Can't get Vertical

[BigBuoy]

Had a talk with a few friends and the instructor they all said the same thing, slow down.
Everything will come together with time and practice.

That's exactly what I tell people that think they are struggling or think they are, duh.

Thanks for the advise and good words, guess I will just mellow out and practice.

Got to balance the excitement with expectations.

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Gregorv62: For the fin pivot I can't get my fin tips down or get my knees down.

That's a good thing, you never want to touch the bottom. The Fin Pivot is a useless skill, you don't need that skill in order to learn neutral buoyancy.

 

[Jaydubya]

The PADI standards do not require "fin pivots" They require achieving neutral buoyancy (two different ways). If your fins are not touching the bottom that is actually a good thing- as long as you are not sculling with them.


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[boulderjohn]

As Jaydubya said, if you are doing a PADI course, the fin pivot is not longer a part of the course, and it has not been a part of the course for years. I was at a regional instructor meeting, and you will may be interested in what the speaker, a member of PADI management, said when someone mentioned the fin pivot. He said it had not been required for years, and he gave some examples of why it had been dropped. One of those reasons was that instructors were obsessing over the form of the fin pivot and forgetting its entire purpose was merely to show the student how buoyancy changes when you breathe in and out. He specifically said that with the newer lighter fins, many students were having trouble keeping their feet down when they did the fin pivot, and he said as a result, some instructors were actually putting ankle weights on their students. He said that was the opposite of what they wanted to happen, so they dropped the requirement.

In quick summary: One of the reasons that PADI dropped the fin pivot requirement was that they heard reports of instructors putting ankle weights on students so that their feet would go down, which is the opposite of what PADI wants to have happen.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

In addition to the equipment adjustments suggested above, pay attention to your movement below the waist. (and above it too). Every little kick, knee bend, waist bend, arm movement- all of it, will effect your trim (position in the water) Think yoga- body awareness and control. I have a suspicion if you keep still you can control your position in the water much better. Let us know what happens.
DivemasterDennis

 

[00wabbit]

I use my ankle weights to hold tarps and on the end of my drop line.

Don't spend the money on them.

Horizontal is nice underwater. Many people spend lots of time trying to get perfect horizontal trim. (I'm one of them and I'm not there yet)

If you tend to roll onto your face when on the surface you may have too much air in your bc. You only need enough air to hold your head out of the water. This isn't a life jacket, it isn't designed to keep your upper body out of the water and keep you face up. Try using less air next time, just enough to keep your head out, then kick into a slightly reclining position and swim backwards on the surface.