Need Advice/Intervention

[g1138]

I need advice on something.
Recently my dad has decided to get into scuba.
It'll be a few weeks before he has his open water certification. Here's the problem.
In the beginning (Feb '10) when I was getting started and buying all my gear (with my dad's money) he made the comment: "oh now I can borrow your gear to scrub our pool with."
I tried to convince him it was a bad idea, both because I didn't want him using my gear (selfish of me I know) and also because I was kinda annoyed that he thought he could bypass the whole certification process. Needless to say the LDS told him he wouldn't get airfills unless he was certified, and they also warned him of barotrauma if you were to hold your breath and surface.

He still mentions it ever once in a while now that he's taking classes. When I tell him it's a bad idea his only defense is (quote for quote): "Oh I'm a good swimmer, I won't hold my breath."

Just tonight however, he brought back a full scuba set from his pool session, and came to me talking about how he would dive in our pool to scrub it all clean. Once again I had to tell him it was a bad idea. I asked him how much air he had left and he told me "about 1700[psi]" ( I think the tank's a Steel 80). I asked him if he had to use the exact gear and tank for the next pool session and he said yes.

Basically he has no weightbelt, only has SWIM fins, an old 80's BC and reg set with gauges (which even HE doesn't have much confidence in). And to top it all off he doesn't know what a CESA is, or even the ins and outs of his gear.
I can't get through to him that diving uncertified w/o and instructor is a bad idea.

The LDS he's going with is an oddball as well. It's literally a one man shop in Berkeley, CA which doesn't stock much gear, and has really outdated rental equipment. The guy running it is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable but his business ethics really take on a more neighborly approach as opposed to an actual business for profit.

So overall in a nutshell I'm just asking how would you convince my dad that what he's implying to do (dive uncertified to scrub an 8ft pool) is something he should not do.
Thanks in advance.

Edit: I realize this is a little vague, so I'll post a few more details below

 

[Dominantly]

So he survived his pool session with that gear? They gave him the tank to take home, vice taking it back to get a fresh fill? Is he familiar with how much bottom time he has at 8' for a NDL dive? I agree he should really see if he can get the instructor to the house for the pool dive (if they both fit of course) as you never know what could happen.

But seriously, the hazard I see here is a weighted newbie(but you said he has no weight) that's unfamiliar with the gear. In the event they run out of air and cannot figure out how to remove the weight, or inflate their BCD, they could be stuck at the bottom (assuming they couldn't kick either). True a man at 6' in an 8ft pool only has two feet of water above their head, it's still there and plenty enough to drown you.

If it were me, and my dad had been through a pool day and knew the gear, I would just chuckle and not say a word. I would also sit there with a chair and lemonade to watch over the event. Better yet I might just lend a hand to dear ol pops.

 

[Aerosynth]

Is he SERIOUS, or is he joking? I only ask because my father asked something similar after I was certified: "Now that you've bought all that expensive gear you can clean the deep end of the pool." (He was joking.)

But I am a little unclear as to his training status. Is he in an OW class now? If so, he should know about equalizing, NDL, and holding his breath well enough to stay safe in an 8-foot pool (with you as his dive buddy, of course).

How would you log that one, anyway?

LOCATION: Backyard pool.
ACTIVITIES: Scrubbing all the crap off with my dad.

 

[g1138]

Continued:
So far my dad's only had 2 pool sessions.
Even so however, I do not believe he knows how to use the gear fully.
He continually asks me questions such as how an air dump works or when to use the rear air dump VS you're inflator. Questions I believe should have been asked or covered in class.

When I asked to see his regulator set, he pointed out to me how his depth gauge is filled with a fluid and a small bubble. He stated he wasn't sure if it was working.
I then had to ask him if he looked at it at all during his pool session and he said no, that it wasn't covered in class yet. I also asked him if he brought it up with his instructor, and he also said no.

I just feel like he's just sitting in class and going through the motions, and coming back home to me to give answers all his questions.

I'm sorry if this is turning into a rant, I'm just tired of constantly having to remind him that I'm not an instructor and that I only have less than a year of experience under my belt.

I'm just looking for a list or a few examples to discourage him from thinking that he dive in a pool on his own without a lot of knowledge or experience; and just because he "won't hold his breath".

If you think it's alright for him to do so then please enlighten me.

 

[g1138]

He's dead serious.
He's taking his basic OW class.
Like I said I told him it was a bad idea but I also told him that if he were to do it that he HAD to let me know so I could at least watch him.

 

[Aerosynth]

Here's my disclaimer: After my final OW certification dive, I had to keep my rental gear overnight and I TOTALLY played around with it in the pool and finished the tank down to 500 PSI before I returned it. LOL...

My two cents... whatever it's worth...

Tell him this: You have 1700 PSI left in your tank, if you play around in the pool and deplete all your air... how are you going to explain it to your instructor at your next pool session? Go for the embarrassment angle.

If he's dead set on doing it (and not joking) and you can't talk him out of it, go fill a couple tanks under your cert card and do it with him. That might actually be helpful, as you could do a little private tutoring with him before his next pool session.

 

[Aerosynth]

FWIW, I just put 8ft into my eRDPML. (LOL) - Your NDL will be 205 minutes with no safety stop required.

 

[Dominantly]

I could have swore there would be a safety stop at 3'

Now, that would be something to work towards, hovering in the 8ft pool at 3'.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Why don't you just scrub the damn pool for him? That would solve all problems. It would also give him time to finish his course before the next grout cleaning is needed.
Is this gear his gear? Or is it shop stuff? If so, what were they doing sending him home with it and a tank of air? That is just begging for trouble.

 

[g1138]

Why don't you just scrub the damn pool for him? That would solve all problems. It would also give him time to finish his course before the next grout cleaning is needed.
Is this gear his gear? Or is it shop stuff? If so, what were they doing sending him home with it and a tank of air? That is just begging for trouble.

I would if the pool looked green, which it doesn't.
I think it's overkill, the pole brush does a great job imo.
PLUS we have a really efficient pool sweeper running around the bottom 2 hours a day.
The gear is the shops btw.