History
Scuba Shack was founded in 1977 by Bill Roe to serve Connecticut residents interested in becoming certified scuba divers. Its original location was 1839 Silas Deane Highway in Rocky Hill. Bill trained and later partnered with Tom Misenti, and they ran Scuba Shack together for about 21 years.
In 1982 Scuba Shack relocated from 1845 Silas Deane Highway to 1765 Silas Deane, where we were in residence for 36 years.
By 1999 Scuba Shack instructor Ed Hayes had introduced Scuba Shack divers to the concept of diving with a backplate & wing and a 7’ long hose for recreational diving – equipment traditionally used by cave divers. Nearly 20 years later, Scuba Shack has become known across New England and the Caribbean for its use of this specialized equipment. Its popularity in the recreational dive community continues to grow.
Tom Misenti bought out Bill’s half of the business and became the sole owner of Scuba Shack in 2000.
In 2006 Ed Hayes purchased Scuba Shack from Tom Misenti and by 2012 had expanded training to include police and fire department dive teams, becoming the only full time facility in New England qualified to certify public safety instructors.
In 2017 PADI Course Director Monty Fitzpatrick & Instructor Jeff Cinciripino, and Divemasters Donna & Matt Cinciripino, formed a partnership and purchased Scuba Shack from Ed Hayes. Scuba Shack also celebrated 40 years of providing quality dive services to the residents of Connecticut and beyond.
In April 2018 Scuba Shack moved to our current location, a more modern facility which has allowed us to further expand our repair, service and fulfillment capabilities.
Since its inception as a PADI affiliate, Scuba Shack instructors, assistant instructors, and divemasters have certified more than 10,432 divers!
Scuba Shack’s mission is to continue serving a diverse dive community – recreational, technical, and public safety by offering safe and effective training, state-of-the-art equipment, superior service, and maintenance, with opportunities to experience a wide variety of diving opportunities that are educational, fun, and connect like-minded people with each other and the underwater world!
We welcome you to join the Scuba Shack crew!
