Diving Komodo on Boat

Day Boat Santai - Komodo National park

Daytrips on our awesome dive boat “Santai”

“Santai” means “relax” in the local Bahasa Indonesia language – and that’s exactly what we would like you to do on our boat.

Santai is our dive boat for daytrips to Komodo National Park that offers space for 20 guests, plus the boat’s crew. It is 23 m long and 5 m wide. It is equipped with a 6 cylinders diesel motor, speeds up to 12 knots. This allows us to offer you 3 dives per day or to reach further dive spots such as in the North of the park without hassle or early departures.

For your greater comfort the dive deck has been built in the front where we can store 44 tanks at once. There are four jumping points, and two ladders to exit the water which is especially convenient if you dive in a bigger group. Divers do not have to crowd and can enter and exit quickly and relaxed.

While being used as a fishing boat before, Santai was completely overhauled and re-furbished for diving in 2018 only. The ironwood hull offers great stability and thus it runs perfectly in the waters of the Komodo National Park.

Doing the regular maintenance we ensure that our boat is in compliance with local regulations and safety requirements. During the months of January and February we bring our boat to dock to upkeep the reliability of our vessel, and the safety of our crew and guests. In 2021 we replaced some wood on our boat which has shown its age, and we made a “make-over” on the hull and decks in 2023.

Comfort and service

With a day boat diving in Komodo, you have chosen flexibility, more comfort and a social, culinary exploration. While you feel excitement underwater, we would like you to do so above the waters as well.

Our beautiful boat offers you separate dive deck in the bow, a dining area with a 3 meter long table in the stern and a spacious sun deck on top. You can store all your diving accessories in the provided and secured storage shelf directly at your place where you get ready for your next dive. For all the water-sensible items such as phones, glasses or personal belongings there is space either at the dining area or on the sun deck where we keep the dry areas.

In the middle we have built the kitchen for preparing our fresh lunch, two western style marine toilets and our crew’s room. Both decks are covered with roofs for shadow. The sun deck is furnished with a long sofa, sun-chairs, mattresses and a hammock. There is a sunny area as well for those of you who need an extra portion of vitamin D.

In our dining area we serve non-limited fresh drinking water, coffee, tea, snacks and fruits all day long. After the second dive our chef spoils you with an Indonesian lunch that you can enjoy sitting comfortably at the table.

The food on our boat is freshly prepared every time we serve it. Therefore, please inform us at the time of booking, if you experience some food allergies or intolerances.

Our crew consists of a captain, a mechanic, a chef and some helpers. They all live on our boat so you can be sure they take care of it. The crew has been working in diving for many years, they know how to help and handle divers’ requests; do not hesitate to ask for their assistance.

Kita tetap santai santai…dalam hidup indahnya dunia…itu bila kita terus tersenyum
(We stay relaxed in this beautiful life in our world…that’s when we keep smiling)

Safety and specifications

Yours and the safety of our crew are especially important to us and, consequently, we have installed various safety measures on our boat.

Specifications

Built: 2007, overhauled in 2017 and launched in 2018
Dimension: 23 m length, 5 m width
Type: Boat for daytrips
Engine: Hyundai D22, 250hp
Speed: 12 knots
Capacity: 20 guests + crew
Navigation: Garmin GPS with Plotter
Communication: Long Range VHF radio (25 nm)

Safety

Experienced crew 3 fire extinguisher
30 life vests First Aid Kit
3 life buoys Emergency Oxygen Set
2 drift lines small dinghy

Facilities

  • lower deck for 20 divers with fixed bench to hold 44 tanks and dining area with big wooden dining table
  • Upper deck with roofed area and sun area, with incredibly relaxing sofas and mattresses
  • 4 entrances + 2 ladders to exit waters
  • 2 western style marine toilets
  • Kitchen
  • Boxes with fresh water for cameras
  • 1 dinghy

History of “Santai”

The history of our boat begins on the island of Kalimantan where in 2007 a fisherman named Gusmadi started to build his boat. He then had to stop the constructions for some years due to missing funds. And only in 2012, Gusmadi successfully completed building his boat. Under the name “Mega Anugrah” (engl. “Mega Grace”) Gusmadi used his boat for fishing in the waters around Indonesia.

Just five years later, in 2017, Gusmadi decided to sell the boat. In October 2017, our crew, inclusive our captain Fidin, flew over to Kalimantan. They searched and examined hundreds of different boats; in a small fishing village the crew found “Mega Anugrah” and has selected that boat. Hence, the preparations for the transfer to Flores began.

In November 2017, Fidin, our mechanic and a second captain (as assistance to Fidin) flew again to Kalimantan, verified all final documents and licenses, bought all necessaries for the journey on the sea and aimed for the port of destination Labuan Bajo, Flores.

The transfer took five days in total. In Labuan Bajo the boat was docked, disassembled and practically built from scratch.  The constructions have been completed in April 2018.

It is now a comfortable, strong, spacious boat for diving.

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