Can't get trimmed out.

[thethumper]

Ok.... I ditched the hose protectors. Put the infator hose between my head & the hose.

I dove Orange Grove this afternoon. I am diving twin 3300psi Catalina 80's. 35# -5.8 full, "0" (neutral) empty. I started out w/3900psi on a 300 bar DR man. w/iso. I dive a Goldcore 3mm 1 piece & the Goldcore 5mm "shorty" farmer john. I have an Al DR BP & Classic wing. I wore NO weight & SANK LIKE A CINDER BLOCK. Not to mention the best part, I was Soooooo head heavy I couldn't get horizontal. I was totally head donw/feet up. I put a weight belt on w/2 4# weights & that seemed to help a little, but the air I had to but in the wing.... Ughhh. The bands are as high on the tank as I can get them..... What to do???????????

These photos haven't been updated to the hose gaurdless yet.

http://www.thumpershole.com/equiptment_setup.htm

 

[Hallmac]

What to do???????????

I looked at your pictures and if the wings are still sitting at the level shown in the picture I think I can see the problem. It appears your wings are still too low on the tanks.

Does your bp have another set of holes? Do you have room to drill new ones?

If not or this would position the tanks too low for your build, consider this trick.

Using thin nylon string tie loops around the lower parts of the wings to limit how much air can collect there. try to force the air into the upper third of the wing. Do not use bungies and do not tie them completly off. make sure the knots hide behind the tanks to prevent them from catching on anything. Do this only as a last resort.

Hallmac

 

[crazyc]

thethumper once bubbled...
Ok.... I ditched the hose protectors. Put the infator hose between my head & the hose.

I dove Orange Grove this afternoon. I am diving twin 3300psi Catalina 80's. 35# -5.8 full, "0" (neutral) empty. I started out w/3900psi on a 300 bar DR man. w/iso. I dive a Goldcore 3mm 1 piece & the Goldcore 5mm "shorty" farmer john. I have an Al DR BP & Classic wing. I wore NO weight & SANK LIKE A CINDER BLOCK. Not to mention the best part, I was Soooooo head heavy I couldn't get horizontal. I was totally head donw/feet up. I put a weight belt on w/2 4# weights & that seemed to help a little, but the air I had to but in the wing.... Ughhh. The bands are as high on the tank as I can get them..... What to do???????????

These photos haven't been updated to the hose gaurdless yet.

http://www.thumpershole.com/equiptment_setup.htm

Okay, so if I get this correct, you had your tanks bumped up to 3900 psi, which gained you about an additional 20 cuft and added about 1.6 pounds to the overall total. An aluminum BP and no weight sent you head first heavy as all get out. So you added 8 pounds to a weight belt and that seemed to help somewhat to get you horizontal. So your COG is way far forward and you need to find a way to move it back a bit to help you balance out your system.

I had a similar experience trying to balance a heavy system and for some odd reason that dive I had grabbed my Mares Quattros instead of my jet fins. Actually I was doing it intentionally to prove to myself one way or another if my Jet fins really made a difference in my balance. With the Quattros if I tried to relax in a horizontal position, the system would pull me over head first. Once I put the Jet fins on, it was just enough to help me trim out again.

Also depending on what system I am diving, I will use V-weight in between the tanks and BP to adjust. I use a yellow Zeagle weight pouch and will put anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds (soft weight) in it, before placing the wing and BP on the tanks I will hook the loop over the tank band post (either top or bottom depending on which way I need to shift my COG) and then attach the wing and BP which holds the weight in place no matter what my position is in the water and also keeps it from shifting. But this allows me to adjust my trim and establish a better COG.

One last trick I found that has made a difference too, is to loosen up the crotch strap. This allows me to reposition whatever system I am wearing while U/W and get it into it's own comfort zone.

Please let me know what if anything you find helps you out.

Out of curiousity, have you drained your tanks to 500 psi and checked to see how much weight you would need at the end of your dive?

 

[wetman]

I had a bit of the same problem with my doubles rig as well - the further down you can get the weight, the less extra weight you'll need. I found a 2-pound weight in each thigh pocket did the trick. Maybe even a 1 pound ankle weight would get you trim (but you'd be shunned of course )

steve

 

[Epinephelus]

There really is a place in the world for ankle weights - yours may well fit the bill. After you've done everythig you can to move the tanks lower, and you're still head-heavy and negative, ankle weights provide the most foot down trim for the least additional weight you can get.
E. itajara

 

[thethumper]

I was actually wearing 2 3#ers. As for the Bp. It's a Al DiveRite w/1 set of bolt holes. If I drill a 2nd set of holes to move the plate up (to move the tanks down my back) the plate will be too far up/too close to my regs. What I was thinking was to get a 6-8# weight w/the eyelet in both ends & "quick-link" it to the bottom 2 holes of my BP, so it spans from side to side @ the hip level. I'll still sink like the Titanic, but @ least I may be able to get trimmed out.

I use US Diver Blades. I tried a lrg. DR fin, but I needed a med. Maybe the jets would help w/trim?

 

[Diver0001]

thethumper once bubbled...
Ok.... I ditched the hose protectors. Put the infator hose between my head & the hose.

I dove Orange Grove this afternoon. I am diving twin 3300psi Catalina 80's. 35# -5.8 full, "0" (neutral) empty. I started out w/3900psi on a 300 bar DR man. w/iso. I dive a Goldcore 3mm 1 piece & the Goldcore 5mm "shorty" farmer john. I have an Al DR BP & Classic wing. I wore NO weight & SANK LIKE A CINDER BLOCK. Not to mention the best part, I was Soooooo head heavy I couldn't get horizontal. I was totally head donw/feet up. I put a weight belt on w/2 4# weights & that seemed to help a little, but the air I had to but in the wing.... Ughhh. The bands are as high on the tank as I can get them..... What to do???????????

These photos haven't been updated to the hose gaurdless yet.

http://www.thumpershole.com/equiptment_setup.htm

You might try loosening the shoulder straps a bit and wearing the whole rig a little lower down on your back. Even a couple of inches can make a difference. Do you have a keel weight?

R..

 

[thethumper]

Diver0001 once bubbled...


You might try loosening the shoulder straps a bit and wearing the whole rig a little lower down on your back. Even a couple of inches can make a difference. Do you have a keel weight?

R..

If you're referring to a weight that attatches to or in between thetanks, I do not.

Maybe the boot on the tanks are too boyant.

 

[lucid]

<nt>

 

[kcanty]

First of all I wouldn't recommend overfilling aluminum tanks.
I do it all the time with steels but I'm cautious with aluminum
but it's your choice.

Also I have read that catalina's have undesireable bouyancy
characteristics compared to luxfers. I don't have any trouble
with my double luxfer 80's.

Which hole(s) of the DR classic are you using? All recent ones
have 2 sets of 3 holes for placing the wing on the BP. Using
the bottom hole of the 3 could help.

Are your fins neutral, positive or negative in the water?
Jet fins are definately negative especially with spring
heel straps. They may help if you don't have negative
fins.

You don't really have boots on your tanks, do you?

Kell