electronics, the new Side-Scan sonar on the Humminbird 997 C Si makes finding dive sites a breeze and has allowed me to find a couple of unknown wrecks already.   You simply locate the wreck or dive site on the side scan, and place the cursor over the object and hit "MARK".  The unit calculates the exact position of the object and sets a waypoint right over the top of it.

Returning to the object using the waypoint, I find I am consistently setting my anchor or shot line within a few feet of the same location on subsequent trips.  The unit is amazingly accurate and is preloaded with detailed maps and information.    It sits side by side with a new Lowrance 37C GPS/Fishfinder that will soon display radar information as well

I'm actually looking forward to some Winter diving this year!  The boat is truly in a class all by itself as far as fit, finish and functionality.  The big outboard has plenty of "get up and go" and runs nicely at an economical 4000 RPM, which pushes the boat at an easy 30 knots, getting more than 3 miles per gallon, even fully loaded and weighing nearly 7000 lbs.

We put a little buddy heater in the cabin, which keeps it toasty, even on those snowy, cold days.  We dive year round, and the visibility is much better in the winter and there are no crowds.

 

 

The Dive Bum.	Custom Dive Ladder by Zeigler Welding.
Benches for gearing up.  Made from PVC pipe and Trex Decking.  The back forms a shallow "channel" to hold the tanks.	Interior View of the Cabin.