Do I Need A Drysuit Course?

[ianr33]

I recently bought a (new to me) drysuit and got to dive it yesterday for the first time. Went to the lake (Travis) with a buddy that is an experienced drysuit diver.
Down to 30 feet,add air to suit,dump air,play around with trim. Go head down,feet up,yep can get out of that OK. Can reach my valves although it is harder than in a wetsuit. Need more practice on that.
Drop to 70 feet cruise around for 10 minutes.Buddy getting low on air (he started with the remnants of a previous dive) so we slowly ascend and do a good safety stop.I am surprised how the suit vents itself during ascent,makes life really easy.

Drive back to LDS,get tanks filled and a bite to eat. Do second dive after 2.30 surface interval.Just to make it interesting add the can light and a stage of O2. Do a typical profile that we have been diving a lot lately. Max 145,run time 65 minutes.

Do I need a drysuit course? Will I die if I dont take one? Was I a bad boy doing a deco dive for my second ever drysuit dive??

 

[Li'l38]

......... Need more practice on that.............


Do I need a drysuit course? Will I die if I dont take one? Was I a bad boy doing a deco dive for my second ever drysuit dive??

I haven't the slightest knowledge about drysuits, yet.. (hehehe) but my 2cents answer to your questions would be this: Guess you gotta take the course to be "certified" drysuit. Will you die for not taking one? I would hope not! Dive within your limits, read the course material, go with experienced divers, practice, practice, practice some more! Were you a bad boy? That's your call. Do you think you were "pushing the envelope?"

 

[Dive-aholic]

A dry suit course isn't necessary. You can probably learn everything you need to know and more from experienced dive buddies. All a dry suit course does is give you that information in an organized manner and a chance to practice some of the air dumping procedures. I'd at least get a book to review the information to make sure your buddy is giving you all the information.

As for the deco dive - not a good idea. It can take a few dives to get used to the buoyancy issues of a dry suit, especially on the shallow end. You got lucky. Wait until you've had a dozen dives or so on the dry suit before even thinking about that again. And make sure you practice air dumping procedures on every one of those dives.

 

[moneysavr]

He slow down man,The dry suit thing I guess you can learn from a pal diver if you trust him with your life!! realy trust him?? got the book dry suit course, at least owners manual? know how things all work, can you bail from a feet first problem? hows your trim, know how to hang your tank high or low?
2.things a diver died at Devils lake, Wisconsin a few years back its 50' FSW max only , but with no dry suit training a used e-ay dry suit he over filled his suit and drowned after he ran out of air! they found him feet sticking out of the water! dead, That sucks!
I was just done with a Deep air dive as a group of Tech divers showed up-doubles,DIR set ups,on and on,one guy with no dry suit training dose a deep dive 165FSW and due to on this site the mooring ends at 90FSW and the mast of this sweet wreck schooner starts and this is how you drop down to the deck he did a feet first from a 140+FSW and could not grab the mast as he sped by! a bit freaked out, and still alive this story ends well cause he was young, and darn lucky! and took no hit! on and on I can tell you of dry suit divers that screw up.
So Its up to you.
Dive safe boys and girls,
Brad

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Hi there - I learnt the same way - by jumping in the water and playing around. Took around 10-12 dives to get comfortable. One important point: you will almost certainly blow a safety stop during one of these early dives - most people do: so deco diving is not a good idea.

I'd practice shallow accents-decents for a few dives. Accend faster than normal and then hold position at 3-5 metres. Get to trust the exhaust valves, practise dumping air and disconnecting/connecting hoses. Get your weighting right. Etc.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[coach_izzy]

I recently bought a (new to me) drysuit and got to dive it yesterday for the first time. Went to the lake (Travis) with a buddy that is an experienced drysuit diver....

Do I need a drysuit course? Will I die if I dont take one? Was I a bad boy doing a deco dive for my second ever drysuit dive??

Well, there's your course! Going with an experienced drysuit diver is pretty much the same as taking the course, except you don't get to add the "specialty" card to your collection

As to your deco diving, you know yourself better than anyone in this board, and comfortable with what you're doing. Still, I would not go pollo loco until it all becomes second nature.

Personally, I did not have access to a drysuit buddy, so I took the course through a LDS. It allowed me the chance to try on several models before I knew which one I wanted. The neat thing is that they used the tuition fees towards the purchase of a new drysuit, and allowed me to pay in parts. I love my drysuit and love it more when my computer reads a bottom temperature of 54 degrees and I'm comfortable. Have fun getting acquainted with your new toy and be safe.

 

[boomx5]

You don't need a course.

 

[Rick Inman]

I Went to the lake (Travis) with a buddy that is an experienced drysuit diver.
Down to 30 feet,add air to suit,dump air,play around with trim. Go head down,feet up,yep can get out of that OK. Can reach my valves although it is harder than in a wetsuit. Need more practice on that.
Drop to 70 feet cruise around for 10 minutes.Buddy getting low on air (he started with the remnants of a previous dive) so we slowly ascend and do a good safety stop.I am surprised how the suit vents itself during ascent,makes life really easy.

Buy yourself a nice steak and lobster dinner. You just save $100.00.

 

[coreypenrose]

I didn't take one. Just adjust your weight and be aware of how you might pop like a cork in the last 15-20 feet or so.

 

[Web Monkey]

There are several non-obvious things that can happen with a drysuit that would be a real problem for you during a deco dive (as well as on a NDL dive, although probably not fatal). This list is most certainly incomplete:

• It's possible for the exhaust valve to stick/get clogged/get covered with wet DS underwear fabric and stop venting, which means that once you start ascending and the gas in your suit expands, you will be unable to vent it and will go rocketing towards the surface as it expands.
• If your legs are shorter than the legs in the drysuit, it's possible for your feet to pull out of the boots, which will then fill with air, and send you rocketing towards the surface, upside down, unable to vent, with one or more fins unavailable for kicking
• If you become inverted and can't right yourself, the feet and legs will fill with air and send you rocketing towards the surface, upside down, unable to vent.

A good drysuit course will address these issues, and let you try recovering from them in a pool, where it's harder to hurt yourself.

That's not to say you can't learn without a class, but it's usually more comprehensive and safer than figuring it out yourself.

Terry

Do I need a drysuit course? Will I die if I dont take one? Was I a bad boy doing a deco dive for my second ever drysuit dive??