black1
Contributor
Hello all, i would like to learn to dive with doubles but not sure if there are courses one can take, i live in south florida so if anyone knows a place that teaches to learn to dive doubles please advise, thanks all.
Learning to dive doubles in Florida
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bamamedic
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Hello, black1...
You might try looking up Rob Neto...he goes by the user name dive-aholic on Scubaboard. He has a mentorship class in how to use doubles. He works out of the Panhandle, though, but I'm sure you could talk to him about the possibility of maybe scheduling the class a lil' closer to your house (I have no idea if he's willing to do that, but it's worth a shot).
Barring that, you might try to find an instructor who teaches TDI's "Intro to Tech". This is usually a two day class, and is designed to introduce the recreational diver to technical diving gear and procedures, such as air sharing, valve drills, and so forth.
Now for the big question: Why do you want to learn to dive doubles? If your Scubaboard profile is correct, you've got under 25 dive's worth of experience. I don't know about you personally, but at 25 dives, I was still trying to get the hang of the basics, such as holding a horizontal safety stop, finning without kicking up the silt, and keeping track of my buddy. I couldn't imagine adding on doubles at that point. It's not just the extra tanks, but other stuff you've got to consider, like making sure you have enough lift in your BC or wing to be able to float those tanks, having a redundant inflation in case of wing failure, such as a drysuit or a double-bladder, etc.
If your primary reason for wanting to learn doubles is that you're burning through air like it's going out of style, there are other ways to increase your dive time without resorting to doubles. A large single steel tank can give you as much air as a small set of doubles, without having to buy a larger wing, learn valve drills, etc.
Plus, as you increase your dive count, you'll discover that as you gain experience and relax a bit, your air consumption will decrease quite a bit.
Anyways, I'm done pontificating for the night
You might try looking up Rob Neto...he goes by the user name dive-aholic on Scubaboard. He has a mentorship class in how to use doubles. He works out of the Panhandle, though, but I'm sure you could talk to him about the possibility of maybe scheduling the class a lil' closer to your house (I have no idea if he's willing to do that, but it's worth a shot).
Barring that, you might try to find an instructor who teaches TDI's "Intro to Tech". This is usually a two day class, and is designed to introduce the recreational diver to technical diving gear and procedures, such as air sharing, valve drills, and so forth.
Now for the big question: Why do you want to learn to dive doubles? If your Scubaboard profile is correct, you've got under 25 dive's worth of experience. I don't know about you personally, but at 25 dives, I was still trying to get the hang of the basics, such as holding a horizontal safety stop, finning without kicking up the silt, and keeping track of my buddy. I couldn't imagine adding on doubles at that point. It's not just the extra tanks, but other stuff you've got to consider, like making sure you have enough lift in your BC or wing to be able to float those tanks, having a redundant inflation in case of wing failure, such as a drysuit or a double-bladder, etc.
If your primary reason for wanting to learn doubles is that you're burning through air like it's going out of style, there are other ways to increase your dive time without resorting to doubles. A large single steel tank can give you as much air as a small set of doubles, without having to buy a larger wing, learn valve drills, etc.
Plus, as you increase your dive count, you'll discover that as you gain experience and relax a bit, your air consumption will decrease quite a bit.
Anyways, I'm done pontificating for the night
Sas
Contributor
Black1, you can do an 'Intro to Tech' type course or you can find someone with experience in diving doubles to show you the ropes. I've picked the latter personally and found them a lot easier than expected to use so for people with a bit of experience in single tanks, I don't think a course is really needed if you can be mentored.
Though, I am not sure why you are wanting to learn how to use doubles given your dive experience? As bamamedic indicated, you are probably still learning how to dive in a single tank so for most people it would be rushing things and/or unnecessary to start with doubles with your level of experience.
Though, I am not sure why you are wanting to learn how to use doubles given your dive experience? As bamamedic indicated, you are probably still learning how to dive in a single tank so for most people it would be rushing things and/or unnecessary to start with doubles with your level of experience.
Black1, just hazarding a guess from your other posts . . . You don't have to take Fundies in doubles. I took it in a single tank (and it was a great experience that way). You get a rec pass, and can upgrade that at a later time by doing an evaluation dive with an instructor in doubles.
