Dive boat etiquette and buoyancy check

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I’ve been diving my new gear in freshwater and plan to do a boat dive in Fort Lauderdale in a couple months. All my previous diving has been in saltwater with rental gear on boats and I would purposely overweight but now I’m more concerned with buoyancy and trim.

My question: is it okay to ask the crew if I can do a quick buoyancy check before descending on a dive boat since I’ll be in different density water than I’m used to? Or is this something I should sort out before the dive?

Thanks!
Normally this would be fine, but a lot of diving in the Ft. Lauderdale area is hot drops and/drift diving where a buoyancy check isn't feasible.

You need to call the charter operator and see what dive site they are taking you to--is it a drift dive or is it a shallow reef?

Depending on the answer, the operator might have a means or method to facilitate your needs without too much fuss. If they can't, then it would be best to test out the configuration before going on the full charter. That could be testing the gear our where you live, doing a shore dive the day before the charter, or even going to the operator and jumping right off their dock just to check buoyancy.
 
I’m doing my AOW dives this weekend in a fresh water quarry so I should be good to go on technique for achieving buoyancy and trim. I may be over thinking this since I’ll have my f/w weight locked in. So maybe adding for estimated difference in s/w and then end of dive buoyancy test is a good strategy.

I think I’m just self conscious of possibly underweighting and being that guy that needs the dm to come up and give him extra weight.
 
I think I’m just self conscious of possibly underweighting and being that guy that needs the dm to come up and give him extra weight.
That is usually because of a failure to get all the air out of the BCD.
 
I think I’m just self conscious of possibly underweighting and being that guy that needs the dm to come up and give him extra weight.

Before internet discussions made newer divers so weight-conscious, it was common to start diving over-weighted by a few pounds (hopefully not TOO overweighted) and then shed weight a little at a time from one dive to the next as it became clearer that the excess wasn't needed. The rules-of-thumb for transitioning from freshwater to saltwater should get you in the ballpark on the first dive. Don't risk underweighting in the name of trying to hit the bullseye on the first dive as some of those weighting discussions might give one the impression is a big deal.
 
My question: is it okay to ask the crew if I can do a quick buoyancy check before descending...
Ask? You don't ask the crew if you can do it. You are the customer. You TELL them that you need to do it.

Then you ask them where and when they would prefer. ( Even on a drift dive they should be able to run a line out so you don't drift away while adjusting your buoyancy )

If they do not cooperate on such a basic safety issue, bail out and go with another boat.
 
Doing a weight check on the way in will potentially hold up the whole group. If everybody else is waiting at the bottom of the mooring burning through their air, you won't be very popular on the boat.
My plan would be to overweight on the first dive and do the check between dives once the boat is moored at the second site or sort out the issue before hand. If you try to do a buoyancy check at the end of a dive you will have an empty, buoyant tank so not the solution.
 
Ask? You don't ask the crew if you can do it. You are the customer. You TELL them that you need to do it.

Then you ask them where and when they would prefer. ( Even on a drift dive they should be able to run a line out so you don't drift away while adjusting your buoyancy )

If they do not cooperate on such a basic safety issue, bail out and go with another boat.

It really depends on the dive. The current here can be strong sometimes and no boat is going to let you jump in the water and then chase you down, throw out lines, etc. hollding up all the other people on the boat, just because you need to do a weight check. If a boat did do that, that would be a good reason for everone else to not use them.
 
I think I’m just self conscious of possibly underweighting
2 things to consider:

A) It's Ft. Lauderdale so EVERY buddy team carries a flag + reel {It's local rules}
B) They have these things called "Clip Weights" that lots of divers use. If you get a 1 or 2 pounder and feel like your a touch heavy, just unclip it from your BCD's D-ring and clip it on to your flag reel. Even at the safety stop you could take it off the reel and put it back on your BCD. They're about $20 or make your own with a clip & ziptie.
clip-weights.jpg
 
I think you can expect the dive operator to accomodate your need for a weight check to get you into the ballpark, maybe a few pounds heavy, and in my experience they'll do so willingly. Depending on conditions (weather, group size, experience, dive site etc. etc.) they will want to choose how/where/when it is done, to keep their operation smooth for everyone.

More than anything, talk to the shop to let them know before you arrive, then remind them when you check in (hopefully the day before you dive) and again when you show up to dive. That way there should be no surprises or scrambling around, even though communication in the shop may not be optimum. You'll also be more relaxed if you know the plan ahead of time.

How much extra lead you need depends on your build and exposure suit. If you're small and/or skinny in a bathing suit you won't need to add much; if you're big and round in a thick full wetsuit you'll need to add a lot.

If you're overweighted your first dive it's not a big deal as long as you can swim it up. I'd stay by the side of the boat, empty my BCD completely, and make sure you can kick enough to stay comfortably just below the surface. If you can't, then you're seriously overweighted, and should give some lead to crew on the boat. This doesn't take much time at all if you have an easily accessible pocket for some of your lead.

The safety stop at the end of the dive is the best time to check your weighting. If you need much air in your BCD to stay neutral, then you're overweighted. Make sure you're not finning or sculling with your hands when you do the test - cross your feet and put your hands across your chest is a good way to make sure. The faster you sink, the more weight you can remove. You can fine-tune this from dive to dive to find your optimum for that gear combination. Also keep in mind that you don't want to go too light - you want to be neutral at the safety stop even if something's gone sideways during the dive and your tank is truly empty. You also want the ascent from the safety stop to be slow and controlled.

If you're neutral at the end, then you shouldn't have trouble getting down at the start, since the full tank adds several pounds. Struggling to get down at the start usually means struggling to stay down at the end.

Hope this helps
 
Why not just do it while the boat is at the dock before you leave?
 

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