Drysuit Diving

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To view all the session times/dates click on "book now" to enter the booking page, choose the start date you're interested in, then click "book now" and "continue" to bring up the course schedule.

Once you book your course, our team will register you for class materials. You will receive an email with a link to your materials from the agency (SSI or SDI/TDI). Our training team can be reached at training@ecdivers.com if you have any questions about the course.

This program provides the skills and concepts required to safely and comfortably dive while using a drysuit. You will learn the special requirements for dry suit diving, how to use your new exposure protection, the benefits of a drysuit, and how to deal with emergency situations that are unique to diving dry. At East Coast Divers our program also emphasizes drysuit and undergarment fitting, equipment care, and donning techniques that will help you get the most out of your investment for years to come.

Why learn drysuit diving?

Learn to laugh at the cold and turn your summer and winter diving into an enjoyable year-round activity by Drysuit Diving. If you enjoy diving but find the water just too cold, a drysuit may be just the thing for you. Many people find that Drysuit diving all year long helps them really enjoy New England underwater. This course is designed for new or experienced divers who want to find out about the joy of staying warm and dry while taking the plunge in our own back yard. Even if you don’t get cold in the middle of summer, many divers find they can comfortably extend their local diving season into the Spring and Fall while many students go on to dive year-round in New England waters. A drysuit is also a must for anyone interested in diving deeper, especially divers interested in Technical Diving.

 

Why train with ECD?

  • Our course is logistically streamlined. You’ll only come to the shop once for a drysuit fitting and do your in water training in a single location.
  • Each student gets a pair of wrist and a neck seal fitted to them to keep. When you rent a drysuit after your course you’ll know you’ll have seals that fit you perfectly.
  • A personalized drysuit fitting session. Our store team will have dedicated time with just you to ensure you get fitted correctly for a drysuit and accessories.
  • ECD has a large fleet of rental drysuits that is updated regularly
  • We have multiple types and sizes of undergarments in our fleet to get the best match for each diver

When does the Drysuit Class run?

The Drysuit Diving Course requires  a classroom session (via zoom), a drysuit fitting session at the store*, and a confined water session and 2 open water dives conducted on the same day at Hathaway’s Pond.

The course pricing does NOT include the use of the Drysuit ir scuba equipment for the open water dives. If you do not have a Drysuit the entire exposure protection system can be rented for the duration of the open water checkout dives at a 15% discount. Keep an eye on your

* Drysuit Fittings for class can be scheduled at the shop during the week between your zoom session and training day as you complete the booking process.

This course is only scheduled from May – October but can be run all year long for private courses. Contact training@ecdivers.com to arrange Drysuit training  outside our normally scheduled courses.

 

 

All Classes | Drysuit Diving | Deep Diving | Navigation | Enriched Air Nitrox

Before Class

Before attending your class you will need to complete some paperwork. The forms will be emailed to you for your review and can be completed by Eversign prior to your class.

Before enrolling in a class, you should take time to read and review the Diver Medical Statement Participant Questionnaire. The first page has If you have any YES answers on that page, review the associated section on the second page. If you have any YES responses on page 2 you’ll just need to get a doctors’ sign-off (on the Physicians Approval to Dive form) before you can participate in ANY in-water activities. It’s important to note if a physician’s signature is required, only a medical doctor’s (MD or DO) signature will be accepted per agency rules (no NP or PA signatures).

This class also has a helpful online training component hosted by SSI. Please complete your online training prior to your classroom session. If you have not already registered with SSI, look for an email from divessi.com. You can access online training materials, certification cards, and more at my.divessi.com or the MySSI app on your iPhone or Android.

Click here to register:SSI - Scuba Schools International - my.divessi.com - Register Now

If you have any questions give us a call at the store on 617-277-2216 or shoot us an email training@ecdivers.com.

Interested in a private? We got you covered! Sign-up today!

Private Scheduling is done through our training department at Training@ecdivers.com. Please contact us for pricing and sign-up information.

While we do not require our students to own their own drysuits (we have plenty for rental) we do require that all of our students own their own mask and snorkel for the course. Other dive gear is not provided but can be rented for an additional fee. If you have your own gear, we suggest making plans to carry all of that gear along with you. If not, rental equipment can be arranged but MUST be reserved ahead of time.

Required Equipment

  • Scuba quality Mask, Snorkel, and Fins (we offer loaner fins that will fit our rental drysuits if your fins are too small*)
  • A well-maintained regulator appropriate for use in New England*
  • Buoyancy Compensator /Backplate and Wing*
  • Dive Computer*
  • Two Tanks*
  • Weights*

*You can rent these items through ECD.  However, availability fills quickly and spots are not guaranteed! We recommend registering and reserving rental equipment at least 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCE!

Student Discounts

We offer a 10% discount* to all of our actively enrolled students who purchase equipment through the East Coast Divers Shop as well as our famed 60-day return policy that will ensure that you are happy with everything that you buy. We appreciate your support of your local dive shop, which allows us to continue operations and offer the services that we do today, Make an appointment with an equipment specialist today!

*some restrictions apply including Santi, K01, Shearwater, cylinders, & rebreathers

  • One webinar-based class session including review of academic components and skill prep (Monday on Zoom).
  • One in-person equipment workshop and gear fitting (scheduled at the Shop during the week).
  • A set of latex drysuit seals to keep (wrist seals and neck seal) for a perfect fit with future rentals. Silicone seals are available for an upgrade fee.
  • One confined water session (Saturday morning at the Pond).
  • One day of 2 dives in a drysuit (Saturday afternoon at the Pond).
  • Internationally trained/certified instructor.
  • Agency approved on-line course work and exam (through MySSI).
  • A digital certification card. A plastic certification card can be generated for a $40 fee.

Let's face it, drysuits are amazing, but they're a significant investment. That's why this class pairs perfectly with ECD's Rent-to-Own Program!

To open the RTO, simply make a 50% down payment in the system. Subsequently, each time you rent ANY gear from the shop, the rental fees can be applied towards your layaway. Once the layaway is paid off, the gear can be picked up (if in stock) or ordered in (if out of stock).

  • The gear package must total ≥ $1500 worth of gear
  • ½ of the price of the gear package is due as a down payment
  • Down payments are NON-REFUNDABLE
  • You may customize your gear package in any way you want
  • There is no time limit to pay off an RTO
  • Each time you rent from ECD, 100% of the fees can be applied towards your RTO*

Class Forms

Below you will find links to REQUIRED class forms. These forms must be reviewed in their entirety before participating in any ECDivers in-water program. Arrival to class with incomplete documents may result in a forfeiture of that class date. If you have any questions or need assistance in completing the class forms please email our training department at training@ecdivers.com.