DIR question regarding trimming out the bp/w

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Went to the pool yesterday to try out the gear I purchased a couple of months ago. I am sure I looked funny topside.

I am diving a Golem stainless bp/w 35bls
Henderson Hyperstretch 7/5
Used 2 sets of fins for my pool session---Scuba Pro Jets and Scuba Pro Twin Jets
AL 80 tank
XS Scuba weight belt with 4 pouches

Got in the pool and tried to hover. As soon as I stopped moving, my feet went straight up my head straight down and then I turtled on my back.

Added some more weight—same thing slower this time

Lowered the tank a lot—same thing—bit slower this time I had the top cam strap at on the edge of where the tank begins to round over after lowering it.

Finally, Mike the LDS owner who was checking in on me from time to time came over and we talked pool side. I had set a weight at the bend of my leg on my butt and was able to hold position. I asked him if he had any kind of tank weight. He had hang weights with a clip on the end that they use for students when they start to float off so he doesn’t have to over weight everyone. I moved 4 lbs to the butt D ring on the harness with the hang weights.

I tightened the harness each time too which helped some.

So any advice on getting myself adjusted in the water? I am still using rental tanks, so purchasing a weighted boot would not work.

Is there some video that I can watch that shows the proper way to get in and out of the harness in water? I was able to do it, but is wasn’t pretty and I lost a little hair! LOL I seemed to keep getting my long hose hung under my right shoulder strap. I know it is easy once you learn how to do it.

I loved how the bp/w felt in the water and on the surface. Even though I was struggling a bit getting set up this first time using it, I think I am in love with it. I just felt so free. I also felt like toward the end one I was getting trimmed out and could hover that I was so much more in control.

I am a little sore today. I was in the pool for two hours. I was really rusty and with a new bc system a bit unsure. It was so nice to be back in the water.

I ended up using 17 lbs of weight plus the plate. My suit is so buoyant and I was nervous, so I am sure as my comfort level improves I can drop it down some. I did a hover check in 4’ with a fully deflated wing when I got to 500 psi and was only able to drop to 17 lbs without loosing control and drifting up.

So what are your thoughts and advice for this noob? As far as my past experience, I have just over 50 dives in a Scuba Pro Pilot Jacket that was a rental bc.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Oh and I moved my weight belt pockets from the front of my body to the back and that seemed to help too.

I still have a ways to go, but I think I made some progress yesterday.

 

[TSandM]

17 pounds with a 7 mil suit doesn't sound that far out of line.

Thick neoprene is pretty buoyant, and you have a lot of it on your legs. To combat that, you need weight low. Jetfins are negative, and they help. Putting the 17 pounds on a weight belt will help. What will also help is body posture -- You have to make sure you have your back a little arched, and your head UP. Dropping your head will drop the whole front of your body. Experiment with the position of your legs -- Does bending your knees make the problem better or worse?

When you're new at this and working with your posture, you might find it useful to try some ankle weights. They're not desirable as a long-term solution, but to achieve a truly horizontal position so you can learn what it feels like, they can be helpful. Ankle weights, as I'm sure you know, are NOT DIR, but neither is being out of trim; our local DIR shop owner told me a long time back that I would get rid of mine with more experience, and he was right.

I remember posting something here about weighted tank boots a long time ago, because Al80s drove me crazy. Somehow, with time, I've learned how to arrange my body in the water to defeat the butt-up tendency of the tanks, and I no longer notice it. On the other hand, my dear dive buddy, who is one of the most elegant divers you'll ever see in the water, dove a 7 mil suit when I met him and was always feet-high. That didn't change until he got his dry suit. So all that neoprene can be challenging!

Good luck with the practicing. It's all time underwater, right?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Leah,

Pools are great for working on your trim. The horizontal bottom is a great reference.

Keep in mind that you will need to add ~1 lbs for every 40 lbs of diver and gear if you plan to dive in saltwater. I mention this only because getting trimmed out in fresh water, then moving to saltwater and adding XX lbs to your weight belt will defeat the exercise.

If you plan to dive in saltwater add the extra weight when fiddleing with your trim.

If you have light feet try moving your wing up relative to your plate, and your cylinder down. Check to make sure you can still reach your valve.

To reduce the the tendancy to roll over keep your fin blades horizontal and your feet 2-3 feet apart.

Good luck,


Tobin

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I will try to work on body position and fin position. I think I will head back over and play in the pool at least one more time before I hit the water. Wish I had found this LDS sooner. It is nice to be able to use the pool to work on skills and to be able to take your time doing it. If I had know sooner, I would have spent some time over there this winter.

I think ankle weights would level me out, but not sure my injured hip could handle them. For now, I think I will stick with the dangly clip on butt weights. I am also going to get a cam strap to put some weight at the bottom of the tank.

It was so good to be back in the water. Now if I could just figure out how to gracefully get in and out of the rig!

 

[PerroneFord]

1. It is most likely a body position problem causing your issue. If you could trim out fine in your previous BC, then this one shouldn't be that different. A single AL80 isn't THAT head heavy.

2. Why are you trying to get out of your rig in the water? That is about the LAST thing you'd want to do. And when you really got into that position, you could simply cut yourself out if you had to.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Well, I put the rig on in the water since the pool had a tiny ladder. And I kept having to adjust stuff with the weights and tank position. It wasn't getting out of the rig that was the problem, it was getting in that was the problem for me. I kept getting all tangled up with the straps and my long hose.

And you have to get in and out at the begining and end of the dive.

 

[do it easy]

Another point is that you might "adjust" to the trim after a few more dives.

 

[PerroneFord]

I get dressed for my dives on the boat or on land. There are some things peculiar to doubles that make them much harder to deal with in the water. That said, you should be doing gross adjustments of the BP/W first on dry land with no tank, second on dry land WITH a tank, and then fine tuning things in the water. A person well versed in how to adjust a BP/W should be able to get you 90% there before you ever get it wet.

As for getting tangled up, there should only be the the waistbelt and the crotch strap hanging down. The long hose should be clipped off if it's not being used.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

2. Why are you trying to get out of your rig in the water? That is about the LAST thing you'd want to do. And when you really got into that position, you could simply cut yourself out if you had to.

That could get pretty expensive for folks who dive out of a small boat ... where you have to get out of your gear in the water before getting back onto the boat.

Knowing how to don and doff your rig in the water is a valuable skill to have. Practicing it in a pool is just about the ideal way to get comfortable with doing it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)