BP/W: lower in the water on the surface - normal?

[Storker]

So, I got myself a BP/W. I like just about everything about it, except that I feel I'm floating a lot lower in the water than with the jacket or back inflate BCDs I've used before. It's got a 40# wing and should be more than sufficient to keep me afloat, and my weighting is dialed in so low I hardly have air to dump when I'm keeping squeeze at bay, but I'm finding myself closing my arm valve and adding air to my suit to stay as high in the water as I used to do with my previous BCDs. And no, I don't try to stay upright in the water, I always float on my back when I've surfaced.

Is this just something I have to get used to, or have I got something wrong here?

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[String]

Depends on the shape of wing but yeah it can be normal due to how air is distributed throughout the ring shape vs in the back of a BCD lower down.

 

[PfcAJ]

Your backplate might be too high on your back. Super common.

 

[DennisS]

That's one of the things I don't like about the wing. When you are vertical on the surface you are low in the water. You just have to tip back to get your mouth/nose up higher.

 

[decompression]

You are adding air to your suit to get higher in the water and you've got a 40# wing? Definitely something amiss. As AJ said, check position of the wing, tank bands and tank. Also the placement of your weights. Being lower is common and so is a slight push forward compared to a jacket.


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[Storker]

Being lower is common

OK, just a matter of getting used to it, then. Thanks. It's a bit disconcerting getting used to new gear that behaves differently than the stuff you've been using for a while, though.

so is a slight push forward compared to a jacket

As with a back inflate BCD, which was what I used before I got the BP/W. I'm used to that, and it's no problem. I believe that that BCD had more lift than my current wing, though.

---------- Post added June 7th, 2014 at 11:26 PM ----------

Your backplate might be too high on your back. Super common.

I'll double-check that, thanks.

I've been going a bit back and forth here, though. I thought I'd adjusted my harness a bit on the tight side on my first dive with the rig, so I loosened it for the second one. On that dive, I could stuff a fist between my shoulder and the harness while horizontal underwater, so I wasn't as wrong as I initially thought on my first dive. And no matter whether I loosen or tighten the straps, the plate stays more or less at the same place on my back, so I believe it's located more or less correctly. I'll experiment a bit more with the crotch strap, though, to see if I can get the whole rig to stay lower on my back when I'm on the surface

 

[mk706]

Like AJ said, your harness needs adjustment.

40 lbs is a lot of wing. Are you diving double steel tanks? That's a lot of wing for a single tank, even for a large steel tank and a SS BP. Are you diving a drysuit? If diving dry try to get the weight evenly distributed. Diving wet you shouldn't need any weight, provided you're rig is balanced. Too much wing equals unnecessary drag and buoyancy.

Tobin, from DSS, has written several great posts regarding how to calculate the size of wing needed. You'll probably discover the need for more than one wing, depending on conditions/variables.

Always good to dive with an instructor who dives the rig you'd like to move into. Find an instructor, or experienced diver to help get your rig dialed-in.


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[TSandM]

Tighten your crotch strap. It should be short enough that it's a little bit of a hassle getting the waist strap through it. If not, the wing rides up on your back -- it floats, you don't.

 

[dbulmer]

Like AJ said, your harness needs adjustment.

40 lbs is a lot of wing. Are you diving double steel tanks? That's a lot of wing for a single tank, even for a large steel tank and a SS BP. Are you diving a drysuit? If diving dry try to get the weight evenly distributed. Diving wet you shouldn't need any weight, provided you're rig is balanced. Too much wing equals unnecessary drag and buoyancy.

Tobin, from DSS, has written several great posts regarding how to calculate the size of wing needed. You'll probably discover the need for more than one wing, depending on conditions/variables.

Always good to dive with an instructor who dives the rig you'd like to move into. Find an instructor, or experienced diver to help get your rig dialed-in.


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40Lb for a single wing is fine particularly for Northern waters - a 30lb wing is fine too. Benefit of the 40lb wing in choppier waters is that you are slightly higher on the surface and thus it is a little bit more comfortable resting on the surface.

Underwater there is less streamlining with a 40lb but most people are simply not going to notice the difference.

 

[fnfalman]

Tighten your crotch strap. It should be short enough that it's a little bit of a hassle getting the waist strap through it. If not, the wing rides up on your back -- it floats, you don't.

Definitely try this first. However, even with a properly adjusted harness/crotch strap, you will sit low in the water compared to the jacket BC. However, your head should clear water though.

If you really want to be well out of the water, then pump the wing up to its maximum capacity then float on your back. It'd be like you're lying face up on a raft.

Also, ask yourself why do you need to float really high out of the water? You're a SCUBA diver and not a floater. Also, the higher you float out of the water, the more effort you need to do surface swim.

If you weight yourself properly, you should be able to float on the surface with a nearly empty tank and zero air in your BC.

---------- Post added June 9th, 2014 at 09:02 AM ----------

40Lb for a single wing is fine particularly for Northern waters - a 30lb wing is fine too. Benefit of the 40lb wing in choppier waters is that you are slightly higher on the surface and thus it is a little bit more comfortable resting on the surface.

Underwater there is less streamlining with a 40lb but most people are simply not going to notice the difference.

Just because a wing has more capacity, it doesn't mean that the BC is going to lift you higher out of the water. I have an old 30-lbs Dive Rite Venture Wing and a newer (now defunct) 45-lbs Venture Wing. The bigger one doesn't lift me any higher out of the water than the smaller one.

I personally can't tell the difference about the drag of the bigger wing versus smaller wing. I can tell the difference when it comes to venting the BC though. The smaller wing doesn't trap air like the bigger wing does.