Buoyancy help

[askdjasd]

just finished confined water (drysuit) second dive and I'm about to hit the ocean.
I'm having a problem keeping neutral. I can do fin piviting OK. diving is good, i can control buoyancy. but the second i stop, i a: go directly to the bottom or b: i surface.
My instructor says it'll come in time.. but i'm worried about failing. $6bills down the drain. I've worked on weights and air both in the BCD and dry suit.

I have 4 ocean dives coming up.



When i do get it - I control my breathing and it starts working, then something freaks me out (the pool we went into yesturday had 15 other divers and very small pool) and i start breathing faster.

Any tips.. one thing he suggested was to stop smoking. but the day job I have is uber stressful. I will most likely stop once i start diving every weekend (which is my plan in winter)

 

[rsigmund]

The question that I would have for you is this... How many dives did you have under your belt before taking the drysuit class, or was this part of the OW cert? How comfortable were you with your buoyancy before the drysuit class? The thing about drysuits is that they are far less forgiving that standard diving when it comes to bouyancy. Instead of trying to balance 10 Lbs of wieght while diving, you are not trying to balance better than 20 normaly. this means that any adjustments you make to your bouyancy are exagerated by the extra air that you have to use to be neutral at that weight. Like a lot of skills in this sport/hobby, this take a lot of practice and time underwater to get proficient. Keep practicing with the dry suit and you will get the hang of it (it took me about 20 dives before I felt comfortable and not thinking about it all the time). And once you master that go to the Caribbean and show of how well you handle the "easy" buoyancy of just a BC.

Rich

 

[askdjasd]

had a problem with it on wetsuit as well, but I feel i could do it in wetsuit now.

just calculating how much air both the bcd and the dry suit needs to be neutral is harsh.
the dry suit course is included in the OW cert. for an extra $100.00
but a dry suit is essential when diving around BC

 

[speedhound]

One thing you'll find is that your buoyancy will get better with practice, and with (eventual)depth. If you're getting "excited" then you'll breathe more, become more bouyant, think you need more lead, use more inflation, get excited..the spiral continues!

Just relax and set yourself small goals in the pool - stay near the bottom, then a couple of feet off, then a few more feet off. Because of the relatively larger pressure changes, your bouyancy control will be less forgiving on the last 30 ft of your dive, and as you get closer to the surface - but it will come with practice, and relaxation.
Dive safe and have fun!

 

[Bob Vincent]

Hi ...

& Welcome to ...
:sblogo::colouredsmilies::colouredsmilies:

The question that I would have for you is this... How many dives did you have under your belt before taking the drysuit class, or was this part of the OW cert? How comfortable were you with your buoyancy before the drysuit class? The thing about drysuits is that they are far less forgiving that standard diving when it comes to bouyancy. Instead of trying to balance 10 Lbs of wieght while diving, you are not trying to balance better than 20 normaly. this means that any adjustments you make to your bouyancy are exagerated by the extra air that you have to use to be neutral at that weight. Like a lot of skills in this sport/hobby, this take a lot of practice and time underwater to get proficient. Keep practicing with the dry suit and you will get the hang of it (it took me about 20 dives before I felt comfortable and not thinking about it all the time). And once you master that go to the Caribbean and show of how well you handle the "easy" buoyancy of just a BC.

Rich

Right on.

Have you been adding air in both BC and Dry suit at the same time? Put on the dry suit and sqeeze all the air out you can get out. You should of been thaught that. Then only use your BC.

When you say your breathing faster because of freaking out in a pool with more divers? I don't really understand this ... don't be afraid to make a mistake in front of anyone ... just in case thats a reason.

The more dives you do the better you'll become ... practice does make perfect! You said, "I control my breathing and it starts working". I bet your holding a large amount of air in your lungs ... then exhaling the extra volume and thats why your going up or down alot. Just try and relax and breathe the same. Pratice Pratice Practice you have a big learning curve not only learning how to dive but taking on the extra training of using a dry suit I'm thinking it's both because people made you nervous.

Don't worry you'll get it ... just slow down and think then do it.

 

[askdjasd]

I know with having more dives will get me better at buoyancy.

I only have 4 dives left to get it. All my other skills have been passed with flying colors. I'm really worried that I wont be able to do it in 4 dives.
Could I potentially fail?

 

[TSandM]

askdjasd, I doubt you'll "fail". If you're still having major buoyancy issues when your class is ended, if you have a GOOD instructor, he or she will suggest you spend some more time in the pool, or do some more dives with an instructor to work on this. That's not failing -- That's a good, smart instructor who has your best interests at heart, and wants you to become a good and regular diver.

I had horrible problems mastering buoyancy control. (Read the journal of my OW class that's linked in my sig line!) I passed my class without ever having successfully done a descent without hanging onto my instructor's BC. I went on to flounder and flail and have a couple of near misses that scared my pants off. I don't know, honestly, why I kept trying. Eventually, I found a good mentor (through ScubaBoard!) who patiently helped me work through my issues.

So, if you don't get the buoyancy thing down as fast as the other people in your class do, it's not failing. It's just learning more slowly, and maybe you need more time and more help. It's okay; those of us who are a bit scuba-challenged can end up pretty good divers. I passed one of the most difficult cave classes you can take this last May, which requires pinpoint buoyancy control. It just took me longer than the average bear to get there

 

[Colliam7]

When i do get it - I control my breathing and it starts working, then something freaks me out (the pool we went into yesturday had 15 other divers and very small pool) and i start breathing faster.

This is not unusual for a newer diver. It happens. Patience, patience, patince. You will be OK.

.. one thing he suggested was to stop smoking. but the day job I have is uber stressful. I will most likely stop once i start diving every weekend (which is my plan in winter)

Try drinking (alcohol) instead of smoking. Seriously.

 

[spectrum]

I know with having more dives will get me better at buoyancy.

I only have 4 dives left to get it. All my other skills have been passed with flying colors. I'm really worried that I wont be able to do it in 4 dives.
Could I potentially fail?

Unless you loose control and cork you are unlikely to fail. Even then you'd just have to do better next time. As long at you perform all of the disaster mitigation skill tricks you will get certified. There are a few instructors who will interpret the requirements to be a higher level of excellence but they are few.

If you are that concerned about being acceptable on your certification dives how do you expect to go out on your own right after that? If you are that uncomfortable tell your instructor you want to get more pool time during his next pool class cycle.

The goal is to become a diver, not to just get certified.

Pete

 

[don Francisco]

Learning bouyancy is in some respects like a baby learning to walk. At the beginning it's all disjointed, nothing works, and every dive is a serious struggle with over compensation, and mis-timed adjustments.

After a few dives you begin to get a feel for what it's about and actually succeed in doing what you want to, at least somewhat if you concentrate hard enough.

A few more dives, usually about your 20th dive or so, you have a quiet epiphany, and suddenly find you're managing pretty well by instinct.

My advice - Don't think in terms of passing or failing, but of a process. First you crawl, than toddle hanging onto things, and suddenly you're walking. Give yourself a chance and you'll be fine.