maximun depth for PADI OW cert

[diverrick]

My wife got her OW cert last year, and she had dove some before that on different "explore SCUBA trips. To date she has about 10 dives.
I have been certified for years, (diving, not mental), but my wife might disagree.
The problem is she says she cannot dive any deeper then 60 fsw MAX due to a restrictin of being OW certified only.
I asked her instructor when I saw him, how long she would need to be limited to that depth, and he replied, "until she gets her AOW"!! I was shocked by that answer. I went to 90 feet on my check out dive I think. (I could be wrong)
Now I know I had a different class when I got certified, but I have never heard of such restrictions. I figured it was a reccomendation, not a limit, but my wife insists it's a limit, and she won't break it for all the tea in China, which really limits my diving options with her. She is very comfortable in the water, and diving, so it's not fear.
Is there such a rule? or is this something the Inst. came up with on his own.

 

[Wendy]

check out dives at 90'? I believe (and I'm sure some instructors can chime in here) that ow check out dives are done in 30' of water and not to exceed 60' which is the recommended max depth ofr ow divers. AOW divers recommended max depth is 130'. My class exercises for AOW was at 100'.

 

[diverrick]

I could be wrong about the depth of my check out dive, It was probably after I got certified.
It was way back in 1976, and was YMCA, but I don't recall any mention about limiting the depth to 60 fsw. Heck, maybe I have been breaking a rule and never knew it.
I rarely dive any deeper than 60 anyway, but sometimes you need to go a bit deeper to get to the reef, or wreck. Like in GC most of the reefs are at 70-80 feet. I don't see why she couldn't go the extra depth as long as we don't bust the DCL's especially if she was with a DM or other more experienced divers. Escorted if you will. Could it be that this limit was a PADI thing, or maybe imposed as an industry standard since I got my c-card? I believe that when I took the class it was about diving safe, with the DC tables if needed, (always check). Just use some common sense about your depths. Please don't flame me
I was only curious about that rule.

 

[MechDiver]

The 60' depth is a reccomentation based on training levels. There are no rules that can be enforced by PADI or anyone else beyond using common sense. If your wife doesn't want to go past 60', it is dangerous, among other things, to attempt to force her into it. There is also nothing preventing her from exceeding that depth, hopefully with adequate supervision.

MD

 

[TCDiver1]

However, they recommend you dive no deeper than your experience level will safely allow. Further, they recommend 60' max for OW certified divers, 100' max for AOW certified divers and 130' max for deep diver trained divers.

Those are only loose recommendations since 60' in clear tropical water is much different than 60' in cold. low vis water.

Judgement of how deep you dive is left up to your own common sense once you are certified.

 

[divelocker2]

There are tons of 3 and 4 letter identifiers out there for U.S. Certifications (12 that I can think of right now in the states, 20+ worldwide). Most are now adhering to the WRSTC for procedures, limits, student/instructor ratios, etc. Most of these will tell instructors that for the 4 required "scuba" dives, the first 2 should not go any deeper than 40' and the last 2 no deeper than 60'. Upon completion of the OW cert, the diver is restricted to the 60' depth until they've received further training and experience (very vague after cert training). Many of my students have come back from the warm water referrals stating they have done dives after the cert class to almost 100'. However, if you are in the areas such as New England, Seattle/Vancouver, etc. the 60' depth is much different than the Caribbean, Hawaii waters at 60'. The "advanced" class is very debatable. Most charter boats in New England will not let anyone on board without their advanced Cards if that dive is going to 100'+. Even further, some boats up here will require redundancy of air/gas. It's best to have that certification and training, but not for all dives in all situations. I would require at least AOW for litigation/legal reasons for dives here in New England.

 

[Aeolus]

Most of my diving is done in foreign countries. There does not seem to be ANY limitation of depth there. Complete newbies, even those with the ink still wet on their c-cards were allowed to dive to 100 FSW+. I do not think that this is a good practice by any stretch, but that seems to be the way things are done elsewhere. I believe that the recommendations are followed much more stringently here due to the law suit abuse.

:huh:

 

[diverrick]

Well you guys are hitting all around what I was looking into getting my AOW for in the first place.
I started out snorkeling with a search and rescue outfit, then into SCUBA, with them. I dove for bodies, and for bugs mostly, with some abs added as a sidebar. most of my dives were blackwater, and the search pattern decided the depth, after consulting the dive tables that is. After a number of years out of diving, I slowly got back into diving. I have now been diving in most of the spots we all wish we could live (warm water) (guess it's an old age thing) and am now thinking about going back to some more advanced stuff, but..... The logs are l had are long gone, and the experience cannot be proven. I want the AOW to be able to dive with dive operators who require it. even though I dive fairly regularly, I have noticed that you need the AOW for some outfits just to be able to hold a converstion. I kinda feel it would be a combination brush up class and a pay for a cert kinda class. but as I am usually am on a budget,I have to think hard about spending that kinda money on somthing I have already accomplished just to get the cert. I guess I always could consider it a expensive brush up class.