SSI Boat Diving
The boat is rocking, six other divers are already half-dressed, and you're still figuring out which way the current line runs.
Nobody hands you a manual for charter diving. Giant strides, recall signals, current lines, dressing in a moving cabin: it is a whole set of logistics that shore and pool diving never teaches. SSI Boat Diving covers exactly that, so your first liveaboard or charter trip starts with confidence instead of confusion on deck.
Availability: Contact us for booking information
Nobody Hands You a Manual for Your First Charter Trip
The boat is rocking, the captain just called five minutes to splash, and six other divers are already geared up while you are still untangling your bag. Giant strides, current lines, recall signals, gearing up in a moving cabin: boat diving has its own set of procedures that shore diving and pool training never cover. Nobody is born knowing them.
SSI Boat Diving teaches exactly that: boat selection, trip preparation, onboard procedures, water entries and exits, and current awareness specific to diving from a charter or liveaboard. Academics plus a practical application session. $249 per diver for academics and practical application · $349 private. Required open water boat dive scheduled separately at an additional fee. Open Water Diver, minimum age 10.
Boat Diving Is for the Diver Headed Out on Charters
You have a liveaboard or charter dive booked
Learn the procedures before you are on a boat full of strangers figuring it out in real time. Show up knowing what to do.
You are unsure about diving in current
Boat diving can involve current, drift procedures, current lines, and boat-specific entry and exit planning. The course covers all of these alongside your buddy.
You worry seasickness will ruin the trip
The course covers practical prevention strategies so motion sickness does not derail your dive day before you even hit the water.
You want to be the diver other people are glad to have on the boat
Boat etiquette and group procedures make you a prepared, low-stress presence on most charters.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $249 per diver (group) · $349 per diver (private) |
| Format | Online academics via MySSI app · practical application session at Tom’s · one open water boat dive (required, scheduled separately) |
| Boat dive fee | Open water boat dive is required and scheduled at an additional fee · call (512) 451-3425 to arrange |
| Location | Practical session at Tom’s · 5909 Burnet Rd, Austin TX 78757 · boat dive at an Austin-area charter site |
| Time commitment | Self-paced academics (2–3 hours) plus one practical session plus one boat dive · often completed across two sessions |
| Prerequisites | Open Water Diver (any agency) · minimum age 10 |
| Certification awarded | SSI Boat Diving · lifetime, recognized worldwide |
| CE lane | Control / Comfort → |
Ready for your first charter?
SSI Boat Diving — $249 + boat dive fee · Austin, TX
Academics plus a practical application session covering real boat procedures. Call (512) 451-3425.
View the Dive Calendar →Academics, Then Hands-On Practice of Every Procedure You Will Use on a Charter
Self-paced online study covering the full scope of boat diving, followed by a practical session applying every procedure before you step on a real charter.
Cover boat selection, trip preparation, equipment packing and organization, onboard procedures, dive briefings, current awareness, and terminology you are likely to hear on many charters and liveaboards.
Hands-on practice of water entries (giant stride, back roll), exits, current navigation relative to the boat, recall signal procedures, and re-entry technique. Your instructor walks through the full sequence of a charter dive from gear-up to exit.
One required open water boat dive applying everything from the practical session. Scheduled at an additional fee on an Austin-area charter. This is the dive that completes your certification.
Your SSI Boat Diving certification is awarded through the MySSI app. Lifetime credential, recognized worldwide.
Confidence With the Procedures Most Charters Expect
Boat procedures vary by operator, but the core skills transfer: organized gear setup, safe entries and exits, current awareness, recall signals, buddy coordination, and calm deck behavior. Here is what you leave with:
Comfortable onboard preparation and timing, even on a moving boat
Confident, practiced giant stride and back roll entries in any conditions
Ability to recognize and manage current safely alongside your buddy
Familiarity with recall signals and re-entry procedures on any vessel
We Build Divers We Would Trust With Our Own Families.
Boat Diving is not a card. It is the confidence to step onto most charters with a clear understanding of the procedures, expectations, and questions that matter. Tom’s instructors bring real charter and liveaboard experience to this course, not just the academic curriculum. The procedures they teach are what actually happens on dive boats, not a theoretical version of it.
Tom’s has been Austin’s only SSI Dive Center since 1982, open longer than any other Austin dive shop still in business. Over 400 five-star Google reviews.
Instructors Who Actually Dive From Boats
Tom’s instructors bring genuine charter and liveaboard experience. The procedures they teach come from the water, not just the manual.
Open Longer Than Any Other Austin Dive Shop Still in Business
Four decades preparing Austin divers for travel diving at destinations around the world.
Built for Your Next Travel Dive
This course exists specifically to prepare you for the diving most Austin divers eventually do: charters and liveaboards.
30+ Tom’s Instructors
Flexible scheduling to fit the course in before your trip, however soon it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not required, but it removes most first-trip stress. Most divers who take it wish they had taken it before their very first charter, not after it.
The course covers practical motion sickness prevention strategies. Preparation, positioning, and timing all make a real difference and are covered specifically.
Yes. Liveaboard considerations are covered, including multi-day trip logistics, onboard etiquette, and the differences between day charters and liveaboards.
Yes. Recognizing current, planning around it, and diving in it safely alongside your buddy are covered in both the academics and practical session. Drift dives are popular for a reason, and this course builds the skills to enjoy them.
Yes. Boat Diving pairs naturally with Perfect Buoyancy and Nitrox before most destination travel. If you are joining a Tom’s group trip, those three together cover the most common skill gaps divers notice on their first liveaboard or charter week.
Yes. All students complete an SSI Medical Statement before any in-water activity. Most people do not require a physician’s signature.
Ready to dive from a boat with confidence?
SSI Boat Diving — $249 + boat dive fee · Austin, TX
Call (512) 451-3425 to schedule before your next trip.
View the Dive Calendar →