BP&W Surface Swim to Vertical

[TheBullfrog]

I know this is an old thread but two things caught my attention. One is are you sure you need 26lbs of weight in addition to the steel tank? Even in a dry suit that sounds like a lot to me. The other is those steel 80s are really short and round, I believe they used to be referred to as ‘bowling ball with valve’ from time to time. Maybe borrow/rent a different tank like a HP100 just to see if it changes anything.

Thank you replying to my question. Yes, it was too much. I am down to 21.5 now. It's much better. I also found that my tank boot was way too tall. I changed over to a lower profile hex tank boot, and being able to raise the tank higher without the boot getting in the way of the tank band made a huge difference. That along with the weight.
Thanks again!

 

[EFX]

Cold water ~50°F
Steel 80
SS Plate (6.5 lbs) - full to empty is about -6lbs, so I compensate with 4 added pounds on my lower tank band
I have weights:
-DUI Harness (14 lbs)
-Lower tank band, 2 weight pockets 3lbs ea
- Total 26.5 lbs
I weight about 167.5 lbs

Without seeing the 14 lbs of weights on your DUI harness my guess would be that while swimming horizontally those weights have shifted forward in their pockets so that they hang below your center line. This will make moving to the vertical position harder as you have to "pick up" those weights in the process.

 

[Bjparris1990]

I’ve realized that if you look up and just put enough air in your wing to float you can kind of position your body on the donut like a yoga ball. All you are doing is balancing your weight on the donut.