Two Day Certification Course (PADI) ?

[hambleto]

gedunk once bubbled...


I know of people/LDS selling the PADI Scuba Diver course in a one weekend format but none selling the full OW course in a one weekend format. I don't teach the Scuba Diver course but you could get through that material in one weekend if you wanted to.

I have seen several places in the orlando, FL that offer the full OW course in two days. I have also spoken to severl instructors that do private classes that offer two day courses. (one said he would go as far as cover Nitrox in two days, and throw in a snorkling with Manatees while we were at it, that down right scares me!) One dive shop in Crystal Springs told me that I could have my OW, AOW, and Nitrox in 4 days. Needless to say, that worries me quite alot.

One a side note, this are not all PADI classes. There were also a couple of NAUI instructors that are offering the same thing.

 

[dagodiver]

jviehe once bubbled...
I'm all for it. Basic OW is getting easier and easier. Especially with a lot of charters offering DM led dives. A 2 day course limited to say 4 divers, and maybe a limited cert, say to 60ft max, could get people in the water faster. Diving is about recreation, and its not rocket science. You dont even have to learn tables anymore, with computers being so efficient and dependable. You could even charge more.

Is junk all you wright, I think you should know
why your computer is telling you what it is telling you...

 

[jviehe]

Do you double check your calculator with long hand division? There is no proof to show that dive computers en masse are calculating incorrectly. Go back to your slide rule, have fun. The march of technology will continue.

 

[dagodiver]

My point is that people like you do know what a dive table is
but alot of newbies have no idea, and i think thats wrong..

my caculator wont kill me if its wrong...

I dive with a NiTek3 and He for backup but still
write a palm based deco proflile on my wrist slate...

incase all else fails, your brain has to be your backup.

 

[Lead_carrier]

MechDiver once bubbled...


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Karl_in_Calif once bubbled...

Now the question arises, can you teach the minimum structured training module in a single weekend to a private pair? Will they learn enough in one weekend to be safe in the open water?


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No
No

Mech, I am assuming this is an opinion. Do I teach the weekend course? Occasionally. Does everyone know it will be fast paced, they better have their study and homework done and be ready for the water work? Yes. Will I NOT pass them if they do not meet all standards? Absolutely.

Everyone knows what they are getting into before the course starts. Plus I actually get more pool time on weekend courses than I do If I'm doing the full 4 week course. The weekend course definitely isn't for everyone but a lot of people are very capable of handling it and excelling at it. Others don't belong in scuba gear regardless of how long they take the course.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

 

[DiverBuoy]

MHK once bubbled...


Ben,

This is how I answer that type of questions to my students. Ask yourself this question " If you wanted to learn to play golf, would you go to the golf pro that would teach you the fastest?".. "If you wanted to be a black belt in Karate, would you go to the instructor that would promise it in a few weeks, or the instructor that would make you earn it?"..

You get my point, in this sport there are instructors/agencies that will do as little as possible and there are instructors/agencies that will go far above the minimum.

So if you wouldn't accept a " 2 day" golf class, why do it in a sport where you could easily die absent solid training?? The choice is yours..

Later

Bravo Mike. Agreed.

Bottom line here is that your training has only begun after 2 days. Despite what the card says on it, you wouldn't be preparred for squat. You would be best off planning another 10 dives afterwards with a professional - even if those dives were generally for fun IN THE AREA WHERE YOU PLANNED TO KEEP DIVING. I've met some amazing people in my travels, folks who may never have dove in their life - the entire thing just clicks for these people. If you are a fish out of water, have spent a couple weeks reading the manual and meditating on it's content, discussing and talking scuba with folks, you may be able to demonstrate competence in the few basic skills you have to learn for certification, but you'd have really no experience and it's the experience that will truly save your life. So I repeat if you take a course like this given these parameters you wouldn't be preparred for squat.

 

[rab]

I used the CD-ROM course materials for my OW training. At the time that I signed up I did not realize that there was a course structured for those using the CD that basically cut out the classroom time. All the video and slide material is contained in the CD-ROM (and a bit more I think).

Study on your own, do the Knowledge Reviews, take the in-person tests, start the confined water dives.

That's it until you go for the open water dives.

I don't know how many days the pool work is spaced over because I did the full 5wks @ 1night/wk. I don't have any doubt that I would have done perfectly fine in an accelerated course format. (I'd learned snorkeling techniques 20yrs earlier in an "advanced lifesaving" class so the mask and snorkel clearing were quite familiar.)

For anyone who is comfortable with (1) learning on their own and (2) comfortable in the water (and I me "in" as in "UNDER", not just wading/floating), the shortened timeframe shouldn't be an issue.

-Rob

 

[MechDiver]

Lead_carrier once bubbled...


Mech, I am assuming this is an opinion. Do I teach the weekend course? Occasionally. Does everyone know it will be fast paced, they better have their study and homework done and be ready for the water work? Yes. Will I NOT pass them if they do not meet all standards? Absolutely.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Having been in many OW classes I have seen very, very few people who would be qualified to dive safely after a weekend course. Most of the ones being let out of regular classes can't dive for crap. Yes, that is my opinion.

There are always exceptions to the rules, and I'm glad that is working for you. I have not seen that in my experience either as a DM or a diver.

MD

 

[hambleto]

I agree that a card does not constitue a good diver. However, I am curious as to why a class taking several weeks versus one taking serveral days is that different? What I mean is that the amount of water time, seems to be the same. You HAVE to make the same amount of training dives, the same skills, and the same amount of OW dives and skills. The amount of classroom time is what seems to be different.

It would seem to me, that no matter what, you should get alot of time practicing and diving with experienced divers. Only time, practice, and continuing education will make you a better diver.

 

[Walter]

Interesting discussion.

With a quick and dirty course, students don't get enough practice setting up and breaking down gear (not that they do in 5 modules either) and they have no time to move learned skills from short term to long term memory. Even if they do learn all the skills & material (not something I'm willing to conceed) they will not retain what they've learned.

OTOH, there's not all that much difference in a 2 day PADI class and any other PADI class that follows minimum standards.

hambleto,

If a NAUI instructor is offering such a course, he is either cutting corners drastically or violating standards (or both) as NAUI standards limits training to 8 hours per day.

DB,

I'm pleasantly surprised at your attitude and opinion.