Requirement to "remove and replace" scuba unit and weight system for dry suit cert.

[chrisch]

PADI Drysuit was the second course I took. To replace the BC at the surface you inflate it just enough to be positive then sit on the base of it and let the arms slide into the side openings. It is not difficult and certainly doesn't require physical strength. It makes you think (a lot) about having only enough weight to neutralise the suit.

For me it is such a long time ago I cannot honestly tell you if it is worthwhile. For me - at the time - it was. However, I have subsequently learned that using the suit for buoyancy is wrong (particularly for a membrane suit) and had to relearn that skill later on. (This will start a fight I am sorry to say). I think some training is a good idea and a formal course is one way to obtain this. I think the course will be as good/bad as the instructor. Some places (I am told) will not rent you a suit if you don't have the idiotic plastic card. But that's scuba - full of made up rules I got the course for free as I bought the suit from the centre that ran the training. I have always owned a drysuit and never needed to rent one.

I don't know whether the course offers good or bad value for money, or worthwhile experience, under the specific circumstances, but I would be concerned that a skill required by a training organisation is seen as a reason not to undertake the training. This suggests that the student thinks they are unable to complete that skill and trying to dodge doing it. Would you make the same "excuse" for not being able to clear a mask?

 

[Jack Hammer]

Not sure why it's required to remove and replace gear on the surface. It can be handy go know how to do though. I've made several dives where we had to don/doff gear on the surface.

 

[tursiops]

You definitely need to be able to get out to the drysuit, without help, at the surface. It is both a safety issue and the way you get back into a small boat. Getting into it at the surface may be convenient if you have a back or arm problem. How to do it - both directions - is one of the things you should learn in your class. Regardless of what the instructor says, control your buoyancy with your BC, and keep just enough air in the suit to prevent squeeze. At least for the PADI class, there is no standard that says you must control your buoyancy with the suit.

 

[Lee Coller]

When I drysuit dive off my dinghy I throw my gear in the water then jump in and put on my gear. It's much easier than struggling to get your gear on in a little inflatable.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I used to kayak dive in a drysuit.
I had a 7 mil neoprene drysuit (Teknodiver).
We would get fins on in the kayak then get in the water and roll on our weightbelts. Then pull the bc rig off the back of the kayak and put in on in the water. The easiest way I found was to put in on overhead in the water Mike Nelson style which dunks you for a second, but way easier than trying to put in on like a jacket. Upon returning we'd do everything in reverse no problem. I never gave it much thought that it was a very difficult skill because nobody ever told me at that time that it could be difficult, we just figured it out and did it. I did forget to hook up my suit lp hose a few times though, oops...when you start getting shrink wrapped going down and go to hit the inflator and nothing happens! A cold wetspot on your chest, awe SOB!!
As easy as a wetsuit? No, but certainly not impossibly difficult.
Did I ever take a drysuit course? No never. I dived with a group of vets at the time that would show you everything you needed to know.

 

[Peter Guy]

OP -- I think you've gotten the primary reason for being required to ditch the BCD when wearing a dry suit -- to get back into a small boat. Getting the BCD back on is hard and I, as an instructor, always believed that since you had a buddy, it was OK to let the buddy help "in a minimal manner."

Regarding the question of WHY one might want (or need) a Dry Suit Specialty Card -- here is one instance:

My wife and I were diving in SoCal (on a trip) when she ripped the neck seal on her dry suit. Our friend called the shop to see if they had a ladies small dry suit for rent -- they did -- we went to get it. Well, my wife, who at that point had several hundred dry suit dives and had done ALL of her classes dry, didn't have a dry suit card. They wouldn't rent to her.

OTOH, I had done my OW and AOW wet and then had gotten the Dry Suit Specialty. Guess what -- they rented ME a ladies small dry suit.

That is, quite frankly, the ONLY reason I can think of to get that Card.

 

[OkByMe]

OP -- I think you've gotten the primary reason for being required to ditch the BCD when wearing a dry suit -- to get back into a small boat. Getting the BCD back on is hard and I, as an instructor, always believed that since you had a buddy, it was OK to let the buddy help "in a minimal manner."

Regarding the question of WHY one might want (or need) a Dry Suit Specialty Card -- here is one instance:

My wife and I were diving in SoCal (on a trip) when she ripped the neck seal on her dry suit. Our friend called the shop to see if they had a ladies small dry suit for rent -- they did -- we went to get it. Well, my wife, who at that point had several hundred dry suit dives and had done ALL of her classes dry, didn't have a dry suit card. They wouldn't rent to her.

OTOH, I had done my OW and AOW wet and then had gotten the Dry Suit Specialty. Guess what -- they rented ME a ladies small dry suit.

That is, quite frankly, the ONLY reason I can think of to get that Card.

The best, unhurried way to improve your skill is to have some friends who do have the skills you can learn from. Not only is it more fun, but you are not on a schedule of events which get in the way and everyone can move at their comfort pace without all the under the breath mutterings. I often take the time to assist other divers with what I know about the problems they may be having, and conversely, they have assisted me.

NOT to change the subject, but I have often wondered why some dive ops have such rigid requirements to rent out their gear.

Is it to protect the gear from possible misuse or protect the diver from using something they have not documented a skill for, or is to protect themselves from a situation?. I can go to a gun range and rent any weapon I wish to "try on". I can go to the base shop and rent any ski or boot I wish to "try on". I can go to a marina and rent a 75 foot houseboat for me, my friends and family to try on". There are a multitude of other situations as well where you can go get stuff, that if mishandled, can get you killed... no questions asked. So is there is a prejudice in the dive industry toward self-learning?

 

[Marie13]

There's a local shop (not dris) that has a pool you rent time in when they're not using it for classes. OK for the winter when you want to get wet. They would not allow me to dive my own drysuit in their pool if I didn't show my drysuit card. I didn't fight it because I was diving with others and didn't have a wetsuit/swimsuit on me. That definitely made me go WTF.

 

[KevinNM]

There's a local shop (not dris) that has a pool you rent time in when they're not using it for classes. OK for the winter when you want to get wet. They would not allow me to dive my own drysuit in their pool if I didn't show my drysuit card. I didn't fight it because I was diving with others and didn't have a wetsuit/swimsuit on me. That definitely made me go WTF.

It's perfectly possible this a requirement of their insurance and not something they just randomly decided one day.

 

[Gareth J]

Two points.

1. Having some form of formal 'drysuit' training is beneficial. It gives a structure to the basics of drysuit diving. Ultimately, practical experience, is what you need. Nothing substitutes for in water practical dive time.

2. I can fully understand the request to see a drysuit qualification card prior to hiring a suit to an individual, although it is extremely irritating.
That said, my agency (BSAC) at one point proposed dropping 'drysuit qualification cards', on the basis that there was no requirement. Ultimately you can still apply for a drysuit card. Despite the fact that the vast majority of BSAC divers use drysuits, and have completed the drysuit course, very few UK divers ever apply for the card. (After all, we all own our own and dive in drysuits the majority of the time).
I do have an endorsement in my old qualification book. But I never carry the book, and would never think to carry a drysuit card if I had one.
On the few occasions in the uk when we (as a group) have needed a drysuit, one of us will just hand over an instructor card. I am not sure if this would suffice in the USA.

Gareth