Question How to remain still

[Boarderguy]

Yes I've only dived in SEA warm water condition. I used to use more weight (I think I was given 4kg during my OW course). On one trip in 2023 I was chatting with an instructor/dm on the boat and he said I could probably use only 2 or even 1kg, give it a try, and that leads to where I am now. Thanks for your advice.

Adding a kilo or two up on your cam band or near the neck of the tank could help. Being down to minimal weight is amazing, but it limits your ability to trim out. If the shift is very slow then moving your 1kg up may do the trick. If that doesn't fix it don't feel bad about adding another kg up high with it. Once you get that situated you can figure out where and how to reduce again if you choose. 1-2kg is nothing and your bc can easily handle it.

 

[leadduck]

Position of tank is also influenced by shoulder straps, maybe they are all too loose and your tank hangs too low. After descending, in horizontal position, move your tank a little further up and tighten the shoulder straps and belt.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I'm AOW with 40 dives. I use 1kg weight. I notice during my previous dives that when the DM points out interesting things to see tfor us they can remain very still, not kicking, entire body 30 degree upside down.

Thanks!

Firstly make sure you master buoyancy. Once you can master buoyancy you can be still regardless of trim.
For me I set my tank strap near the middle of the tank. That's due to my large body shape and weight distribution. I also have weights in my back BCD pockets near the shoulder blades.

Basically think of yourself as a plank on a seesaw. You want to be horizontal but one side is heavier than the other so you shift some weight to balance it out. Here is a video of me and a guide. We found some nice bat fish and both of us wanted to get some video. Being still helps and you can see how close the fish swim to me.

I was once so still on a dive with no bubble trails trying to get a photo of a very shy Fire Gobi pair of fish another diver swam over and pulled on me thinking unresponsive diver and ruined my shot. Another thing is that when you want to do super macro video holding your camera you must be very still the slightest movement shows up in a video. Funny thing I had a diver tell me I look like a humming bird, my head and hands stay in one position my arms and body sway in the current.

Just go diving and trying being still... if you are sinking when you are still add some air to your BCD. Many divers just fin up instead of letting their BCD carry them.

 

[Doc Harry]

Time in the water is what you need.

All this talk about weight and trim and strap placements and fins is all fine. But even when not properly weighted or trimmed out, an experienced diver can still hover motionless.

With more dives the weight issues will be corrected, but it's time in the water that matters the most.

When I started diving twin steel 130s, I could not keep my face out of the mud. As soon as I relaxed, my head dropped like a rock. I tried all kinds of gear solutions to fix a skill problem, but nothing really worked. So I just kept diving with twin 130s with my normal kit.

One day, halfway through a dive, I was totally relaxed and realized that I was not having any trim issues anymore. Problem solved with more time in the water.

Dive more.