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Now Available ! Scuba: A Practical Guide for the New Diver

My new book

Over the last year I have been working on a new book. SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver is designed to be used as a supplement for the Basic Open Water text of any agency. It contains those items that you may not have been told in your OW class but are, in my opinion, crucial for the new diver to know. Safe Diving Practices, Diver Responsibility, Buddy Skills, Dive Planning, Gas Management, and how to choose a number of things. Including equipment, instructors, courses, and even your Local Dive Shop (LDS). Some may find it controversial as it does expose some truths that are often not revealed to new divers until later in their diving careers. This work available on disc, pdf and in limited print editions. UPDATE! Prices are as follows Print -$20.00 plus actual shipping, CD- $12.50 plus actual shipping, Pdf -$10.00 check, M/O to James Lapenta 615 McNary Ave #2, Canonsburg, PA 15317 include email and shipping address. or Paypal to jimlap212@comcast.net .Thank you! Please address all inquiries to jimlap212@comcast.net

Posted by jimlap212 on Monday November 22, 2010 5:47 pm

Services in addition to Scuba Instruction offered by UDM Aquatics

Guided local dives at Mt Storm, Strawberry Quarry, and in Cadis, Ohio at the Dog Pond. I'm also available to be your Personal Guide/DM/Instructor at other sites should you wish to hire me for that purpose.

Also available for pool and pond inspections and limited repairs. This could be replacing lights, patching small leaks, and cleaning intakes and outlets. In the Washington, Pa area you do not always have the same resources for underwater tasks that may be available in other areas. I can guarantee a good job at a fair price.

In addition many times for new divers choosing the right equipment can be a daunting task. How do you know if you are getting what you need at a good price? I can help. In order to get the most for your dollar, I offer the:

Scuba Equipment Selection service which is unique in the scuba industry. I will accompany you to a dive shop to help you get the best gear for your money. We will discuss your interests, type of diving you wish to do, and what your budget is. Then we'll go to a shop or several shops to get the best deal for you. For example if you are only going to dive on vacation in warm places you do not need to spend 600 dollars on a regulator. We'll select one that will suit your needs without breaking the bank. By the same token if you plan on diving locally or in the Great Lakes you need a regulator that is suited for cold water diving and will usually be more expensive. Dive shops need to make a profit to survive. But the shop that gives you a good deal in the beginning and does not try to oversell you is the one you will go back to. I'll be your experienced eyes and ears when choosing gear. I'll explain my recommendations for every piece of gear you buy and guide you to what will best suit you.

Now offering the full line of HOG/Edge Gear! I am pleased to announce that I am an authorized dealer for this quality manufacturer of technical and recreational dive gear. Visit the store by clicking on the "Shop" tab. View the items, fill a cart, and click on checkout. That will notify me and I will get back to you with the total price you will pay, payment methods, and shipping options. By recycling packing materials and taking advantage of free supplies from the US Postal Service, I am able to and enjoy making deals on shipping costs to save you money. So when you see the total price on items in your cart don't take that as a final number as the shipping calculator is not able to make those adjustments when you place your order. From time to time I will also offer a bonus in the form of a free copy of my book in one form or another as a token (a valuable one at that) of appreciation for your business! Thanks and look forward to dealing with you!

New Line of Products Available - I am now pleased to announce that through a partnership with Downey Diving in Baden, PA I am able to offer Products from XS Scuba! The catalog for XS Scuba can be found here : XS Product catalogue . I am offering this as a convenience to my students and customers and while I will be able to offer specials from time to time, unless combined with a HOG or Edge Gear order I cannot guarantee free shipping on these products at this time. I will though make every effort to keep your shipping costs down. In addition to the XS line I will have now have access to products from the other lines carried by Downey Diving including Atomic, Zeagle, Ikelite, Bare, and the other lines carried by Downey Diving - Please note that service on these other lines would go through them. However in order to be fair to him these other lines will only be available from me to customers outside of a 100 mile radius of my location and that require me to ship them to you. So send me a note with the items you'd like info and a price on and let me see how I can best serve you.

UDM Aquatic Services also offers referrals to good dive operations, resorts,and boats to make your experience that much more enjoyable. Visit my links page for some of these. In the future I'll also be offering trips to various locations such as the Florida Keys, North and South Carolina, Lake Erie, and the many dive sites found in the Tri-State Area(Pa, Ohio, WVa.). Should you choose to take a referral for your checkout dives I will personally locate and confirm the instructor for those dives to insure that you receive the best possible service.

Another service offered is object location and recovery. This is limited to items such as boat motors, fishing rods, wallets, etc. Items such as guns or human remains are the perview of law enforcement officials and will be turned over to them.

One of the most useful services I can offer to those who are not sure if scuba is for them is an introductory Scuba Experience. We will conduct this at a local facility. I'll put you in full scuba gear, go over basic safety considerations, explain some of the signs we use to communicate, and then we'll descend into the water for approximately 45 minutes to one hour of doing what most of the world can only dream about or imagine- we'll swim, play with some pool toys, do a few basic skills, and experience weightlessness. All while breathing underwater! The cost for this is an affordable $35 dollars per person. For less than the cost of a modest meal and a movie you can experience Scuba. In fact how about bringing a date? I guarantee you'll have something to talk about for the rest of the evening! So come on, give me a call. You've tried dinner and a movie, now it's time for dinner and a dive! So if you are looking for a unique experience for that special occaision in the Washington, Pa area contact me. Scuba Instruction also makes a great gift. I offer gift certificates for this as well.