How Much Time Is Enough

[waterdogs]

With Walters informative article out there comparing the top three instructional courses PADI, YMCA and NAUI, and with going through one of those highlighted classes right now I needed to pose a question to the board to get some opinions.

How Much Time Is Enough?

I know Ill receive some traditional answers: Skill completion, Comfortable, etc. but we are currently doing private lessons and I don't think the time we have scheduled is adequate.

Here's our schedule:

Sunday/last Sunday: 1st day of class/4hrs.pool time
Sunday/2-24: 2nd day of class/4-5 hrs pool time
Sunday/3-10: 3rd day of class/4-5 hrs pool time
Sat/Sun 3-16: OWC Fla Springs (2 day OWC)

Total Pool Time: 12-15hrs.

Honestly, even if we do our skills (good) in one day, I believe inorder to feel comfortable, and perfect our skills we need atleast 6 class/pool sessions before our OWC. That would give us between 24-30 hrs. of pool time, skill time, etc.

Back to the question: HOW MUCH TIME IS ENOUGH?

I need the board here. I don't want to breeze through this course to obtain a cert card which im not mentally or physically prepared for even though we can do the skills.

Please comment.

waterdogs

 

[VTWarrenG]

The only person able to assess how much time you need is YOU. You don't need to have a specific number of hours to be competent, though.

Here are the things that I would say indicate competency:

1) Buoyancy control -- being able to stay at an intended depth, in an intended posture, without much effort. Being able to properly weight themselves.

2) Air sharing -- being able to quickly and correctly deploy their alternate air source and begin sharing air. General buddy consciousness, etiquette.

3) Equipment failure handling -- being able to comfortably swim and breath without a mask, being able to breath from a freeflowing reg, being able to breathe from a wet reg.

4) Equipment familiarization -- being able to promptly and correctly assemble gear, knowing where all the controls are, how they function, and what to do if they don't function.

5) Dive planning ability -- being able to correctly use tables, timing devices. Being cognizant of emergencies and how do deal with them. Being able to follow an established dive plan.

If you can do all these things, and feel reasonably comfortable doing them, you're a pretty good diver. You don't have to be able to rip off your mask, swim 500 yards on a single breath, and buddy breathe with six people.

- Warren

 

[Drew Sailbum]

:blah: Until you are comfortable, have your skills mastered, and all that :spew:.

Now that I got that out of the way, let me say a few words about how I determine if a student is ready for the open water checkout dives.

First, being able to perform the skills is only part of it. The student should be comfortable in scuba gear before going to open water.

I prefer at least 1/2hour of play time in the pool per open water session after all of the skills practice is complete. This is time for the student to enjoy the experience of breathing on scuba, and to start to incorporate some of the skills into playful activities.

Underwater frisbee is a great time. The more adventurous want to try underwater hockey. It requires working on buoyancy control, finning technique, and a host of other skills. When the students are clearing their masks while still trying to whack a hockey puck, I know they are ready.

The 12-15 hours pool time is probably o.k. in my humble opinion only beacuse I know that you are getting private instruction. In that setting, you are probably getting through the skills in a lot less time than if it was a group of 6 or 8 students.

For those larger groups, I prefer to schedule 3-4 hours per confined water dive (there are 5 required for PADI, and more than one a day is o.k. by their standards ) for a total of 15-20 hours.

Finally, not all of the pool time is actually spent underwater. That includes some time for setting up and disassembling gear, and those frequent trips to the surface to discuss the next skill.

 

[The Chairman]

Much of the time in the pool environment is spent waiting for your turn. Not very productive, although you do get to practice breathing under water. Skills taught one on one or one on two go rather quickly and you will find that you will have mastered the basics in short fashion. Do make sure you get time just to sit on the bottom and blow bubbles and such. We usually bring out the weighted hoola hoops and have the students negotiate through them. Use your time wisely, but be glad that you won't have to worry about getting chilled waiting on 10 others to figure out the skill that the instructor told everyone about while they were busy talking with their buddy how they have -really- been diving since the early 1900s but just never took the time to get certified.

 

[Lost Yooper]

Some people seem to have gills and others act more like rocks. Breathing underwater seemed natural for me. My wife is taking her OW right now, and I suspect she'll need more work (hopefully, she'll surprise me ). Individuals vary in how quickly they learn and adapt.

Take care.

Mike

 

[Rick Murchison]

We average 12.5 hours pool time spread over five sessions to prepare someone for their first open water dive. Some folks take more, some less. We make sure they're ready.
Rick

 

[MNScuba]

Well, here's my schedule:

Friday: 5:30-9:00 / Classroom Only
Saturday: 10:00-7:00 / Classroom and Pool
Sunday: 10:00-5:30 / Classroom and Pool

Have to wait until middle of May to do my OW since there's still ice on the lakes.

This might not sound like much, but they don't rush you through it. If you're not comfortable you can re-take the course at no charge. (I'm sure there are some limitations as to how many times you can take it.)

We have to do 8 laps (300 meters) unassisted swimming and 10 minutes unassisted floating to pass the Confined portion. Yes, this IS a PADI course...

I'm confident in this course, as I will learn more from diving with various people over the years than I ever could in a pool setting anyway. There's really only so much you can do in a pool, as there is no current, visability is always perfect and you only have about 12 feet to surface. Yes, you can work on mask clearing, regulator retrieval, etc... but where I am taking the course they will let you go with another class and practice on your own.

 

[waterdogs]

thanks Murdock325

I was just curiuos since I've read all the replies to Walters comments on "cert comparisions". Did not want to be rushed through a program where they are turning out inexperienced divers.

I understand we just need to take our time and feel confident in skill level and what we are doing. Just didn't know how much time others were taking during their class/pool portions.

thanks for the heads up and good luck.

waterdogs.

 

[MNScuba]

Good luck to you as well! Remember, if you don't feel comfortable with something, mention it to your instructor. They should be more than willing (especially with private instruction) to help you out. You have a big advantage, make the most of it and have fun!

Let me know how it goes...

 

[Rooster1]

Pool time is relevant to the size of the class.
When I was doing my pool sessions, we had a total of 10 to 11 hours, but we had 7 students. Not all students picked up every skill as fast as other students. I felt the class size should have been smaller like maybe 4 or 5 students then you could have more time for each student. In the end we all got certified, but I felt we were rushed and more pool time was needed for this size of class. After all, the stuff you learn in the pool can save your life, so I think time should be given to mastering the skills.