PADI specialties and money

[in_cavediver]

I think you can't generalize on this topic. My LDS charges next to nothing for Boat Diver certification - about a nickle more than the charter itself perhaps - because they think it IS important if you are going to dive here in NJ to know the ins and outs of our specific type of boat diving.

Even if you've done a thousand boat dives on vacation, the first time you set fin on a "NJ Dive Boat" you're in a whole different world. Maybe not different than NC or Great Lakes or something, but for sure a whole lot different than Red Sail in the Cayman Islands or some such.

My LDS runs the Boat Diver cert around specifics of the boats actually running here off NJ - exactly what gear to bring and not, exactly where to put your stuff and not, exactly how to enter/exit and not, exactly how to config gear and not, exactly what to do on THIS boat vs THAT boat, right down to exactly what fish are tasty and not! etc, etc, etc.

Pooh-pooh the specialty overall if you want, but like everything else, the value is not in the card, it's about the instructor and the specifics of the course itself. I can assure you that if I had not done it with my LDS I would not have been adequately prepared for NJ boat diving, would have screwed stuff up, would have pissed people off on the boat, would have not been configured properly, would not have had a good time, would not have come back, and ultimately would not have become a NJ diver.

So it was good for me, and I suppose several thousands of dollars of gear later it was a good idea for the LDS.

OK, I haven't done a lot of boat diving (all in the great lakes) but I find some of this a bit of an overstatement. It took me all of 5 minutes to discuss with the DM/captian the who what where when and hows. If a shop wants to wrap that up into a $15 course with a card, more power to them. My contention is that SHOP is needing the orientation for their boats and PADI is getting the free $$$$ from the materials and PIC.
(minus the dive shop markup on books)

Barry said it best. Listen carefully to the captain, ask questions if you don't know and your set. End of Online Boat Diver specialty. Next week, its the INTERNET diver specialy, including detailed instructions for logging internet dives.........

 

[The Horn]

I fail to see the point of spending any more $$$ on instruction beyond rescue unless you want to work in the industry. I'm stopping at Advanced. If for some reason I want to go more in decompression thaen I'll persue things further. Its a lot of cash spent where practice would be wiser.

 

[plot]

I fail to see the point of spending any more $$$ on instruction beyond rescue unless you want to work in the industry. I'm stopping at Advanced. If for some reason I want to go more in decompression thaen I'll persue things further. Its a lot of cash spent where practice would be wiser.

Technical diving if you want to do caves, wrecks, etc... often require alot more training (nitrox, drysuit, cave certs, etc.), but even things like drysuit you'd probably be better off going and practicing instead of taking a class.

 

[RJP]

Technical diving if you want to do caves, wrecks, etc... often require alot more training (nitrox, drysuit, cave certs, etc.), but even things like drysuit you'd probably be better off going and practicing instead of taking a class.

I still can't figure out how that makes sense. I mean, I guess if you happen to figure out how to do something 100% correctly by happenstance and then practice it properly this approach could work.

 

[Thalassamania]

You're missing the $100 plus kickback that I'm told PADI gets on each and every insurance policy as a "finder's fee."

 

[in_cavediver]

I still can't figure out how that makes sense. I mean, I guess if you happen to figure out how to do something 100% correctly by happenstance and then practice it properly this approach could work.

Its actually pretty easy. Many things in diving (not all), can be very effectivley learned using a mentor process. Night Diving, Drysuits, Drift diving etc all can easily be learned using a mentor.

 

[ReefHound]

but even things like drysuit you'd probably be better off going and practicing instead of taking a class.

Taking a class and practicing on your own aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, the specialty class is just a learner's permit, a starting point so that you can know what to practice.

The value of a specialty class really depends on the instructor. Some will make it easy and just check you off if you're just looking for the card, the good ones will make you actually learn the material. For newer divers (let's say under 100 hours BT) just having a few hours time with a good instructor can be worth it.

 

[BarryNL]

Technical diving if you want to do caves, wrecks, etc... often require alot more training (nitrox, drysuit, cave certs, etc.), but even things like drysuit you'd probably be better off going and practicing instead of taking a class.

Considering PADI teach controlling your buoyancy solely with the drysuit, you're almost certainly better off going off and working it all out yourself.

 

[HowardE]

I would say that there is NOTHING in a PADI specialty course that you couldn't learn on your own... Unless you struggle through life with everything, and need help just walking down the street.

 

[Summer06]

Seems like a good spot to throw this in....


Three instructors and their students are on board a dive boat in the middle of the ocean— there's a NAUI instructor, a PADI instructor, and an SSI instructor. Everything is going fine, until the boat springs a leak, and starts to sink. The SSI instructor says to his students, "Okay... we're in the middle of the ocean, so we might as well do our deep dive." The NAUI instructor says to his students, "Okay... we might as well do our navigation dive, so let's get our compasses out and swim towards shore." The PADI instructor says to his students, "Okay... for $25 extra you guys get to do a wreck dive!"

Hilarious...you are too funny