Dive Logging For Dive Master Certification

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ScubaDoo83

Contributor
Messages
349
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84
Location
Covington, KY
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello all,

Next month I will be obtaining my Rescue diver certification and I'd like to get my Dive Master next year. When I began diving a couple of years ago I recorded my dives in my logbook like any new and excited diver, however that quickly wore off and I stopped doing it. Now I am hearing that to obtain my Dive Master I will need to show some serious proof of all of my dives including signatures from my buddy and/or Dive Master. I have roughly 70 dives completed but I did not log them because my computer has been keeping track of all of it for me. My question is this: Will my computer be proof enough of what I have accomplished or will I need to do a better job of logging in the future?
 
Ask your instructor.

In my experience it's more than enough, and I don't train with instructors that do not trust me, I just don't see the point. Skills are skills, and the lack of skill shows up pretty damn fast underwater.
 
Was it the shop where you'll do the course that said you need the 40 dives all signed and everything? Nobody even looked at my book (I had 158 then) when I signed up. I too have heard that computer print outs without signatures is usually fine--I would think a majority of divers go this route today. I doubt you'll have a problem as they probably want a steady flow of (good) new DMs to replace those who leave (and your money). If they really want 40 signatures I guess you'll have to find another shop, if possible.
 
does you computer store that many dives?...mine only stores ten...
 
if you're talking PADI - At time of certification, verify the candidate has:
• Logged at least 60 scuba dives including experience in night diving, deep diving and underwater navigation.

there is no requirement that your looged dives need to be signed.

as a prereq you need to log 40. Look up your old dives and wring them down in a "log" which for me can be anything. If you can download from the computer - even better.

If I don't know you and you bring me a computer for me to look through it will take a while to verify the 60 dives, and it won't easily indicate night, deep and nav. Make it easy on the instrcutor to look at something and "verify"
 
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The shop where I work does not require signatures, and a printout of a computer log is plenty good enough.

Different computers log different numbers of dives. You should upload yours to a computer ASAP. You can then keep uploading and have a complete record. If yours has recorded enough dives for you to start the program, print it out.

A log book can easily be faked. If I wanted to, I could supply you with a log of a fantastic number of dives I didn't do, all signed off by people who do not exist. How would you know it is all a fiction? In addition, some people with the required number of dives have achieved that number by doing the same very, very basic dive over and over again. Some people will even go to a basic, shallow dive site, jump in, stay a little while, jump out, jump in, stay a little while, jump out, jump in, stay a little while.... Some people refer to that practice as "tea bagging."

Many people have somehow managed to complete 100 dives without apparently learning anything about diving. The opposite can also be true. A couple of years ago I was diving with two friends in Mexico, and the place where we were diving had reefs so close that they did nothing but one-tank dives. One day the DM we had for our first dive was diving with us for the first time. After the dive, he said he noticed we were the only ones signed up for the next dive, and he wanted to know if it was OK to take us somewhere more befitting our abilities. We agreed readily. Unfortunately, another couple signed up in the interim, and they were so bad we could not dive that site as he had intended it. After the dive, he apologized, saying the couple had only about 25 dives, nothing like the vast experience the three of us had. I pointed to my two friends and told him I had just finished certifying them the day before. He had just witnessed their first two dives as certified OW divers.

Because of all that, the number of dives required is not all that meaningful, and most instructors I know consider it nothing more than a starting point, a box to tick off to meet a requirement. Few instructors get too hung up on it. It really doesn't matter for the course. What matters is that you be able to complete all the requirements while showing the the necessary level of skill. Some people get it easily; some people struggle.
 
No it was not the shop who told me that, just some guys on a liveaboard I did a week ago. Yes my computer will store years worth of dive data, speaking of which I need to go to Amazon right away and buy the IR receiver so I can do that before any more diving.

Cheers for the suggestions!

Edit: I just purchased the infrared receiver for my dive computer. Now I need to research what software is compatible.
 
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The shop where I work does not require signatures, and a printout of a computer log is plenty good enough.

Different computers log different numbers of dives. You should upload yours to a computer ASAP. You can then keep uploading and have a complete record. If yours has recorded enough dives for you to start the program, print it out.

A log book can easily be faked. If I wanted to, I could supply you with a log of a fantastic number of dives I didn't do, all signed off by people who do not exist. How would you know it is all a fiction? In addition, some people with the required number of dives have achieved that number by doing the same very, very basic dive over and over again. Some people will even go to a basic, shallow dive site, jump in, stay a little while, jump out, jump in, stay a little while, jump out, jump in, stay a little while.... Some people refer to that practice as "tea bagging."

Many people have somehow managed to complete 100 dives without apparently learning anything about diving. The opposite can also be true. A couple of years ago I was diving with two friends in Mexico, and the place where we were diving had reefs so close that they did nothing but one-tank dives. One day the DM we had for our first dive was diving with us for the first time. After the dive, he said he noticed we were the only ones signed up for the next dive, and he wanted to know if it was OK to take us somewhere more befitting our abilities. We agreed readily. Unfortunately, another couple signed up in the interim, and they were so bad we could not dive that site as he had intended it. After the dive, he apologized, saying the couple had only about 25 dives, nothing like the vast experience the three of us had. I pointed to my two friends and told him I had just finished certifying them the day before. He had just witnessed their first two dives as certified OW divers.

Because of all that, the number of dives required is not all that meaningful, and most instructors I know consider it nothing more than a starting point, a box to tick off to meet a requirement. Few instructors get too hung up on it. It really doesn't matter for the course. What matters is that you be able to complete all the requirements while showing the the necessary level of skill. Some people get it easily; some people struggle.

As you say I think it depends a lot on the instructor (as well as the student) what the diver looks like after their checkout dives.

Not being a pro but having been involved in training first aid (to a pretty high standard including extended skills), I would always take the certificate/experience as a minimum bar. Occasionally you would get "experienced" people who could pass the exam no problem but were useless in reality or the opposite where a new trainee could operate at a good level almost immediately. Both had certs but you quickly knew which to keep an eye on.

My first post OW cert dive was with someone that had AOW and about 40-50 dives as well as another pair of divers (as a loose 4) and his buoyancy control and trim were somewhat lacking whereas I felt able to maintain mine at least as well as the other two experienced divers (one was a DM).
 
No it was not the shop who told me that, just some guys on a liveaboard I did a week ago. Yes my computer will store years worth of dive data, speaking of which I need to go to Amazon right away and buy the IR receiver so I can do that before any more diving.

Cheers for the suggestions!

Edit: I just purchased the infrared receiver for my dive computer. Now I need to research what software is compatible.

I would see if Subsurface would work with your interface. The software is free and I have been using it and it does a good job of compiling your dive data. It worked perfect for my Suunto Zoop and my Petrel 2..
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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