I'm with the other posters. Polish your skills and gain experience with single tank diving, and transition to doubles when your skill and experience makes the kind of dives (staged decompression or overhead) that require doubles appropriate for you.
I'm with the other posters. Polish your skills and gain experience with single tank diving, and transition to doubles when your skill and experience makes the kind of dives (staged decompression or overhead) that require doubles appropriate for you.
Thank you all for the responses, I think my profile is misleading, i have been certified since 1984 and have dove quite alot since then, unfortunately as a younger man i never logged my dives i just wanted to dive and had no desire to move up in certification until now, now for the past few months i decided to log my dives in order to move into different areas of diving so that is why i logged those dives in my profile. That being said i still have a long way to go to realize my goals but im in no rush believe me, this is why i first wish to take the GUE Fundies course and later move into other areas. I only wanted to know if there was a way to learn doubles (down the road) through a particular course or instructors in my area for when the time comes. I never dive deeper than my tank capacity in cubic ft (120) and i wish to be able to do so in the future and i want to do this using doubles and a bit of helium, one thing at a time though, thanks all for your help and concern, that's why i love this forum, safe diving to you all.
Ahh . . . sorry, then. You can see why 0 - 24 dives on your profile would generate the answers you've gotten!
Talk to your Fundies instructor about this. I'm pretty sure there are some dive shops in South Florida that are DIR-minded, and he may be able to refer you to one of them. They would be highly likely to have somebody who would either be willing to mentor you through setting up and learning basic use of doubles, or an instructor who would do a couple of dives with you for a fee, to do the same thing.
The big things with doubles are getting your weight distribution right, so you can trim out (and be aware that a head-up position in the water may actually mean that you are head-heavy in weight distribution!), and learning to manipulate your valves. None of it is rocket science, but it does help to have some advice.
Talk to your Fundies instructor about this. I'm pretty sure there are some dive shops in South Florida that are DIR-minded, and he may be able to refer you to one of them. They would be highly likely to have somebody who would either be willing to mentor you through setting up and learning basic use of doubles, or an instructor who would do a couple of dives with you for a fee, to do the same thing.
The big things with doubles are getting your weight distribution right, so you can trim out (and be aware that a head-up position in the water may actually mean that you are head-heavy in weight distribution!), and learning to manipulate your valves. None of it is rocket science, but it does help to have some advice.
halocline
Contributor
I'm somewhat in a similar position in that I want to get really comfortable with doubles before taking cavern and intro to cave this summer. (hopefully!) So, I found a pair of steel 72s, bought bands and a manifold, and now I just use those instead of a single tank for my local dives, very few of which are deeper than 25 ft. I use them for assisting with OW classes, volunteering in the local protected spring, just normal diving where a single tank would work fine. Every week I get better at maneuvering in them and refine buoyancy control at 10-20 ft. It's been fun and great practice. Actually, once you get your weight distribution and trim sorted out, there's a stability with doubles that's pretty nice; the mass of the tanks seems to make motionless hovering easier for me.
Anyhow, if you're an experienced diver and comfortable with the idea, I'd just put together a set of either LP72s, LP85s, or AL80s, (or even the new AL72s) and have some fun. As far as valve drills and other exercises go, I'm sure you can get some coaching with those in your class. As long as you can reach your valves (easy) and stay in dive situations that are not more challenging than what you would do in your single tank, I'm sure you'll be fine.
I mentioned those particular tanks because they are either neutral or positive when empty, and so you don't need to be so worried about redundant buoyancy; you can easily swim any of those rigs to the surface.
Anyhow, if you're an experienced diver and comfortable with the idea, I'd just put together a set of either LP72s, LP85s, or AL80s, (or even the new AL72s) and have some fun. As far as valve drills and other exercises go, I'm sure you can get some coaching with those in your class. As long as you can reach your valves (easy) and stay in dive situations that are not more challenging than what you would do in your single tank, I'm sure you'll be fine.
I mentioned those particular tanks because they are either neutral or positive when empty, and so you don't need to be so worried about redundant buoyancy; you can easily swim any of those rigs to the surface.
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