How long should the ow cert take?

[rstofer]

I believe nereas is right on the mark. The longer duration, coupled with outside study, will produce a better diver.

But I think it requires serious interest on the part of the student to actually do the outside study. Read everything that's available, truly take the time to learn the material. Come to class prepared. Know the material that has been previously presented and ask questions that show real insight. You know, like the 'ringer' in the Physics classs. The guy that just 'eats it up'!

It's amazing to me that "The New Science of Skin and Scuba Diving" has better material in the 1968 edition than anything I have seen in any current training materials. Sure, some of the numbers have changed - ascent rate among others. But this book has more information in one place than a new diver can get anywhere else. I forget who mentioned the title but THANKS! FWIW, there is a method of mask clearing that isn't even taught today. That alone is worth the $2 the book cost on Alibris.

This book would be a perfect example of outside reading. It presents more material and in greater depth than any OW text. Having this information as a frame of reference can't help but produce a better student and a better diver.

Here are some others:

"SCUBA Safe and Simple" by John Reseck, JR is an excellent introduction $2 on Alibris

"Sport Diving The British Sub-Aqua Club Diving Manual" lays out a complete training program 1986 edition $2 on Alibris BSAC divers just have to be among the best trained!

"Scuba Life Saving" by Albert Piece is a very complete rescue text Also $2 on Alibris

"Scuba Diving in Safety and Health" by Chrstopher Dueker, MD is a very serious text on diving. Pretty pricey at $3 on Alibris

So, for less than $20 including shipping, a student could have a very serious library about SCUBA diving. Reading and understanding the material would be even better.

With the longer duration class there is more time to do outside research between sessions. So, yes, I think that will result in a better diver.

But it would be an exceptional student that took this much interest in something portrayed to be as simple as diving. Heck, we can crank out a diver in two evening classes and two weekends! Twelve hours of class/pool and they're ready for the ocean! Cool...

It's up to the student to decide which kind of diver they want to be.

Richard

 

[ScubaSteve]

I believe nereas is right on the mark. The longer duration, coupled with outside study, will produce a better diver.

This I wholly agree with. It is the implication that otherwise it is imminent death that I take exception with.

I went to quote his original post in here but it has already been modified/edited to remove that part.....so we are all good.

 

[oreocookie]

fwiw, here's my completely unexpert, student opinion about why i took a longer course (once a week for 6 weeks). i'll admit however that i was perusing SB for about a year before I signed up for a course though:

-you get to prolong your enthusiam: seriously, and this can be especially true depending on location and time of year, you get to look forward to 6 or 8 or whatever sessions. Sure, you'd rather look forward to "real" diving, but learning is part of the process so why not enjoy it instead of rushing?

-you get more time to absorb everything from the book: you don't have to read the whole book in one shot, and if you're one of those people that likes to read the material right before the quiz, you've got less to cram. or, you can read the whole book, then read each chapter again and do your reviews before the class session

-you can relax knowing that you don't have 2 days to learn how to not die: with multiple times in the pool, you know you don't have to get everything right the first time around. and trying something again 2 weeks later is more helpful than trying it again 2 hours later in finding out if you're really got a skill down

-with more seperate pool sessions, you're almost guaranteed to put your gear together several times. a 2 day course, you might only have to put it together twice and if you leave it assembled till you empty your tank/end of the session. Even after putting together their kit 5 times, some people still had problems at check out dives (confusing the instructors too: "how did you manage to get your tank strap like this?")

If you're not in a rush, don't rush it. that's my 2 cents

 

[rstofer]

All are valid reasons for a longer class.

However, proximity is an issue. If it is a long way to the shop, traffic is a nightmare or working hours jam up, the fewer sessions the better.

Either way, there's no reason not to be prepared. There's plenty of study material available, lot's of reading to do.

Richard

 

[NudeDiver]

OK, I'll be the contrarian here.

Longer is not always better. You lose some time to "catching back up" to where you left off. Consider - if the class is an hour, once a week, for 18 weeks vs 9 hours a day for 2 days. Those are two pretty good extremes. I think most of us will agree that the 2-day class would be pretty rough. However, the 18 week class isn't much better. How much do you really get done in that hour? Look at the time lost to just trying to remember what you learned in the hour a week ago. Obviously, between these two extremes is some magical middle ground, that represents the most efficiency, while allowing "digestion time". The location of that middle ground will vary with the individual.

