NAUI rules about open water course and Bp/wing and long hose

[RJP]

OP said nothing to the "PADI says you must have...." being what the instructor said.

Well, actually...

The padi course my wife took told her she could not use a long hose and backup under chin. the bpw was no problem but the reg configuration was a no no....

If you want to split hairs, we would need a transcript of exactly what the instructor told her:

The post above is written in a way that pretty clearly indicates she was told "It's not allowed in a PADI course" which is different than "I don't teach it that way."

 

[tomfcrist]

If you want to split hairs, we would need a transcript of exactly what the instructor told her:

The post above is written in a way that pretty clearly indicates she was told "It's not allowed in a PADI course" which is different than "I don't teach it that way."

I think the OP's statement could be taken either way. For those of us that have a clue what the standards and restrictions are in each agency, it is obviously an instructor requirement....for the newer diver who does not have any real knowledge of such things, they may think its an agency standard preventing the use of such equipment.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Haven't looked into this for a few years, as I no longer teach OW ... but last time I checked, NAUI's requirement was that the students and instructor must be wearing compatible equipment. That means if the students are using a long-hose, primary donate configuration, the instructor must also be ... which makes sense for demonstration purposes.

BP/W is a non-issue ... it's just a BCD, after all ... the minor differences in doff/don techniques can be easily accommodated by an instructor who knows what he's doing.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tomfcrist]

Haven't looked into this for a few years, as I no longer teach OW ... but last time I checked, NAUI's requirement was that the students and instructor must be wearing compatible equipment. That means if the students are using a long-hose, primary donate configuration, the instructor must also be ... which makes sense for demonstration purposes.

BP/W is a non-issue ... it's just a BCD, after all ... the minor differences in doff/don techniques can be easily accommodated by an instructor who knows what he's doing.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob the instructor/student must be similarly equipped, but that does not mean hose configuration must be the same. It more or less implies that if its an OC scuba class, the instructor shouldn't be diving a Meg.

Just to illustrate that point, lets assume you are the instructor and you wear a poodle jacket with a standard regulator setup(4 hoses: SPG, Inflator, Primary, Secondary) and you have a student that just bought all their own gear and wants to learn how to dive in THEIR gear(quite reasonable if you ask me). Now lets assume the student bought a back inflate BCD with an Air II, single regulator and wireless AI Computer. Would that be within the standards to teach? Absolutely. If it wasn't, every instructor would need $30,000 worth of dive gear just to keep up with all the cooky crap everyone buys these days.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

To a degree ... but you must be able to demonstrate the skill you want the student to learn. Reg recovery is a fundamental OW skill. How you do it is equipment-dependent. It's kinda difficult to demonstrate if you're in a reg config that uses primary donate and they're in one that uses secondary donate ... or vice versa. The techniques are different.

This isn't a controversial subject at all, even though it comes up from time to time. Back in 2004 when I started teaching I had a long discussion with my regional NAUI rep about it, disagreed with what he told me about not being within standards to use a BP/W and long hose, and took the conversation to NAUI HQ. What I'm saying is exactly what they told me back then ... that as long as you can demonstrate the skills properly, it's allowed.

But that goes a bit wide of the original question ... the OP wanted to know if there were any directives against using BP/W with long hose for OW class. The simple answer is no.

I get your point, but it's very rare that an OW student purchases all their own equipment before beginning an OW class. In those rare cases where they do, it's incumbent on the instructor to train them the basic skills as they apply to their gear. That means wearing gear that's similar enough that you can demonstrate the techniques they should be using.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[tomfcrist]

I try to expose students to a wide variety of gear configurations throughout the course. When they are learning reg recoveries I am usually in a single tank standard 4 hose rig....same with air sharing. I tend to expose them to long hose configurations in the pool(later sessions) and generally dive in doubles when we are in OW. The reality is that its better to be exposed to it and have the configurations explained during the course than be surprised by it when they have to buddy up with someone who is wearing a "funny looking" rig.

Its just how I teach...I think we are on the same page as far as demonstrating skills. We all just do it a bit differently.