OVERVIEW AND QUALIFICATIONS

This course provides training in the use of dry suits to become familiar and comfortable with their thermal protection options, controls and buoyancy characteristics. Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are considered competent to engage in open water diving activities while using a dry suit, without supervision, provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.

Prerequisites

• Age. Minimum is 15 years by the water phase of the course. (Junior certification for ages 10-14 years is allowed. Talk to one of our instructors about Junior Certification.”)

• Certification/Experience/Knowledge. Current enrollment in a NAUI Instructor conducted course (e.g., Open Water Scuba Diver) or certification as a NAUI Open Water Scuba Diver or the equivalent is required. The instructor is to ensure adequate student knowledge and capability before any open water training and shall use skill or other evaluations to do so. One open water dive (which does not count toward the minimum number of dives required for the course) may be used as a screening and evaluation dive. This is not required when the student’s diving proficiencies are well known to the instructor.

REQUIREMENTS – ACADEMIC

• Students must complete any NAUI eLearning material before the water phase of the class.

REQUIREMENTS – SKILLS

• Scuba Diving (confined and open water).

  • Demonstrate the use of suit controls.

  • Recover from an inverted position while buoyant.

  • Recover from simulated stuck suit valves.

  • Demonstrate a procedure to compensate for a jettisoned weight system.

  • Select a compatible buoyancy compensator. Maintain a minimum volume of air in the suit to prevent suit squeeze.

SOS-ER Requirements

• The class sessions (in addition to eLearning) will consist of

  • A Minimum of 2 open water dives with the instructors.

  • The maximum depth for any open water dive during this course is 40m (130 ft.). No dives are to require actual staged decompression. However, simulated staged decompression may be added to the ascent of a no required- stop dive. Any simulated decompression time spent deeper than 7.6m (25 ft.) must be included in the actual dive time.

• Students must provide their own drysuit or an employer provided drysuit for this course.

Provided Gear

• We can provide air cylinders.

Students must provide their own:

• Mask, snorkels, fins, dive boots, weight belts, and soft weights (we will assist in where to obtain this gear).

• Students must provide their own drysuit or an employer provided drysuit for this course.

• Open water Checkout Dive options:

  • Local Quarry check out dive fees (usually a daily fee per diver) are not included in the cost of the course.