Ankle Weight

[The Chairman]

Ah... two more options then.

First the old bungeed weight on the shoulder strap trick:

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Then, you can always use a spare cam band and put that weight anywhere on the tank you want. I add 3 pound weights when I dive AL80s on sidemount to keep the butts down:

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With the cam band, you can use weight pouches as pictured, or go with solid slotted weights. Either option is easier to fly with than ankle weights.You can put the weight high on the tank or anywhere you want.

Speaking of floating butts... remember that AL tanks are not intuitive when it comes to how they affect your trim. Moving them down in the BC will cause your butt to rise and not sink. Remember that you're moving the bubble and not just mass. Contrary to this, steel tanks are very intuitive, and shifting them higher on the BCD will cause your butt to rise. Don't let the frustration get you: move that AL 80 as far down as you can in your BCD.

 

[The Chairman]

One more thought... a lot of heads up attitude is accomplished through copious amounts of sculling. Fold your hands together, watch you head drop significantly and save a lot of air at the same time. I wrote this article on getting your trim straight. It might be worth a read: Master Neutral Buoyancy: The Importance of Horizontal Trim (Simple Vector Physics) - ScubaBoard

 

[rongoodman]

The idea is to be neutral...not negative...

You will never be a proficient diver by diving ''negative''...as the deeper you dive...the more negative you become...at depth you're constantly adding or releasing gas in you BCD to stay neutral...if you're finding your bottom time cut short...it's because you're constantly exhausting gas from your BCD...

It isn't a matter of neutral vs. negative, but putting the weight he's carrying where it needs to be. If he was complaining about a set of doubles putting him head down, we'd be talking about tail weights or negative fins. Neither case necessarily implies more weight, just a change in its location.

 

[JackD342]

Ah... two more options then.

First the old bungeed weight on the shoulder strap trick:

View attachment 488194
​

Then, you can always use a spare cam band and put that weight anywhere on the tank you want. I add 3 pound weights when I dive AL80s on sidemount to keep the butts down:

View attachment 488195
​

With the cam band, you can use weight pouches as pictured, or go with solid slotted weights. Either option is easier to fly with than ankle weights.You can put the weight high on the tank or anywhere you want.

Speaking of floating butts... remember that AL tanks are not intuitive when it comes to how they affect your trim. Moving them down in the BC will cause your butt to rise and not sink. Remember that you're moving the bubble and not just mass. Contrary to this, steel tanks are very intuitive, and shifting them higher on the BCD will cause your butt to rise. Don't let the frustration get you: move that AL 80 as far down as you can in your BCD.

I was hoping/trying to avoid covering all of the same ground twice from the other thread. The Zuma BCD only gives you a few inches at most of room to adjust the height of the tank.

 

[The Chairman]

I was hoping/trying to avoid covering all of the same ground twice from the other thread.

No worries... lots of things get repeated and that's OK. I was a part of that thread for a tiny bit and didn't see that part of the discussion. I do see (and read about) a lot of people try and push that tank higher to get their feet up, when they actually need to push it the other way, where there's a lot more room on most BCDs.

 

[W W Meixner]

Marty has another thread asking about more efficient fins. Went in a lot of directions as they tend to do, but we identified that Marty probably had more of an issue with trim than with poor fins.
Here is that other thread: 58 years old, looking for fins to help with efficiency?

@W W Meixner
Warren- Marty's BCD has a single low cam band - no place to add trim pockets to move some weight away from center of gravity. The cam band is in line with the weight pockets, thus the need to be a little more creative with trim than my go-to first choice, trim pockets.

Since I knew the background on the other thread that initiated this question, I tried to be as specific and focused as possible for Marty's new question.

In Reply...

My advise is to avoid anything that can be construed as make-shift...

If you lose your make-shift attachment whatever it may be...you will become buoyant...maybe uncontrollably buoyant...

Again...take a ''Peak Performance Buoyancy Course'' and avoid this additional weighting altogether...

You are far better off once all your ''crutches'' have fallen away...

Some OW instructors seem to think that teaching proper buoyancy skills is too ''time'' intensive and having their students negative is better than having them bobbing on the surface in frustration...

This unfortunately results in some students who learned this way and who never advance to give up the sport early...thinking that they're doing something wrong...they are...but they only know what they were taught...

There are all kinds of reasons why divers are overly buoyant and have difficulties descending...with few exceptions the lions share have to do with lack acquired skills learned through training...and practice...

More weight...is never the solution to the ''root cause''...of the problem...

On a slightly different subject...but still having to do with positive buoyancy problems...it always surprises me to hear dry-suit divers complain about positive buoyancy issues...and to see dry-suit divers jumping in the water with 40 LB of ballast...

If the suit fits right...is not full of folds and bulk that trap air...and is properly evacuated pre dive...no dry-suit intended for diving...should be any more buoyant than a new properly fitting 7 mm wet suit...if it is there is a problem...more ballast is not the solution...because often times what happens at depth during suit compression...that trapped air finally burps out...and you end up dropping like a stone...

Just my opinion...based on my experience...

Dive Safe...

Warren

 

[tursiops]

Speaking of floating butts... remember that AL tanks are not intuitive when it comes to how they affect your trim. Moving them down in the BC will cause your butt to rise and not sink. Remember that you're moving the bubble and not just mass.

Isn't this only true once the tank starts getting toward empty, so there is actually some positive buoyancy to manage?

 

[MrBigfins]

I too use a 2lb ankle weight on the neck of the tank, just bought a pair of exercise ankle weight. I'm foot heavy, bought the lightest fins I could find that still fit and met my propulsion needs. Still to get comfortable trim, a tank weight was needed.

I do agree that excess weight isnt the answer, but you can carry the correct weight and still have terrible trim due to body composition. I'm 6'7 250 with size 15 shoes. Do you think my feet are heavier than yours? Further from center of gravity?hence why some people absolutely need to distribute weight differently than others. My instructor took time to explain proper weighting, and distribution of weight during peak performance buoyancy.

I like the chairmanships idea of bcd strap weights, however with the hydros I dont think it would work as well as a nylon bcd.

 

[Marty Bess]

I use 1/2 lb chicklet weights on a webbed belt, like these.
Purity Casting Alloys - SCUBA DIVE WEIGHTS, ANKLE WEIGHT SETS, ANKLE WEIGHT BELTS

For your tank?

 

[Marty Bess]

I too use a 2lb ankle weight on the neck of the tank, just bought a pair of exercise ankle weight. I'm foot heavy, bought the lightest fins I could find that still fit and met my propulsion needs. Still to get comfortable trim, a tank weight was needed.

I do agree that excess weight isnt the answer, but you can carry the correct weight and still have terrible trim due to body composition. I'm 6'7 250 with size 15 shoes. Do you think my feet are heavier than yours? Further from center of gravity?hence why some people absolutely need to distribute weight differently than others. My instructor took time to explain proper weighting, and distribution of weight during peak performance buoyancy.

I like the chairmanships idea of bcd strap weights, however with the hydros I dont think it would work as well as a nylon bcd.

I'm 6'4", size 13/14 shoe, 195 lbs. With my old fins I was really foot heavy but I'm unsure at this point since I just picked me up some of the Mares X-Stream