buoyancy question

[SkyAce2004]

Ive got my weight locked in to stay buoyant, however Im having a big problem staying horizontal. Ive got a few dives logged, but Ive been pretty annoyed with this one problem. Ive got a back inflate BC, an AL80 tank and about 14 lbs of weight in the BC.

My problem is my feet always sink and if I dont keep kicking, I go into an upright position. Is there anything I can do to my gear so I can stay in a horizontal configuration?

 

[TSandM]

If you have a weight-integrated BC and you are putting all your weight in the integrated pockets, you may be obliged to be feet-down.

If your BC has trim pockets (little ones up behind your shoulders), you can move some of your weight up there until you can balance in a horizontal position. You can also move your tank up higher in the cambands, which will also move weight onto your shoulders.

If your BC doesn't have trim pockets, you can buy weight pockets (Trident and XS Scuba sell them) that you can put on the cambands and put weights in them, again to move weight up your body.

It's well worth getting this sorted out, because you expend far less effort when you are balanced, and that makes your gas last a lot longer.

 

[Rick Inman]

What she said.

Also, one common thing I see is tanks way too low down on the diver's back. Make sure your tank is up nice and high. With a standard BC, it often looks like the tank is nice and high before you don the rig, but once you put it on, it rides too low. When in the water, you should be able to bend your head way back and just touch your reg.

 

[GotNoOcean]

A few questions for you --

What kind of fins are you using? What kind of exposure protection? What's your height & weight? These are all part of the trim picture. If you're not wearing a thick wetsuit, and depending on your build, you might be able to cut back on the amount of lead you wear. Heavy fins with thinner neoprene can also do this.

Cheers,

 

[SkyAce2004]

A few questions for you --

What kind of fins are you using? What kind of exposure protection? What's your height & weight? These are all part of the trim picture. If you're not wearing a thick wetsuit, and depending on your build, you might be able to cut back on the amount of lead you wear. Heavy fins with thinner neoprene can also do this.

Cheers,

Oceanic Vortex V-16 fins

Zeagle Ranger (XL)
3mm shorty wetsuit
6'2" @ 250#

The fins do sink, and the ranger does have trim pockets, but they are on the lower part of the tank, not the upper.

 

[GotNoOcean]

Make sure you're mounting the tank into the BC as high as you can deal with it (the valve sticking you in the back of the head is the limiting factor) Also, a good cheap option for trim weights is to put a couple of 3lb block weights on a short weight belt, mounted to the tank as high as possible. This might help some.

 

[Thalassamania]

Take the weight off your rig and put it on a belt like god intended. While you're at it, get rid of that pretend weight belt that the dive shop foisted off on you and get either a rubber belt with a heavy duty wire buckle or a SeaQuest style buckle. Now when you get down, if your feet are down pull the belt a few inches toward your head. Works every time.

 

[iceaxe]

I have a Zeagle Brigade (very similar to the Ranger) and have been dealing with this issue. First and foremost make sure you're not using too much weight--experiment with a tank at pressure you normally finish a dive as per the instructions of open water courses. The next step is to put your tank a little higher up on your back. If that doesn't fix it, you can try putting some ankle weights around you tank valve. This is the point I'm at and it works well. Unfortunately I'm realizing that this whole process could've been avoided by getting bp/w setup. Oh well.

 

[SkyAce2004]

When I was in the pool trying everything out, I dont think I had the tank high enough on my back. Ill have to drop it back into the pool and see what I can do. I do usually use a weight belt. Until I got the ranger. So, im gunna try using weight integrated for a little while and see how I like it.

I like how there are rear pocket weight pouches on the ranger, but they are at the bottom of tank instead of the top, so I dont get the purpose of them. They are about the same height up as the integrated weight pouches on the front.

 

[Tigerman]

When I was in the pool trying everything out, I dont think I had the tank high enough on my back. Ill have to drop it back into the pool and see what I can do. I do usually use a weight belt. Until I got the ranger. So, im gunna try using weight integrated for a little while and see how I like it.

I like how there are rear pocket weight pouches on the ranger, but they are at the bottom of tank instead of the top, so I dont get the purpose of them. They are about the same height up as the integrated weight pouches on the front.

The point of the rear weight pouches I would guess to be to not have all your weight in the ditchable pouches?