DPV Cave Diver

This course is designed to teach trained cave divers how to utilize Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPVs) in the cave environment. Divers will learn about safe DPV use, DPV components, and care and maintenance. Students will learn to plan dives that may incorporate extended penetration, longer bottom times, complex dive planning, and proper methods of gas management.

Who this course is for:

• The certified Full Cave Diver or equivalent with a minimum of 25 logged cave dives.
• The certified cave diver looking to expand their diving range, abilities, and skills.

Course prerequisites:

• Minimum age 18
• Certified as a Full Cave Diver or equivalent
• Provide proof of at least 25 non-training full cave dives

What you can expect to learn:

• Motivations for DPV cave diving
• Advantages of DPV use
• Equipment considerations
  • DPV options
  • DPV components
  • Rated burn time
  • Care and Maintenance
  • DPV rigging
  • Helmets
• Problem solving procedures
  • DPV malfunction or failure
  • Towing
  • Gas sharing with DPVs
  • Light failure
  • Entanglement
  • Collision avoidance
  • Team separation
• Environmental considerations
  • Appropriate vs. inappropriate passages
  • Suitable cave conditions
  • Low impact DPV use
• DPV diving techniques
  • Buoyancy and trim with DPV
  • Dropping, securing, and retrieving a DPV
  • Installing guidelines with a DPV
  • Instigating directional and depth changes
  • DPV courtesy and etiquette
• Dive planning and gas management
  • Turn time, turn distance, and turn pressure
  • Gas mix(es) and NDLs or decompression obligations

Some of the required skills you will have to demonstrate include:

• Demonstrate adequate pre-dive planning
• Equipment check and equipment matching
• Bubble check
• Demonstrate specialized propulsion techniques in varying types of flow
• Demonstrate proper buoyancy control
• Demonstrate proper body posture
• Demonstrate proper stress analysis (detection and management)
• Share gas with DPVs while maintaining visual contact with the guideline.
• Simulate primary light failure and exit utilizing the DPV and the smallest backup light
• Simulate exiting the cave with disabled DPV
• Exit while towing a team member and his disabled DPV