GSmith
Registered
I'm thinking about purchasing one of these as a warm water wing. I wiegh about 180# and will be using about 14# of ballast with a 3mm suit w/ probably an AL80 tank.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
Anyone using the 18# Oxycheq Wing?
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Scubaroo
Contributor
Sound perfect - the Al80s are about -2lb full, so with 14lb of lead, you need 16-17lb of lift at most, and only at depth at the beginning of the dive. My fiancee and I are taking 2 of them to Fiji in June.
OP
GSmith
Registered
Thank you for the advice, I placed an order for one last night.Scubaroo:
Hope you have a good trip to Fiji,
Greg
rjchandler
Contributor
your regs and lights add a couple pounds too. You might have problems on the surface in heavy seas.
Scubaroo
Contributor
Wetsuits (even 3mm) add plenty of lift at the surface. Gas/lead weight versus wing lift matters at depth, when the wetsuit looses it's buoyancy.
OP
GSmith
Registered
It's funny that you posted this when you did, I've been wrestling with this in my own head the last couple of days and just posted this question in the physics forum (http://www.scubaboard.com/t47044.html).
I can see the suit changing, as with my 7mm within a certain range (between 15-25') it seems to change enough to be an annoyance. But this maybe more indicative of my lack of bouyancy control {I'm a greenhorn(what ever that is)}. But is there some other law of physics that will vary lift with depth?
I can see the suit changing, as with my 7mm within a certain range (between 15-25') it seems to change enough to be an annoyance. But this maybe more indicative of my lack of bouyancy control {I'm a greenhorn(what ever that is)}. But is there some other law of physics that will vary lift with depth?
Scubaroo:
Scubaroo
Contributor
Neoprene's full of bubbles - and the greatest change in *relative* pressure during descent/ascent is between 1ATA and 2ATA (ie surface to 10m/33') - the pressure has doubled as you descend, and the air bubbles will be compressed by about half. So you could conceivably lose half the suit's bouyancy in the first 33' - I'm not sure if the neoprene material around the bubbles has any inherent buoyancy or not. So on ascent, your suit could conceivably double in buoyancy.
OP
GSmith
Registered
Yes,
This sounds like a perfect excuse for my shallow water dive buoyance problems w/ my Seaquest semi-dry suit.
When doing shallow divies at night when I have a little less sense of my position, like I said, at about 15'-25' I start bobing up and down in the water like crazy. Whne doing deeper dives, I have no such problem.
I am a rookie! I'll try to weight myself heavier to offset this effect next time.
Thanks for the help,
Greg
This sounds like a perfect excuse for my shallow water dive buoyance problems w/ my Seaquest semi-dry suit.
When doing shallow divies at night when I have a little less sense of my position, like I said, at about 15'-25' I start bobing up and down in the water like crazy. Whne doing deeper dives, I have no such problem.
I am a rookie! I'll try to weight myself heavier to offset this effect next time.
Thanks for the help,
Greg
rjchandler
Contributor
adding weight is often not the solution to bouyancy problems
OP
GSmith
Registered
Doc Intrepid was nice enough to share his knowledge/experience of the following phenomenom with me:
Certain geologic formations, generally involving two or more islands in relative proximity, can lead to a condition known as a downwelling. While there are other downwellings as well, these result from tidal changes, and often channel water receding from shallow coral reefs surrounding islands through the constriction between islands and thence over the top of the wall where the coral drops off.
A diver caught in a downwelling is at a disadvantage, because they are difficult to avoid - swimming away from the wall can help mitigate the effect somewhat, but a great deal of water is moving...
I am aware of at least one fatality within the last 15 months that was reported to be attributed to a downwelling, the victim was an older woman diver who was swept from her buddy and down over the edge of the dropoff.
For many reasons, esp. with an 18# BC/wing, you would be well advised to consider carrying a device like a safety sausage while boat diving in the islands. Something at least 5' long should provide an extra 40 lbs of lift should anything go awry (even recovering a lost weightbelt can be difficult without some form of lift which is NOT your own BC/wing). Plus, it can be used to signal the boat should you be swept some distance from it during your dive. Good ones are made by Carter Liftbag, OMS, and Halcyon. They roll up quite small, and are not devices strictly for technical divers. IMHO, recreational divers diving off boats in the islands should carry them, together with a small spool you can use to deploy them as well.
I hope you don't mind me posting part of your message Doc! This what makes these boards!
I always knew it was appropriate to carry a safety sausage, but was not aware of this effect. So, I now have the 18# wing in hand. It is very compact and looks like a decent piece, but I won't be going diving w/o supplemental lift.
Thanks again to all for the input!
Greg in CT.
Certain geologic formations, generally involving two or more islands in relative proximity, can lead to a condition known as a downwelling. While there are other downwellings as well, these result from tidal changes, and often channel water receding from shallow coral reefs surrounding islands through the constriction between islands and thence over the top of the wall where the coral drops off.
A diver caught in a downwelling is at a disadvantage, because they are difficult to avoid - swimming away from the wall can help mitigate the effect somewhat, but a great deal of water is moving...
I am aware of at least one fatality within the last 15 months that was reported to be attributed to a downwelling, the victim was an older woman diver who was swept from her buddy and down over the edge of the dropoff.
For many reasons, esp. with an 18# BC/wing, you would be well advised to consider carrying a device like a safety sausage while boat diving in the islands. Something at least 5' long should provide an extra 40 lbs of lift should anything go awry (even recovering a lost weightbelt can be difficult without some form of lift which is NOT your own BC/wing). Plus, it can be used to signal the boat should you be swept some distance from it during your dive. Good ones are made by Carter Liftbag, OMS, and Halcyon. They roll up quite small, and are not devices strictly for technical divers. IMHO, recreational divers diving off boats in the islands should carry them, together with a small spool you can use to deploy them as well.
I hope you don't mind me posting part of your message Doc! This what makes these boards!
I always knew it was appropriate to carry a safety sausage, but was not aware of this effect. So, I now have the 18# wing in hand. It is very compact and looks like a decent piece, but I won't be going diving w/o supplemental lift.
Thanks again to all for the input!
Greg in CT.
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