Ankle floats?

[drk5036]

Carry only the weight you will need to be neutral. If I'm carrying 5 extra pounds of weight, At 99 ft, I'll have to have 138.4 cubic inches of air in my BC to be neutral... that that's air that four times as dense as air on the surface. If I don't vent on the way up that buoyancy will expand to give me almost 370 cubic inches or 14 pounds of lift at my 15ft safety stop and a whopping 554 cubic inches or 20 pounds at the surface. Talk about complicating your dive. Get rid of as much weight as you can and still keep a safety stop and watch your SAC improve.

Right! That’s why I’m surprised more people aren’t pleading with the OP to not purposefully overweight herself to satisfy some arbitrary “must have ditchable weight” rule by her LDS.

(As an aside, this is also why I don’t support the “you have to buy from your LDS!!!” mentality. There’s too many people out their posing as divers even as instructors that have no idea what they are doing, and are teaching poorly)

 

[lowviz]

Right! That’s why I’m surprised more people aren’t pleading with the OP to not purposefully overweight herself to satisfy some arbitrary “must have ditchable weight” rule by her LDS.

Nobody is suggesting she overweight herself.

Ditchable weight. A diver is taught to weight him/herself to be neutral at the end of the dive so that it is possible to hold a safety stop. That means that the diver has to begin the dive heavy by the weight of gas in a full tank. Ditchable weight is nothing more than the weight of that gas removed from fixed weights and placed on a weight belt or something similar.

This offers two advantages. Assume one splashes with a full tank, empty BC, and the valve turned off. One only needs to drop the belt (or other ditchable weight) to become neutral at the bottom. It is far less intimidating to swim up neutral on one breath than swimming up negative on one breath. The second advantage is that the weight can be dropped at the surface in an emergency.

Complication: Should the diver find herself properly weighted or negative with no additional weight then, obviously, there would be no weight to drop. This is where a novice should alter one's rig to make it safer and more comfortable to dive.

 

[drk5036]

Nobody is suggesting she overweight herself.

OP specifically is stating that she needs no weight to achieve neutral buoyancy, however their diving group REQUIRES them to wear additional weight, so that they have something to *drop* in case of an emergency. This is what I have an issue with. Her trim issues are related to the excess weight, which is present because *shrugs* someone who went all the way through to become an instructor learned somewhere you should be able to ditch weight?

I understand why it makes sense to have some ditchable weight, and some mounted weight, I don't understand the mental gymnastics someone would have to do to wear additional weight when it's not necessary.

 

[BlueTrin]

I don't know if someone already mentioned this: have you tried doing the superman position in the water:

• extending your arms in front of you, this will move your center of gravity
• try to slightly arch your back, this will put the knees a bit higher

if you keep the arms down and bend the leg at the hip, I think that makes you more vertical ?

That's only for small trim changes though.

 

[rongoodman]

Deep 6 Eddy fins are slightly negative in fresh water, slightly positive in saltwater. Fins

Fins can make a huge difference.

Absolutely, and as mentioned above, posture. You can't just relax to the point you bend at the hips and drop your legs. You should be flat from knees to shoulders, and to do so, you will need to feel a little tension in your glutes. After you get comfortable with your body flat, you can move weight up or down to fine tune your trim. You will also be moving weight forward when you bring your feet up and extend your arms forward.

 

[The Chairman]

That means that the diver has to begin the dive heavy by the weight of gas in a full tank.

By 2/3s of the weight of gas since you only need to be fully neutral at your safety stop. So maybe, 3 pounds? At this point, you're really splitting hairs. I use Dr Bob's weight titration as a beginning point.

With no weights or air in your BC, fold your arms and cross your legs. and breathe normally through your regulator.
Have a buddy guesstimate the height your head is above the water with a normal full breath.
Add one pound for each inch.
Recheck.
​

By the end, your head should be just awash with a breath, and you'll start to descend when you exhale. Should you find yourself a tad light at your safety stop, simply pause your breathing at the bottom of your exhale. No, don't 'hold' your breath. Your glottis should always be open, open. Simply pause. You'll be fine.Don't forget to add a pound or two for the next dive. If you're weighted perfectly then you will find that you have no air in your BC at your safety stop. So, check yourself by letting out all your air and see if you start to descend. If this is the case, remove a couple of pounds before the next dive and don't forget to re-check.

Many people get anxious during a dive and find they start to drift up. YOU DON'T NEED TO ADD WEIGHT. You need to find the source of your anxiety and resolve it. I have been known to dive without a bladder on my BC, just using my breath to control my depth. I am sure to have a sausage with me to aid in floating, should I need to wait on the surface for a boat to pick me up.

 

[JustWetRocks]

With no weights or air in your BC, fold your arms and cross your legs. and breathe normally through your regulator.
Have a buddy guesstimate the height your head is above the water with a normal full breath. .​

Full tank? I sink.

Many people get anxious during a dive and find they start to drift up.

I have not had that issue.

. I have been known to dive without a bladder on my BC, just using my breath to control my depth.

I got to use a pony bottle and reg in the pool without anything else and it was amazing! No trouble adjusting with my lungs. That would be a wonderful way to dive all the time!​

 

[The Chairman]

Full tank? I sink.

Then you need redundant buoyancy, not extra weight. That could be as simple as a safety sausage or a dry suit. If your BC fails, and you dump your weights, well: you're still over-weighted.

That would be a wonderful way to dive all the time!

I haven't read the entire thread, so what seems to be the issue? Are you diving a steel tank that makes you over-weighted? What type of BC? I have dove an unbalanced kit many times, mostly steel twin LP120s when I sidemount caves. When I do, I take care to dive a dual bladder BC. Why on earth would I want to add weight?

 

[martincohn]

If someone tells you that you have to strap on extra weight just so you can dump it, go find someone else to dive with.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Absolutely, and as mentioned above, posture. You can't just relax to the point you bend at the hips and drop your legs. You should be flat from knees to shoulders, and to do so, you will need to feel a little tension in your glutes. After you get comfortable with your body flat, you can move weight up or down to fine tune your trim. You will also be moving weight forward when you bring your feet up and extend your arms forward.

One of the things I do with my OW students before going underwater at the pool is frog kicking on the surface on their backs. No mask/snorkel. If the student can see their knees, then they know they are breaking at the waist and they get used to being in that position. I feel this is a valuable addition to teaching the motion on dry land. I didn't say anything before, but you bring up a good point on comfort of being in the diver's position.