Divemaster to Tech

[Grahams315]

Hey guys. Tech diving is something I'd want later on in diving. I am aware i am a newer diver and am not considering even taking an intro course for quite some time. Now that thats out of the way I was talking with the resident tech diver/instrutor from my LDS a while ago as I was finishing my AOW course. He came out to lend a hand and mainly hang out as it seemed. While I was talking to him I shared my interest in becoming a technical diver (much) later on. Among the advice he gave me, including courses and skills that are important he said that he will accept "rescue" certified divers into his courses, but his personal preference is to have a dive master due to the increased amount physics and science that would be involved with tech diving.

This seems fairly reasonable to me, but my actual knowledge of deco procedures and such would be quite limited. So I come to you in hopes of knowing if this is reasonable or just a plug for the shops dive master course.

 

[rongoodman]

Requiring Rescue as a pre-req for tech courses is fairly common, but I've never heard of anyone suggesting that being a Dive Master would be required or even especially helpful. Becoming a DM is the initial step in the pathway to instructing and working with the public, rather than technical diving. There are some situations where tech training is useful to a DM, such as in Mexico where cave training is required for a DM to lead tours in the cavern zones of the cenotes.

 

[RJP]

Perhaps I'm biased, as that's the path I took, but I do think having DM background was very useful to build upon when I went down the tech-training path. Not just about knowing more physics/science but also in terms of being a more aware, more self-sufficient, more skilled diver all the way around. It's certainly not "necessary" as a pre-requisite, though/

Of course it depends on the rigor of the DM training program in question.I'm fortunate in training with a shop that's pretty buttoned-up. YMMV.

 

[DCBC]

I was technical diving long before they defined it as such, so for me, diving deeper, using mixed gas and diving in an overhead environment was just a natural extension to basic diving technique. If you dive long enough and desire to pursue the envelope, it's just another step that some wish to take. It's lost much of its coolness over the years, as it's done by a large section of the diving population. For me, it was a means to an end and not the other way around. Don't run too quickly; it can be a long way to the surface. You need experience and the necessity to be comfortable in the environment. Good luck!

 

[Dr Wu]

The physics and science taught in most DM classes is so absurdly simplistic there is no reason you could not learn things to that level in a matter of hours with self study.

The rest of the DM stuff is not really applicable to technical diving.

 

[Cave Diver]

I started technical diving before doing DM. I found the skills I already learned made handling students much easier.

 

[HowardE]

I never did DM... Imo it has very little to do with tech diving. Nitrox diving on the other hand... Very important.

Maybe the guy was trying to sell classes?

 

[Grahams315]

Its deffinatly possible it was a class plug. I was unsure of the physics on both sides as well. I am considering going DM to help out with classes as well. So if anything it'll help out. But not something to do if i don't want to considering going that route as i'd likley self-stuff all the basic ideas before hand. Thanks to everyone.

 

[rongoodman]

You'll pick up a lot about the gas laws in the Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures classes(or whatever the equivalent is in the agency you choose). If you want to get a head start, "Deco for Divers" by Mark Powell is readable and up-to-date.

 

[TSandM]

The DM class DOES go into more detail about the physics, and has more problems -- but the stuff is pretty easy to self-teach. Pick up a copy of the PADI Encyclopedia and read it, and a copy of Mark Powell's Deco for Divers, and you'll be well ahead of the game.

The in-water part of the DM class does little or nothing to prepare you for the standards that apply to technical diving. If you want an in-water class, take somebody's Intro to Tech, or UTD Essentials, or GUE Fundamentals. There, you'll be introduced to pinpoint buoyancy control, horizontal trim, non-silting propulsion, and problem-solving underwater.