FWIW, my OW class went for about 6 weeks or so, and I did it all locally. Trying to remember back - it went 2 or 3 times per week (I think it was class/pool/pool every week) and seemed fairly intense at the time. I don't think I would want an OW class that was any slower than that one.

My wife's OW class was 3 days and done on a trip. It was academics/pool on one day and then the OW dives on the next two days. The class is described as the following:

We offer many different schedules to accommodate our students. Our most popular class starts every Friday and finishes on Sunday.The first day begins at South Beach Divers on Friday at 8am with the pool session. We use the Flamingo Resorts' Swimming Pool just a few minutes from the shop. All of the basics of scuba are learnt and mastered in the pool before you progress to the ocean. The pool session finishes around 2pm and then we break for lunch. The rest of the afternoon is spent reviewing your knowledge reviews and then we give you four simple quizzes and then the final exam.

That was quite a bit faster than I would have liked for her, but it fit our schedule. That's an important point too. You have work within the realities of whatever your situation is.


On a somewhat related point - after I did my 4 OW dives, I was fortunate enough to be able to make 50 dives over a course of about 18 days. That's a fairly intense amount of diving for that period of time - esp. for someone who just completed the OW class. I thought it was a good way to go - I could see noticeable improvement from dive to dive and really feel progress. Now, consider if I had taken, oh, say 3 years to make those 50 dives. Or even 2 years. With the much longer period of time between dives, the "instant feedback effect" from the 18-day schedule would be gone. I'd lose a lot of time and I don't think that, after 50 dives, I would have attained the same level of skill that I attained over the 18-day schedule. So, as this example illustrates, there is something to be said for an intense level of training too (look at various military training, for example).

 

[Walter]

How much do you really get done in that hour?

Excellent point. In my opinion, sessions should last 2 - 4 hours. Less than 2 hours and you don't get much accomplished, more than 4 hours and people are getting tired and not retaining much. Meeting once per week is OK, but two or three times per week is much better. It gives the student time to think about the lesson (even if only subconsciously) without giving them time to forget the lessons. A class will ideally be finished in 3 or 4 weeks. Classes should have a minimum of 16 hours in the pool.

 

[Rhenry]

The real question here is how long you will it take for you to pick up the required material. The second question is how long is your life worth? The “certification” is only as good as the person behind it, in other words you. I would take my time, it is much better and healthier to make small mistakes early on and fix them. Once you in “over your head” and make a mistake your dead, that is what I think about ever time I dive. We have to minimize the risks and dive within our limitations, just like driving a car, riding a bike or anything else. Take the time you need to learn the material and the skills; it will pay off huge dividends latter on.
Just a thought from another perspective of life.

 

[whodunit68]

I think it's been pointed out that you asked this question in another forum. Maybe even more than once. Maybe it's been answered for other people in different threads. Frankly, if it bothered me that much, I wouldn't reply to the question. STRONGLY agreed that you should poke around and search. It says to me one of two things: 1) you didn't take the time to slow down and look around (I'm very guilty of this type of behavior in some ways - very impulsive) or 2) that you did look around and didn't really find the answer you wanted. If #1 is right, this could be dangerous for you. If it's #2, well, I don't want to squash your excitement. This stuff is a blast.

I can't tell you whether the "short" class or the "long" class is better. Frankly, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. I'll be happy to discuss with you offline if you have questions. Pick one and do it. Either way, you can be diving soon.

Speaking of impulsive, I decided while on holiday in the Cook Islands that I'd try diving. After diving once, I decided I wanted to be certified. So, over the next 2 1/2 days, I became what PADI calls open water certified. I DO NOT recommend this. I paid for it in learning/mistakes over the next few months. Thankfully, I'm still alive.

I don't want to lose sight of the fact that you said you're not doing this until March. That's 3 months away! All that learning and reading and so on that are being recommended to you are very valuable and useful tools in your beginning scuba education. START NOW. Keep doing what you're doing in pursuing this incredible "activity." Read, talk to people, hang out with divemasters/instructors and ask questions as much as they'll let you. You'll start to learn the terminology, the importance of safety, and, most importantly, how smart you must be about your decisions. I think some folks here have made some excellent points about your question...one mistake and you're dead. However, those mistakes are, for the most part, increasingly easy to prevent with some good planning and proper education.
Look, the bottom line is what you're most comfortable with and how serious you are about diving safely and enjoying it. If you're serious, you'll have these materials half read by the time you see my response.

It's about safety first. Remember one very important thing - the one thing that you're making a decision about here is your life.

 

[mnscuber]

...you know that you can't build a skyscraper on a flimsy foundation ...

you can try