East Coast Divers

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Hello,

Has anyone taken AOW with East Coast Divers out of Framingham?
Any recomendations, good or bad?
Thanks
Nick

 

[Soggy]

I was warned away from them....no "reasons" given, though.

Mass Divers is just down the road...you may want to consider them. They are a very respected shop around the area.

United Divers is in Somerville and is also quite respected.

 

[Arduous]

How far are you willing to travel ? North East Scuba in Chelmsford MA. is pretty good as well.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Hello,

Thanks for the replies. I was looking for a SSI course.

Thanks

 

[Soggy]

United Divers in Somerville and Burlington SCUBA in Burlington are both SSI shops.

 

[mer]

I had a really bad experience with East Coast Divers Brookline, but that was with sales; I never took a class from them. If anyone wants details, PM me. I'm still meaning to send a letter to the owner (who is based out of the Frammingham shop if I understand correctly).

I re-did my check out dives with United Divers Somerville and purchased most of my gear with them. Although I only had on-the-water contact with one of their instructors (who has since moved south) I would recommend them. I did feel that some of the people that passed the class shouldn't have, but that seems to be problem across the board. When I was going through purchasing my equipment through them, I worked a lot with Andrew. He was very knowledgeable and willing to chat.

Wherever you go, I recommend going into the shop and asking to speak with one of their instructors, or even better, the instructor of the class you're considering taking. You can usually make a pretty good judgement of the school by talking with the instructors. If they don't have the time (or the personality) to chat with you for a while, then steer clear. And of course, elict more advice from people who have taken more classes from that facilty. Scubaboard is an excellent place to find those people.

Hope this helps,
Mer

 

[PK]

I took my certification course with United Divers. I thought that the instructor I had was highly competent. He made sure everyone in the class was learning. BUT, that is one instructor. I'm not sure how the others are. The shop service seems OK but some people seem a little "out of it" and some people are great.

Andrew was really great but I think he is in Hawaii and I'm not sure if he's returning.

 

[mer]

PK once bubbled...
Andrew was really great but I think he is in Hawaii and I'm not sure if he's returning.

Bummer... I worked hard to build rapport with three people in that shop, and now ALL of them have left. Suck.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I'm sorry, but I happen to have first hand experience with East Coast Divers, Framingham, and they are a fine shop. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they have been in business for over twenty years. If anyone has had any problems with ECD, please PM me, I am very interested with any info you have about your issues with ECD. Just to let you know, I have been with them for three years, and we have a good staff with many instructors with alot of experience.

 

[terrence]

hello.

I have read all the posts and acutally disagree with all of them.

For the record, I am not affiliated with ECD nor any other shop. I have visited over 20 shops from RI to NH looking for "just the right one" that would spend the time I needed. 2 years ago, I went to EC - told them I wanted to become SCUBA certified but I had a problem - I didn't know how to swim (I'm 35 for the record). I did this with a bunch of other shops as well. Basically, the only two shops who didn't laugh and talk down to me were ECD and Cape Ann Divers. I got lessons at the local YMCA, learned to swim and signed up for my SSI Open Water with them. Mike Walls, now has his own shop in Hyannis - Dive Locker - was my instructor and he was nothing short of GREAT!!! he took plenty of time with me and other students who needed it. He would make you do drills a few times over to insure you got the concept.

I also have taken my Nitrox Cert with them and him in particular. I have purchased the VAST majority of my $4,000 of gear from them from Chuck in the ECD Framingham shop. He is very knowledgable and takes more than enough time with me. He has talked me out of spending, literally, $2000 for technical gear, when I am clearly not ready for that level yet.

I CANNOT SPEAK HIGHLY ENOUGH OF ECD AND WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYONE!!

If you are in the Southern MA area or Cape Cod, go to Mike Walls @ Dive Locker off the rotary in Hyannis. He's a good guy, very safety conscious and an excellent teacher.

I hope this post didn't come across to strong, but they have helped me fulfill a "life goal" so how could I not tell you about it. I would be more than willing to talk about it should you desire.

Just PM me.

- Terrence.