DecoPlan Cave

The route starts with a place and a shape. Both change the gas rule, so settle them before drawing points.

1. Choose the cave. Start from the cave catalogue, from a Cave Atlas reference plan, or draw a route yourself. The source determines how much of the route is already filled in.
2. Pick the route type. Out and back, traverse or circuit. The gas rule depends on the type; do not switch it later because the numbers look better.
3. Check the reference values. If you started from Cave Atlas, look at the distances and depths. Demo values are examples, not measurements.
4. Read the help. The ⓘ beside a parameter explains what it is, why the calculation needs it and what changes when you edit it. Use it before guessing.

Cave Atlas reference is reference material. It is not a navigation map and does not replace a survey or team briefing.

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The path is the spine of the whole calculation: travel time, gas, turn and exit all come from these distances and depths.

1. Place the points. Put points along the line from the entrance to the target. Each point needs a distance and a depth; a rough line produces a rough plan.
2. Set speed and current. Enter the no-current speed and the current on each segment. They set travel time, and time is gas.
3. Mark jumps and gaps. Each spool adds time on the way in and on the way out. If a jump is missing, the plan underestimates both time and gas.
4. Replace demo values. When the route came from Cave Atlas, overwrite every demo distance and depth with a measured value. Leave nothing in the plan that nobody measured.
5. Walk the route once. Read the points in dive order before moving on. A path that looks fine as a table can be nonsense as a dive.

The path is only as good as its measurements. Keep the source of each value with the plan.

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The same route can be dived on very different gas. The gear section tells the planner what you will actually carry.

1. Choose the configuration. Backmount, sidemount, rebreather or your own cylinders. Pick the one you will dive, not the one that makes the plan fit.
2. Add stages. Select the stages for the dive. The app suggests a drop point; treat it as a proposal and check it against the route and the team plan.
3. Enter your SAC. Use your relaxed working consumption. The planner applies conservative margins on the bottom and a larger margin on the ascent and deco; do not compensate by entering a lower SAC.
4. Check the load. Look at the gas each stage contributes and where it leaves the plan. A stage dropped too early is gas you do not have on the way out.

Gas rules and margins follow the planner's configured procedure. This site does not publish a universal gas formula.

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The check is designed to say no before the dive does. Read the limiting factor, not just the colour.

1. Read the verdict. A traffic light and one sentence tell you whether gas is enough by your turn rule and reserve. The sentence matters more than the colour.
2. Set the turn rule. The default is thirds, with stricter options. The turn happens at the earlier of the rule and the gas needed for two divers; do not relax the rule to rescue a plan.
3. Ask why. “Why?” shows what limited the plan and which parameters affect it. If the limit is a demo value, go back to the path.
4. Test what if. “What if…” repeats the plan deeper, farther, slower, with a higher SAC and in emergencies. A plan that only works in the best case is not a plan.
5. Stop on demo data. With Cave Atlas demo values the verdict will not be “Good to go”. Replace them with measurements before treating the check as meaningful.

The check supports your procedure; it does not replace it. Follow your training and team rules.

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A plan that stays on the phone is not yet a dive plan. The result section turns the calculation into something the team can check.

1. Read the route sheet. Check the points, turn pressures and stage drop pressures in dive order. This is the plan the calculation produced, not a suggestion.
2. Review the emergency scenarios. Look at the failures the plan tests and the gas they require. If a scenario is not survivable, change the dive.
3. Save or print the slate. Save or print the slate so it can be reviewed away from the screen and carried to the briefing.
4. Brief the team. Go through the slate with the team before the dive. Agreement on the route and turn is worth more than a tidy PDF.
5. Keep the measured source. If the route came from reference material, keep the measured values with the plan. The next diver should not inherit demo data.

A printed slate is still a plan, not a permission slip. Brief it with the team.

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DecoPlan plans dive profiles. DecoPlan Cave is a separate route and gas planner.

1. Choose the task. Use DecoPlan for the dive profile and DecoPlan Cave for a cave route and gas.
2. Find the reference. Cave Atlas is reference inside both apps. The voice project is still in development.

Two separate planners; the reference and voice project have different roles.

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Each app has one universal Mac installer for Intel and Apple Silicon, macOS 14 or later.

1. Choose the app. Download DecoPlan or DecoPlan Cave from its own download section.
2. Choose one Mac file. The universal installer supports Intel and Apple Silicon. macOS 14 or later is required.

The two apps have separate installers. Android availability is listed separately.

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