After 12 years as a licensed aircraft mechanic, pilot and FAA designated maintenance inspector, Dale McCutcheon founded Dale's Diving Shop in 1955, and incorporated in 1972. Dale's Diving Shop is the oldest continuously operating dive shop in Ohio, and is now in the 47th. year of operation. 

The mission of Dale's Diving Shop is to provide quality SCUBA instruction, training, equipment and service at an affordable price.

Dale pioneered SCUBA diving in the Western Lake Erie, Sandusky, Ohio area. He is a self-taught SCUBA diver, instructor, ice, and cave diver. Since there were no SCUBA diving certification agencies in the area at the time, Dale provided certificates to the divers he taught. He  became a certified YMCA instructor in 1961, taught SCUBA for 40 years and assisted in several YMCA Instructor Institutes. Also, he was a licensed Ship Captain for 50 ton vessels. Dale has now retired from teaching SCUBA, and is a YMCA Instructor emeritus. 

Visit Dale at the Dive Shop. He is well qualified to talk about SCUBA as his experience is vast and varied, as outlined below.

While working for the Engineering Department of the City of Sandusky, Dale was the diving inspector for the new sewer plants "outfall sewer" that ran under the shipping channel and out into the bay. During his diving career, he has used explosives underwater to demolish an old water intake crib and inspected underwater electric power lines in the Sandusky Bay. Dale installed and inspected piping in the water intake crib for NASA's Plumb Brook Station and performed underwater repair and inspection of equipment in NASA's nuclear reactor. He trained Perkins Township firemen in the early 1960's. Since these first trained SCUBA rescue and recovery divers, Dale's Diving Shop has trained many additional divers for the Sandusky Police Department and for other Northern Ohio local public service and Sheriff departments. His extensive knowledge of mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics and maintenance procedures ensures that the breathing air pumped, tank inspections and the equipment repaired by Dale's Diving Shop is of the highest quality. 

Dale has attended all of the DEMA (Diving Equipment and  Marketing  Association) expositions East of the Mississippi since its inception in 1977. He has attended many service clinics sponsored by SCUBA equipment manufacturers.

Thomas C. Patterson is the instructor for the YMCA SCUBA courses. Tom has YMCA Gold Instructor certification, and has taught SCUBA and related courses for 26 years. Tom holds a Charter Captain license. 

Tom is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Education and Industrial Technology. He has served as a volunteer member of several area Boards of Director, including the Sandusky Area YMCA and the Firelands Chapter of the American Red Cross.