Purpose

GUE’s Technical Diver 2 (Tech 2) course is the second in a series of three courses designed to develop

technical diving excellence, building upon previously learned skills with a focus on extending essential

technical diving skills. Tech 2 training focuses on building diving proficiency at increasing depth, using

Helium diving gases with Oxygen-enriched decompression gases. These skills include: the use of multiple

stages; the use of Trimix; the use of greater percentages of Helium; gas management; Oxygen management;

decompression; accelerated, omitted and general decompression strategies; dive planning, and technical

equipment configurations. Course participants will gain experience working with a variety of different gas

mixtures for use as bottom-mix and multiple-decompression gases.

Prerequisites

1. Must meet GUE general course prerequisites as outlined in section 1.6

2. Must be a minimum of twenty-one years of age

3. Must have passed GUE Tech 1

4. Must have a minimum of 200 dives, with at least fifty dives on double tanks/cylinders; twenty-five

of these should have utilized a single stage

5. Must have a minimum of twenty-five dives beyond Technical Diver Level 1 qualification

6. Must be able to swim a distance of at least 60 feet/18 meters on a breath hold

7. Must be able to swim at least 500 yards/365 meters in under fourteen minutes without stopping.

This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where necessary, appropriate thermal protection.

8. Students participating in a Tech class conducted in a cave must be at least GUE Level 2 Cave

divers

Duration

The Tech 2 class is normally conducted over a five-day period. It involves a minimum of forty hours of

instruction, encompassing both classroom and in-water work.

Course Limits

1. General training limits as outlined in section 1.4

2. Student-to-instructor ratio is not to exceed 3:1 during any in-water training

3. Maximum depth 240 feet (+/- 10 feet)/70 meters (+/- 3 meters)

4. No overhead diving except by active GUE Cave 2 Level instructors while teaching in the cave

environment

Course Content

The GUE Tech 2 course is normally conducted over a five-day period, and cumulatively involves a

minimum of forty hours of instruction, designed to instill in divers a working knowledge of extended-range

diving, including physiology, tables and logistics. Special emphasis is placed on extended exposures and on

their associated considerations (gas consumption, DCS, Oxygen toxicity, and thermal concerns).

Course requirements include a minimum of six hours of academics, and eight dives, four of which will be

critical-skill dives and four will be experience dives. Four dives must utilize Helium.

Required Training Materials

1. Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving. Jarrod Jablonski, GUE, 2001, High Springs,

Florida.

2. Getting Clear on the Basics: The Fundamentals of Technical Diving. Jarrod Jablonski, GUE,

2001, High Springs, Florida.

Academic Topics

1. GUE organization

2. Limits of training

3. Course completion requirements

4. Review of decompression, gas utilization and risk, diving physiology

5. Accelerated, omitted, and general decompression strategies

6. Dive logistics and planning

Land Drills and Topics

1. Spool, reel, and guideline use

2. Dive team order and protocols

3. Gas-switching procedures and protocols

4. Bottom, stage, and decompression bottle use

2.2.2.9 Required Dive Skills and Drills

1. All skills and drills as outlined in General Diving Skills, section 1.5.

2. Review procedures for gas failures, including valve manipulation, gas-sharing, and regulator

switching (as appropriate).

3. Effectively and comfortably demonstrate the ability to deploy a lift bag/surface-marker buoy in

under two minutes while hovering stationary. Participants should not vary in depth more than 5

feet/1.5 meters.

4. Demonstrate the clean and effective removal and exchange of multiple stages and decompression

bottles while hovering horizontally. The participant must be capable of removing and replacing

each of at least two bottles in under one minute, i.e. one minute per bottle.

5. Equipment familiarization.

6. Gas-sharing scenarios, to include a prolonged gas-sharing event.

7. Demonstrate the effective deployment of a reserve light in under thirty seconds.

8. Demonstrate excellent buoyancy-control skills, including when conducting stage and

decompression gas-switches.

9. Demonstrate effective valve management by switching regulators, shutting down a valve in under

ten seconds and returning the valve to the open position again in under ten seconds.

