The depth shall be 60, 60 shall the depth be, 61 is right out unless your AOW certified????

[KeithG]

just checked our 1984 PADI manual. it talks about depths in the General Rules section of the Introduction to the PADI Dive Tables.

- dives are not to exceed 130 feet
- with 100 feet being the recommended depth for sport diving
- 60 feet beong the recommended limit for novices

it then goes on to give dive planning examples that are deeper than 60 feet.

 

[Bob DBF]

When I started when I started diving I was trained for NDL dives, at the time 190' was the limit on the Navy tables that you could remain within NDL. Granted, there was little time on the bottom, but 200' you would be in deco and beyond the training.

Over time the agencies reduced the NDL recreational limit to around 130' depending on the agency and who you talk to.

The 60' recommended limit has a history as reccomendation to dive within your training and gradually increase your limits as you gain more experience. This was reinforced by the fact that we did not have BC's or SPG's. As a novice you ended your dive when you ran out of air, so it was to your advantage to learn your air consumption and calmly deal with an OOA situation before experimenting with these problems deeper.

The problem now, is that the training is by catch phrase and does not take the time to go into the reasons why a new diver should put limits on himself until he is quite proficient at his skills and has the experience to deal with problems calmly.

Now the OW, AOW, and Deep limits are a construct by insurance companies to reduce their risk by insuring you were at least once trained how to dive at these depths.


Bob

 

[NAM001]

My wife had to sign a document stating she was aware of the training limits she had when she completed the course. Max depth acknoledged was not greater than 60' Other items were with a buddy, no overhead, no deco and the rest of the good stuff. Once she signed, she got her temp card. Its really easier to just get the AOW card and be rid of the hassle of who interprets what which way. Get the deep card and you are good to 130. I have always looked at it as rec diving is to 130' the rec diving training pipeline is broke into 3 sections ow to 60 aow to 100 and deep to 130'. Even the AOW class the quote recommended limits quote is greater than 60 or to depths up to 100'.

Either way this topic is always a hot one.

 

[ScubaJill]

My wife had to sign a document stating she was aware of the training limits she had when she completed the course. Max depth acknoledged was not greater than 60' Other items were with a buddy, no overhead, no deco and the rest of the good stuff. Once she signed, she got her temp card. Its really easier to just get the AOW card and be rid of the hassle of who interprets what which way. Get the deep card and you are good to 130. I have always looked at it as rec diving is to 130' the rec diving training pipeline is broke into 3 sections ow to 60 aow to 100 and deep to 130'. Even the AOW class the quote recommended limits quote is greater than 60 or to depths up to 100'.

Either way this topic is always a hot one.

Wait, what? you need a deep diver card to be certified to go deeper than 100 feet?

 

[NAM001]

Wait, what? you need a deep diver card to be certified to go deeper than 100 feet?

Its just the structure of the courses and their recommended depth limits. for those agencies that say recommended depth limit is 100 for AOW the deep course covers the depth band for 101-130. No one complies with the limit bands and I cant recall when I have been on a rec dive that had depths greater than 100 by any amount. Really after you get done with OW there is not much to learn for any thing beyond 60 ft other than realization that gas runs out fast and you don't have CESA to rely on. The value of OW is so greatlyd ependant on the quality of the instructor. A good instructor and you are good for the full depth range. That is not the norm however.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Its just the structure of the courses and their recommended depth limits. for those agencies that say recommended depth limit is 100 for AOW the deep course covers the depth band for 101-130. No one complies with the limit bands and I cant recall when I have been on a rec dive that had depths greater than 100 by any amount. Really after you get done with OW there is not much to learn for any thing beyond 60 ft other than realization that gas runs out fast and you don't have CESA to rely on. The value of OW is so greatlyd ependant on the quality of the instructor. A good instructor and you are good for the full depth range. That is not the norm however.

I think there is a huge difference in diving 75 versus 125 ft. The narcosis level or risk becomes important for many people and the psychological stress of that much water over your head can be an issue. Even after 1000s of dives 65 versus 130 ft is quite different for me.

Depth is more than air use and a long swim Down and back.
Progressive exposure and practice at increasing depths is probably more important than plastic cards.

If you are a new diver don't overestimate the value of cards nor disregard the importance of a slow progression toward deeper sites.

 

[RainPilot]

I always understood it as:
OW : 20m CESA available and high NDL (longer than most divers gas supply)
AOW: 30m no CESA, beginnings of narcosis issues, NDL more often the limiting factor.
Deep: 40m, END now an issue, some agencies go helitrox here.
Tec 40/ Tec1: Intro to deco, usually on backgas so few stage bottle requirements. First twinset for most.
Tec 50: To make money, adds stage bottles in some agencies, gas switching protocols?
60 m course ( Naming gets very weird per agency): Limit for normoxic. Almost all agencies are on trimix by now.
100m course: Hypoxic trimix

 

[ScubaJill]

Its just the structure of the courses and their recommended depth limits. for those agencies that say recommended depth limit is 100 for AOW the deep course covers the depth band for 101-130. No one complies with the limit bands and I cant recall when I have been on a rec dive that had depths greater than 100 by any amount. Really after you get done with OW there is not much to learn for any thing beyond 60 ft other than realization that gas runs out fast and you don't have CESA to rely on. The value of OW is so greatlyd ependant on the quality of the instructor. A good instructor and you are good for the full depth range. That is not the norm however.

I always wondered what the deep diver cert was all about, but only because I've seen it mentioned here on SB. About 15% of my dives have been deeper than 100'.

 

[DustyC]

All " dive under conditions you were trained for" thing.....does it mean, when I go for deco training, I am not allowed to take a dive with longer deco obligation, than the longest I had in my training? I wonder how that worked out for depth record dives?

We do indeed stand on the shoulders of giants. Had nobody ever pushed the limits, none of us would be divers

 

[NAM001]

I think there is a huge difference in diving 75 versus 125 ft. The narcosis level or risk becomes important for many people and the psychological stress of that much water over your head can be an issue. Even after 1000s of dives 65 versus 130 ft is quite different for me.

Depth is more than air use and a long swim Down and back.
Progressive exposure and practice at increasing depths is probably more important than plastic cards.

If you are a new diver don't overestimate the value of cards nor disregard the importance of a slow progression toward deeper sites.

I agree with you 100% dumpster.