Tidy equipment

[SubMariner]

Why or why do OW courses not teach basic equipment tidyness?

My brother is now getting his certification, his first OW dives were last Sunday. I want to watch from the beach.

The class was huge, 8 students, 1 instructor and 1 divemaster.

Naturally, all the students were in rental gear. Not one rig had a method of securing either the octo or the spg. They were flopping around, falling out, hitting the ground, dragging on the sand. People were trying to stuff hoses in pockets and the way the gauges were "secured" I doubt if any student ever read them.

Plus, their first dive was nothing more than sitting on the bottom for 20 minutes, not diving, no skills, no exploration. This means no fun and no skill increase. Their second dive, they didn't even descend, because visibility was too poor. Maybe had they not spent the morning on a skindive, optional in Padi, they could have gotten in two actual scuba dives.

What's weird, is he went through the same company I did, though different area, and I was taught all things things, and how important they all were.

Xanthro

Sorry, but this is definitely related to the Instructor h/h self, and nothing to do with "basic OW courses". Any decent Instructor will emphasize streamlining and/or keeping gear properly secured when diving.

And the thing about "sitting on the bottom for 20 minutes, not diving..." Wow. How boring is that? Yeesh... not sending THAT person any of MY students any time soon. :froggy:

 

[emtdan]

My OW course said nothing about dangling SPGs, and consoles. I learned it on my own, and learned that it helped my aero(hydro)dynamics. My instructor taught me little, I learned most of it alone through expierence.
Do you think that the quality of the course has decreased? Is there pressure to "just certify them and get them out the door, we already have their $$"?

 

[miketsp]

I don't think I've ever seen any instructor actually talk about danglies. I found it just came naturally once I bought my own equipment and saw the risks of it dragging across reefs and getting damaged or trapped and to cut down on drag and make sure things are where I expect them to be. So I invested in a few clips. Of course nowadays I'd give the more PC answer that I don't want my equipment damaging the reef. ( ).
On the other hand I have seen boat operators complaining about divers that rented gear and then bent the octopus hose in order to tuck it into the shoulder strap. "D***** PADI trained divers - no respect for other peoples gear!!". So somewhere out there, some PADI divers at least are being trained to tidy up their configuration.

 

[Xanthro]

My OW course said nothing about dangling SPGs, and consoles. I learned it on my own, and learned that it helped my aero(hydro)dynamics. My instructor taught me little, I learned most of it alone through expierence.
Do you think that the quality of the course has decreased? Is there pressure to "just certify them and get them out the door, we already have their $$"?

It has to be instructor related. I went through the same company, and they wouldn't even let me take the course without something to tie up the equipment. Before I was ever even in the pool, I knew all about streamlining your equipment.

In fact, since I did home study and only took the tests at the center, the ONLY real thing that was "academically" taught was how to streamline your equipment and the importance of it.

I would never recommend my brother's instructor, while I would highly recommend mine, and they both work for the same company.

 

[steve2281]

On a lot of gear used for students and rentals, the clips have a habit of disappearing. My first instructors made a good effort to keep students' octo/ect clipped off, but they couldn't hardly replace the clips for every class.

 

[Brandon]

I remember several boat dives on Maui where I would swim up to my fellow cattle boat diver pals, point at their dangly object, then secure it for them.

It happened about a dozen times... and in each case, the rental BCs had various octo/console securing devices.

I hate cattle boats. I think I'll go start a new thread...

-B.

 

[Xanthro]

On a lot of gear used for students and rentals, the clips have a habit of disappearing. My first instructors made a good effort to keep students' octo/ect clipped off, but they couldn't hardly replace the clips for every class.

I had to buy clips as part of my personal gear. Cost $5 or so. I promptly through them all away later for SS clips, but who cares. It was $5 and I learned they need to be cliped. I may have had a problem paying more than $5 per clip.

 

[Xanthro]

I remember several boat dives on Maui where I would swim up to my fellow cattle boat diver pals, point at their dangly object, then secure it for them.

It happened about a dozen times... and in each case, the rental BCs had various octo/console securing devices.

I hate cattle boats. I think I'll go start a new thread...

-B.

I love it when their big bullky gauge console dangels down and grabs my primary hose and starts yanking it out of my mouth. That's always good for a laugh. On when they bonk you in the head with it.

But cattle boats will be cattle boats. I actually only really have an issue when I try to help them with their equipment after they've hit me with it, and I get attitude.

I don't have enough dives to hate cattle boats yet. It's still sort of hard to upset me when I'm under water.

 

[miketsp]

I love it when their big bullky gauge console dangels down and grabs my primary hose and starts yanking it out of my mouth. That's always good for a laugh. On when they bonk you in the head with it.
..snip..

I quickly learned to stay away from the main group.

 

[voop]

Back when I learned to dive and got my first cert, I remember asking my instructor after the first pool-session if it wasn't a good idea to clip things in a bit. My reasoning was pragmatically "so I know where to find it when I need it".

His response? Anyone? Venture a guess? Go ahead....?

"Nahh, you do not want things clipped off anywhere. you want them free in the water so they'll be readilly available".

Now 10 years later, I take his example....and ensure that my students know the importance of "being tidy" before they hit the pool -- and so that they can get a good laugh out of this story.

On cattle-boats, I've grown to be oblivious to other divers. I wish they'd be more "tidy" (in every respect, btw), but I can't and won't force my point-of-view on other guests on a cattle-boat. They do their thing, I do mine. I'm there to socialize with the fishes anyways On a cattle-boat, I also consider every dive as a solo-dive, unless I've brought my own people along: I wouldn't trust most of the "untidies" we see on such boats to be anything but an additional complication, should I find myself the victim of an accident.

Sorry...I'll go join Fairbankdiver's thread somewhere else