10. Comfortably demonstrate at least three propulsion techniques that would be appropriate in delicate

and/or silty environments; one of these kicks must include the backward kick

11. Demonstrate good buoyancy and trim, i.e. approximate reference maximum of 20 degrees off

horizontal while remaining within 3 feet/1 meter of a target depth. Frequency of buoyancy

variation as well as general diver control remain important evaluation criteria.

Equipment Requirements

Each student should have, and be familiar with, all of the following required equipment:

1. Tanks/Cylinders: Students are required to use dual tanks/cylinders connected with a dual-outlet

isolator manifold, which allows for the use of two first-stages. Also required are a bottom gas

stage cylinder (80cuft/11L) and two decompression cylinders: one greater than 40 cubic feet/6 L

for Nitrox and one 40 cubic feet/6 L, or greater, for an additional deco gas.

2. Regulators: Two first-stages, each supplying a single second-stage. One of the second-stages must

be on a 7-foot/2-meter hose. One of the first-stages must supply a pressure gauge and provide

inflation for a dry suit (where applicable). One first-stage regulator for shallow decompression gas

and one first-stage regulator for travel/decompression gas; each one is to supply a single secondstage

and a single pressure gauge.

3. Backplate System: A rigid and flat platform of metal construction with minimal padding, held to a

diver by one continuous piece of nylon webbing. This webbing should be adjustable through the

plate and should use a buckle to secure the system at the waist. A crotch strap attached to the

lower end of this platform and looped through the waistband would prevent the system from riding

up a diver’s back. A knife should be secured to the waist on the left webbing tab. This webbing

should support five D-rings; the first should be placed at the left hip, the second should be placed

in line with a diver’s right collarbone, the third should be placed in line with the diver’s left

collarbone, the fourth and fifth should be affixed to the crotch strap to use while scootering or

towing/stowing gear. The harness below the diver’s arms should have small restrictive bands to

allow for the placement of reserve light lights.. The system should retain a minimalist approach

with no unnecessary components.

4. Buoyancy Compensation Device: A diver’s buoyancy compensation device should be backmounted

and minimalist in nature. It should come free of extraneous strings, tabs, or other

material. There should be no restrictive bands or “bungee” of any sort affixed to the buoyancy cell.

In addition, diver lift should not exceed 80 lbs / 40 kgs. Wing size and shape should be appropriate

to the cylinder size(s) employed for training.

5. At least one time/depth measuring device

6. Compass

7. Mask and fins: Mask should be low-volume; fins should be rigid, non-split

8. At least one cutting device

9. Wet Notes

10. One spool with 100 feet/30 meters of line per diver

11. One primary reel per team, with a minimum of 300 feet/90 meters of line

12. One primary light: A primary light should be minimalist in design; its power source should consist

of a rechargeable battery pack residing in a canister, powering an external light head via a light

cord. Primary lights should produce the equivalent output of 50-watt halogen/10-watt HID lighting

or greater.

13. Two reserve lights: Reserve lights should be non-rechargeable with a minimum of protrusions and

a single attachment at its rear. The light should be activated by twisting the front bezel toward the

body, and deactivated by turning it away from the body.

14. Exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure.

15. At least one surface-marker buoy per diver.

16. Diver’s breathing Helium mixtures and utilizing a dry suit must have a separate (from the back

gas) dry suit inflation source, such as an argon/air bottle. Divers may not inflate the dry suit from

the back gas.

Note: 

Prior to the commencement of class, students should consult with a GUE representative to verify

equipment requirements. Whether or not a piece of equipment fulfills GUE’s equipment requirement

remains at the discretion of GUE and its instructor representatives. Participants are responsible for

providing all equipment or for making provisions to secure all necessary equipment before the start of the

course. In general, it is better for the student to learn while using his or her own equipment. However,

students should exercise caution before purchasing new equipment to avoid acquiring substandard

equipment. Please contact a GUE representative prior to making any purchases. Information about

recommended equipment can be obtained from the equipment considerations section of GUE’s Web site.