Cheapest OW Certs Possible, FL, Kids, Ideas?

[rob.mwpropane]

Hard to answer this. Rob seems to say he himself received crappy training, so it is not obvious what it is he passed on to his kids.

I received the bare minimum. Was it crappy? Idk, it seems to be the industry norm. I don't think it was worth what I paid, but I got a card. I went on to forget about cards and learn doubles and a drysuit on my own. I read as much as I can, I get in the quarry and go to 20' and practice until I'm cold or the tank is getting low.

I have some mentors / friends / jokers that I watch when we go diving. Diving with people much better than me helps a lot. I kind of wish @Eric Sedletzky would show up, I think he feels the same as I do. I'm not sure we need a lot of crappy instructions, but maybe better mentors.

 

[MrVegas]

Maybe try Stuart Scuba or one of the shops that teaches at Blue Heron Bridge. You might try posting in the Blue Heron Bridge trolls thread in the Florida section.

 

[KathyV]

@rob.mwpropane I'm not sure where you plan to stay in Florida (?) but Rainbow Reef Divers on Key Largo have a reputation for helping divers build a dive trip that will meet their needs and budget, including accommodations. You might reach out to them and let them give you a quote for the trip and instruction that you are envisioning, see the link below:

Scuba Diving Florida Keys | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, FL

 

[Johnoly]

Diving with people much better ..

This is tough to beat...........
https://www.groupon.com/deals/scuba-works-2-11?deal_option=81adb1a2-0c29-4f41-b819-71cb6716aae8

 

[KathyV]

And speaking of Key Largo, the Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park has a dive center. You could rent an RV and stay in their campground and that might help with the budget?

They advertise $485 OW class for 4 days including 4 reef dives; or $285 for 4 checkout dives.

They also have some snorkeling beaches like Cannon Beach that might be good locations for the younger kids to learn their skills.

John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park

 

[VikingDives]

I'm in a similar boat as the OP. I have 2 boys, the oldest one will be 10 on Dec 9. The second is 14 months behind him. My local SCUBA shop has classes for KIDS ONLY. No adults allowed. The classes are over 3 days and they have a set of classes each month. I am going to sign him up (the 10 year old) for either the Dec of Jan class. Cost is $355...

Kids Only Scuba Course | Littleton, CO | A-1 Scuba & Travel Aquatics Center

I've been picking up gear for all 3 of us over the past year. I am trying to "standardize" where possible so we all have the same gear. I have 3 Freedom plates and 4 G250V's, plus a bunch of MK10's and a few regular G250's. I have 1 AL80 tank, and looking to get a second so we can visit our local pool (Not a SCUBA pool, but a 13' rec pool). We will do this shortly after he takes the class. I want him to take the class shortly before we go to Mexico so it's still fresh in his mind. I still have a DVD from when I took the PADI OW course 10 years ago. It's 4 - 30 minute modules. I actually watched module 1 & 2 last night so I was familiar with the material before I have him watch it. I'll probably have him watch mod 1 & 2 this weekend.

Anyway, that's my plan...

Just a little bit of unsolicited advice. . . I know A-1 goes to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa (I don't know if they go elsewhere), but I've DM'ed and taught there for several years now. I've never seen a 10 or 11 year old get certified there the first time they go. They're too cold in the water, and they can't or won't do the skills. 12 year old's are probably 50% pass on their first try.

I personally don't teach younger than 13 for this reason (well, that and I don't think 10 is mature enough to dive), but if you are going to go this route, I'd strongly suggest taking them to warm water to do their open water dives.

I've seen way too many kids turned off from diving because of this. My youngest was almost one of them. it took him 8 months of tries to take off his mask there, even though he could do a full divemaster gear exchange in the pool.

 

[flyboy08]

Cheap,,children and diving should never be in the same sentence...WOW is right!

 

[scubadada]

I certified in Southern California in 1970. I used a rental wetsuit and was quite cold, shivering or near shivering after every dive. Fortunately, I was able to afford a Bayley custom 1/4 inch wet suit n 1972, complete with hood, gloves, and booties. This made all the difference in the world. I enjoyed 8 years of wonderful diving in So Cal and Catalina.

I have a pretty strong bias that your children's dive training should be in a relatively forgiving environment. Both my kids certified in Grand Cayman, very grateful we had the opportunity.,

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Cheap,,children and diving should never be in the same sentence...WOW is right!

I don't know why the word "cheap" rubs so many people the wrong way? I could use the term "least expensive", but I'd be looking for the same thing.

Is it because cheap is associated with crap? Like "that cheap piece of crap"? I'm curious if maybe I'm using it in the wrong context? Cheap may have a negative connotation that I never picked up on.

Option A, I spend the most I can afford on training and maybe take them on one very mild excursion while in FL after which we do some diving locally in a quarry back north. Most of which probably won't happen until June of next year when the water warms back up.

Option B I spend the least amount of money I can on training and maybe take them on one very mild excursion while in FL after which we do some diving locally in a quarry back north. Most of which probably won't happen until June of next year when the water warms back up.

I'm 36 years old, I do not have all the money in the world. There are 1000's of people who get certified every year with less than stellar instruction that are still alive to talk about it.....why am I so wrong in accepting responsibility for my own children and just looking for a card?

Should I just accept once they're done driving school there's no need to keep teaching them? Driving school (here in MD) is abysmal and so are most scuba classes. They teach the bare minimum and it's just a foot in the door with the skills done once. I'm just accepting this and planning on moving slow until they get the hang of it.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[ChuckP]

The word cheap is, well, it just implies frick it.. People here are passionate about diving safely. I think if you switched out and used the words "cost effective" it wouldn't sound so harsh.

I get what you're doing and I'm positive you aren't the first person that did shallow try dives with uncertified folks...... You gotta understand why a bunch of instructors wouldn't like that, and the better instructors aren't thinking that because of money, they don't want to see people get hurt.