Trim/Hovering on side
- Thread starter wdeutsch
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Thanks for all the thoughtful replies - especially the mechanics discussions of centers of mass/bouyancy.
That all makes sense, and does point to the fact that it's a difficult/unlikely position to be stable in. I kinda thought that might be the case, but wondered if it was a skill issue or an equipment/physics issue. Sounds like it's probably the latter. I'll still mess around with it, but at least I'll know it is normal to expect to be able to do it with standard backmount gear.
Thanks again, all!
That all makes sense, and does point to the fact that it's a difficult/unlikely position to be stable in. I kinda thought that might be the case, but wondered if it was a skill issue or an equipment/physics issue. Sounds like it's probably the latter. I'll still mess around with it, but at least I'll know it is normal to expect to be able to do it with standard backmount gear.
Thanks again, all!
If you're rolling onto your back, it is because your center of mass is behind your center of buoyancy
You can try moving some weight forward. Maybe instead of weights bolted to your backplate, you can place some lead on a waist belt, or on your shoulder straps
You can also try moving some buoyancy backward. Filling your wing with more air will make the back of you more buoyant. If half a lungful does the trick, then you don't need any gear config change. Or you could nudge this a bit more by adding a bit more lead, so that you can have more air in your wing... don't overdo it though, being too overweighted for this small upside is probably not worthwhile
By the way, this is a lot easier with a thinner wetsuit, because you will be a lot less buoyant overall. So if that place you have in mind with the pretty fishies and visibility over 6 feet also happens to be 80 degrees, well, you'll probably be in a 3mm wetsuit instead of 7mm. A lot of stuff is easier in a 3mm than a 7mm, and holding sideways trim is one of them
You can try moving some weight forward. Maybe instead of weights bolted to your backplate, you can place some lead on a waist belt, or on your shoulder straps
You can also try moving some buoyancy backward. Filling your wing with more air will make the back of you more buoyant. If half a lungful does the trick, then you don't need any gear config change. Or you could nudge this a bit more by adding a bit more lead, so that you can have more air in your wing... don't overdo it though, being too overweighted for this small upside is probably not worthwhile
By the way, this is a lot easier with a thinner wetsuit, because you will be a lot less buoyant overall. So if that place you have in mind with the pretty fishies and visibility over 6 feet also happens to be 80 degrees, well, you'll probably be in a 3mm wetsuit instead of 7mm. A lot of stuff is easier in a 3mm than a 7mm, and holding sideways trim is one of them
I am sure that with practice almost everything is possible. In my case, I have been able to get good buoyancy control in most trim positions only after moving to a dry suit and training on it for about 200 h.
Any challenge like foot/fins buoyancy, different buoyancy of tanks and stages left to right can be easily solved by moving air around in the suit.
Btw, the exercises you are practicing are not theoretical. I spent significant time on the side while penetrating wrecks with sidemount thanks and stages. Probably overkill for most open water fish watching though.
Any challenge like foot/fins buoyancy, different buoyancy of tanks and stages left to right can be easily solved by moving air around in the suit.
Btw, the exercises you are practicing are not theoretical. I spent significant time on the side while penetrating wrecks with sidemount thanks and stages. Probably overkill for most open water fish watching though.
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admikar
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What rsingler said.
I was diving outside of big wreck. My choice was normal horizontal trim and crane my head to the right the whole time or just roll onto my left side and watch in a much more comfortable positon.
Guess which one I chose?
It might be possible to counteract static torque by well placed fin kicks or hand movements. How realistic or easy that would be, needs to be answered by someone who has done a significant amount of dives with backmounted doubles. My guess is that it would be a struggle, sooner or later, certainly not stabile but labile orientation.
@wdeutsch - Just go dive and fiddle. You’re smart, you’ll figure it out.
Like @rsingler wrote, I rotate to my side when diving a wall to increase my field of view but I don’t rotate completely, i.e, one shoulder totally to the floor and the other totally to the sky. Because I’m underway either from leg or DPV power, I don’t have any trouble maintaining that position.
In other types of terrain I do headstands, headstand pirouettes, barrel rolls, etc. You’ll be there in no time, too.
That much said, I hardly ever go head up vertical.
Like @rsingler wrote, I rotate to my side when diving a wall to increase my field of view but I don’t rotate completely, i.e, one shoulder totally to the floor and the other totally to the sky. Because I’m underway either from leg or DPV power, I don’t have any trouble maintaining that position.
In other types of terrain I do headstands, headstand pirouettes, barrel rolls, etc. You’ll be there in no time, too.
That much said, I hardly ever go head up vertical.
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