Drysuit Diving

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To reserve a place in an upcoming class, you may select your next available date and proceed with your course fee payment. Please note that the schedule will depend on pool and instructor availability. Our training team will follow up with you to schedule your course dates. They can be reached at training@ecdivers.com

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 equipment, the benefits of a drysuit, and how to deal with emergency situations that are unique to drysuit diving. 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.

 

The Drysuit Diving Course requires 2 dives. These dives are typically completed from shore but can be completed from a boat based on student requirements.

The course pricing does NOT include the use of the Drysuit for the open water dives. If you do not have a Drysuit the entire exposure protection system can be rented for $75 for the duration of the open water checkout dives.

The Drysuit course consists of online training and ecxam, a webinar with an ECD instructor, an in-person gear fitting session at the shop*, a pool/confined water session**, and a day of open water diving.

* Drysuit Fittings for class can be scheduled here: https://ecdivers.com/dive-site-map-directions/book-an-appointment/

** Pool/confined water sessions are designed to train students on critical skills before they are asked to demonstrrate them during open water dives.

This course is only scheduled from May – October but can be run all year long. Contact us to arrange Drysuit training if we are outside our normally scheduled courses.

Please use the link in the right-side column to signup and schedule or you can sign up and schedule in-person, over the phone or via email.

Before Class

Before your Drysuit Diving Course, there is a bit of paperwork you’ll have to fill out. This program requires a minimum of 5 distinct forms. You can find the forms below and complete them ahead of your pool session, most important is the “SCUBA – MEDICAL FORM“. Go through the medical form now and check to see if you need to answer “YES” to any of the questions. If so no big deal – you’ll just need to get a doctors’ sign-off before we can let you in the water. The doctors’ note is in the additional “PHYSICIAN'S RELEASE” file – along with guidelines for your physician. Remember if you answer “YES” to anything in the medical it is NECESSARY to get a doctors’ note BEFORE getting in the water. It’s also important to note if a physician's signature is required, only a medical doctor's (MD) signature will be accepted.

  • 15 Years or older.
  • Be a Referral Diver or higher, or hold an equivalent certification from another recognized certification agency.
  • Clear medical history or MD sign-off if necessary.
  • The student must provide their own Mask, Fins, and Snorkel. All other equipment can be rented. Drysuit Exposure Protection System Rental - $75 for use during the class. 

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

Private courses are set up slightly differently than regular drysuit diving courses. The beginning process is the same – you’ll still be required to fill out the same paperwork but you won’t be tethered to our schedule. Instead, you can find out whenever works best for you and let us know so we can get the sessions scheduled – we can even schedule your pool training outside our normal pool hours*. Make sure to let us know in advance, as we have to rent the pool and make sure it doesn’t conflict with any other activities going on that day. If you do use the pool when we have it rented that’s perfect! There will be other people in the pool but you (or your group) will be working privately with your instructor.

*Additional fees (such as pool rental fees) may apply

Private Scheduling is done through Kim and Max in our training department at Training@ecdivers.com. They will be in contact within 24 hours of any inquiries. If you need to contact us sooner please call us at 617-277-2217. 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, fins, 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.

Availability fills quickly and spots are not guaranteed! We recommend registering and reserving rental equipment at least 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCE!

*We require that students have their own specialty-specific gear for several of our courses. This equipment is necessary for the type of diving that you will be embarking upon during, and post certification. Please refer to the prerequisites section below for a list of the gear you will need to own for this course. We offer a 10% discount to all of our students who purchase the required equipment for the class through us 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****

  • One webinar-based class session including review of academic components and skill prep
  • One in-person equipment workshop and gear fitting (book your fitting appointment here)
  • One pool / confined water session with an option for a second play session in the pool.
  • One day of 2 dives in a drysuit.
  • Internationally trained/certified instructor.
  • Agency approved on-line course work and exam.

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.