Peak performance Buoyancy

[Anti-Hero]

I took PPB during my AOW - what a waste of time and money that was. It was likely my instructor that was the problem, but there was nothing peak or performance that I learned in the class. No weight checks, no ballast placement, no real practice or feedback. It was essentially "jump in and descend, start adding air so you don't hit the bottom. - GO!"

It was also the last PADI class I took. YMMV

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I took PPB during my AOW - what a waste of time and money that was.

It does sound like your class was a bit deficient, but I think the OP is asking about the PPB certification class, which, if I understand things correctly, is longer and more involved than the PPB "specialty" that is one of the many choices in the small components of the AOW certification.

OP correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[jeepguy]

I took the course with Jason at The Scuba Connection and got an awful lot out of it. .

I agree. My wife and I took the course in July with Jason's dad, George. I really believe that Team Scuba Connection is really passionate about proper bouyancy and seemed to tailor the course to our specific needs and concerns. Plus, it was just plain fun:cool2:
Tom

 

[a22shady]

It does sound like your class was a bit deficient, but I think the OP is asking about the PPB certification class, which, if I understand things correctly, is longer and more involved than the PPB "specialty" that is one of the many choices in the small components of the AOW certification.

OP correct me if I'm wrong.

Your correct talking about the actual specialty not the one dive quick brief AOW intro version. TSC's version which should be same everywhere consists of an academic session, pool session, and 2 OW dives.

 

[hypertech]

See if you can just buy some pool time with an instructor. Right after OW class before our Caribbean trip, that's what we did. I wasn't interested in a course or a card. I paid for a "Scuba Refresher" pool session. I had talked to the instructor ahead of time, and he said it was no problem to help us work on our bouyancy for an hour instead of doing the skills refresher stuff.

I also did a buoyancy dive in my AOW class. It was helpful. The instructor checked our BCD for how much air we were using. He observed our orientation and finning techniques. We came in, and we made some gear modifications and talked about what he observed. The next dive, we worked on what we talked about, and it was very useful - IMHO.

 

[TSandM]

I think you can teach a PPB class that's an enormous benefit to the student, including helping them understand how to assess correct weighting, balance their equipment, and use breath control for fine tuning. I also know you can teach a PPB class that's pretty worthless, because I took one.

 

[jepuskar]

Like most classes, Scuba or not, this all comes down to the instructor as the OP mentioned. If you get in the water with an instructor that is willing to spend time with you, as they should, and really work on your buoyancy/weighting, etc etc.. answering questions, trying different configurations... the class would be well worth it.

Could you grab an experienced diver and do the same...sure.
Could you read about it and practice on your own with a buddy of the same skillset... sure.

But with the right instructor, I think it would be worth the $$.

 

[Zen1300]

But with the right instructor, I think it would be worth the $$.

This becomes the difficult part. If you're completely new, you have no idea what a good instructor is.

After being around a bit, and finding Scubaboard you can talk to others. That may help weed out the bad instructors.

I also think there is a distinction between a bad instructor and an instructor that caters more to a specific learning style. While I think a good instructor can adapt, it's a learning experience for them as well, at least initially.

Word of mouth will help once you're meeting dive buddies, I guess.

 

[Blackwood]

Rather than take PPB, if you are interested in getting your buoyancy skills better, I would recommend taking GUE Primer or equivalent.

... or just dive a lot.

Figuring out buoyancy control takes time in the water.

Will a class help cut that time down? Maybe. But at the end of the day there's only one sure-fire way to learn to dive: diving.

I took PPB during my AOW - what a waste of time and money that was. It was likely my instructor that was the problem, but there was nothing peak or performance that I learned in the class. No weight checks, no ballast placement, no real practice or feedback. It was essentially "jump in and descend, start adding air so you don't hit the bottom. - GO!"

What, no swimming through hula hoops? You got taken for a ride.

 

[jepuskar]

This becomes the difficult part. If you're completely new, you have no idea what a good instructor is.

After being around a bit, and finding Scubaboard you can talk to others. That may help weed out the bad instructors.

I also think there is a distinction between a bad instructor and an instructor that caters more to a specific learning style. While I think a good instructor can adapt, it's a learning experience for them as well, at least initially.

Word of mouth will help once you're meeting dive buddies, I guess.

Nice points. Sitting down with your potential instructor and going over your expectations as a student should go a long way. A lot can be said for the instructor based on:

1) They are even willing to take the time to go over the course and your expectations.

2) The demeanor of the instructor. Do they act like you are wasting their time or seem genuinely interested in your expectations.


You are right though Zen, different learning styles/perceptions from other students does influence what they think of an instructor...so word of mouth is subjective. That's why talking to your instructor and feeling them out, seeing how they interact etc..can go along way.

Of course the person could totally BS you and then turn into a crap shoot in the water.