A dive log for instructors and divemasters: what to look for
Instructors and divemasters log far more dives than most and answer for them more often. This guide lists what a working professional needs from a logbook, and where an app stops.
· 2 min read
A high dive count needs fast entry
When you log several dives a day, the dive form is the product. Look for quick entry, defaults you can set once, a way to copy the last dive, and a way to bring dives in as files instead of retyping them. Loggerfish reads Garmin files, UDDF, Subsurface logs and any spreadsheet, so a season's worth can come in at once, with a preview before it is saved.
Counts, depths and totals you can trust
Your total dive count and your hours underwater are numbers other people ask for. Check that the app counts what you expect, that you can fix a wrong dive, and that you can export the full list to a spreadsheet to check it against a paper log or a computer's own record.
Certifications and their dates
Instructors hold several qualifications, each with its own renewal. Loggerfish keeps a dated record of every course and speciality, with the next milestone flagged, and a photo of the card to show at a dive centre. That photo stays on your device and is not uploaded.
Gear with service intervals
Regulators, computers and cylinders have service and test intervals. Loggerfish tracks what you own, what it cost, when it was last serviced and when it is due, and works out kit cost per dive.
Trips and money
If you teach on holiday or run trips, a record of what each trip cost per dive is useful for your own books. Loggerfish records trips and costs; it is not accounting software.
Exports for insurers, agencies and yourself
Excel, UDDF and a full backup are free on every plan, so you can hand a spreadsheet to anyone who asks and keep your own copy. Do not rely on any single app as the only copy of a professional record.
What an app is not
A logbook app does not replace the records your agency, your employer or your insurer require, and Loggerfish does not claim to be a training record of legal standing. Keep whatever those parties ask for. Use the app for your own working picture.
Cost
Logging, import, export and sync are free. Dive professionals can ask for a 25 % discount on Pro on their own statement; it is set out in the terms.
See if Loggerfish fits your working log
Free to start, no card. Your logbook, and every export of it, stays yours on every plan.
Names such as PADI, SSI, MySSI, Subsurface, Shearwater and Garmin belong to their owners and are used only to say which product we mean. Loggerfish is not affiliated with any of them. What a guide says about them comes from their own public pages, listed beside the statement with the day it was checked. If something is out of date, write to support@loggerfish.com and we will correct it.