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 dressed while you are still untangling your gear bag. Giant strides, current lines, recall systems, dressing in a moving cabin: boat diving has its own entire set of logistics that shore diving and pool training never teach. Nobody is born knowing it.
SSI Boat Diving covers exactly that: boat selection, trip preparation, onboard procedures, and water entries and exits specific to diving from a boat, with hands-on practical application. $249 per diver (group) or $349 (private). Prerequisites: Open Water Diver, minimum age 10.
Boat Diving Logistics Are Not Intuitive. Nobody Is Born Knowing Them.
If your only diving so far has been from shore or a dock, the first time you step onto a dive charter can feel like everyone else already knows something you do not: how to gear up in a moving cabin, when to do your giant stride, how the recall system works. That is genuinely a different skill set, not a gap in your training.
This is exactly what continuing education is for. Not to prove you are advanced. To make your first charter trip feel like just another dive, not a logistics puzzle.
Boat Diving Is for the Diver Headed Out on Charters
This is usually the right next step if any of these sound familiar.
You have a liveaboard or charter trip booked
Learn the procedures before you are on a boat full of strangers figuring it out for the first time.
You are unsure about diving in current
Boat diving often means current diving. The course covers recognizing and managing current safely.
You get motion sick and worry it will ruin the trip
The course covers practical motion sickness prevention so it does not derail your dive day.
You want to dive confidently in a group setting
Boat etiquette and group procedures make you the diver other people are glad to have on the boat.
Choose Your Next Step
You are headed out on charters or liveaboards
Best for boat entries, exits, currents, and the specific logistics of diving from a boat.
You worry about where you are underwater
Best for orientation, compass use, and reducing the “where are we?” stress.
You want to extend your depth range
Best for divers ready to safely go beyond standard Open Water depth limits.
Before and After
Most divers can describe exactly what changes after this course. Here is what that looks like in practice.
| Before | After |
| Unsure how to gear up in a moving cabin | Comfortable with onboard prep and timing |
| Anxious about giant stride entries | Confident, practiced water entries |
| Confused by current during the dive | Able to recognize and manage current calmly |
| Worried about finding the boat after surfacing | Familiar with recall systems and re-entry procedures |
What You’ll Train
Academics plus a practical application session covering real boat diving procedures.
Cover boat selection, trip preparation, equipment packing, onboard procedures, and the terminology you will hear on any charter.
Hands-on practice of water entry procedures, current awareness, navigation relative to the boat, and recall systems.
By the end, you know what to expect on a charter or liveaboard before you ever step on one, and the logistics stop being a source of stress.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $249 per diver (group) · $349 per diver (private) |
| Format | Online academics via MySSI app plus practical application session |
| Prerequisites | Open Water Diver (any agency) · minimum age 10 |
| Certification awarded | SSI Boat Diving · lifetime certification, recognized worldwide |
Ready for your first charter?
SSI Boat Diving: $249 · Austin, TX
Academics plus a practical application session covering real boat procedures. Call (512) 451-3425.
Signup now!!Boat Diving Sits in the Control / Comfort Pathway
Boat Diving builds the situational confidence that makes travel diving feel routine instead of stressful, a natural pairing with Navigation for divers planning their first guided or liveaboard trip.
Control / Comfort
Buoyancy, navigation, boat procedures, night and limited visibility, and other confidence-building skills.
Optimize
Nitrox, computers, equipment, and other tools that make diving more efficient and extend your bottom time.
Access
Wreck diving, deep diving, decompression diving, sidemount, and other ways to reach new environments and depth.
We Build Divers We Would Trust With Our Own Families.
The best divers don’t chase certifications. They build capabilities. Boat Diving is a clear example: it is not a card, it is the confidence to step onto any charter anywhere in the world and know exactly what to do.
Tom’s instructors bring real charter and liveaboard experience to this course, not just the academic curriculum. Tom’s has been Austin’s only SSI Dive Center since 1982. We were teaching scuba in Austin before any of the other Austin dive shops opened. Over 18,000 certified divers and over 400 five-star Google reviews.
Instructors Who Actually Dive From Boats
Tom’s instructors bring genuine charter and liveaboard experience to every session.
Open Longer Than Any Other Austin Dive Shop Still in Business
Four decades preparing Austin divers for travel diving around the world.
Built for Your Next Travel Dive
This course exists specifically to prepare you for the kind of diving most Austin divers eventually do: charter and liveaboard trips.
One of Austin’s Largest Instructor Teams
Flexible scheduling to fit this course in before your trip, however soon it is.
We follow DAN dive safety protocols.
Tom’s follows Divers Alert Network (DAN) safety standards and recommends DAN dive accident insurance for every certified diver. Safety is not a checkbox on our website. It is the foundation of how Tom’s has operated since 1982.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not required, but it removes a lot of first-trip stress. Most divers who take it wish they had taken it before their very first charter, not after.
The course covers practical motion sickness prevention strategies. Many divers find that proper preparation and timing significantly reduce symptoms.
Yes. Liveaboard considerations are covered specifically, including multi-day trip logistics and onboard etiquette.
Current diving requires specific awareness and technique, which this course teaches. With proper training, it is a normal and often spectacular part of diving (drift dives are popular for a reason).
Yes. All students complete an SSI Medical Statement before any in-water activity.