dry suit for very shallow scuba

[Old Ballard]

Quick technical question on dry suits. I have only dived in wetsuits. I have a task soon which will require me to be positioned very shallow - say 3 feet to 12 feet down. North Puget Sound/Salish Sea => water in the 50s. I need to be fairly stable to make the observations needed and possibly minor technical adjustments on equipment. A secondary issue is the possibility of having to surface swim from one station to another, nothing big, longest distance say 1000ft. I have a beautiful cold water suit but not only do I look like the Michellin Tire Man, there is little chance of holding a shallow position.

Questions:
1) can a dry suit solve the shallow depth position issue?
2) snorkling shallow/surface in a wetsuit is a streamlined pleasure. I look at guys in drysuits and it seems like a failed drag-chute experiment. Is it as bad as that to snorkel in?

 

[Wibble]

A drysuit's fine diving shallow with scuba kit. Can easily hold a stop for as long as you like at 1m/3ft.

A long swim is just that. Whilst not as streamlined as a wetsuit, you can swim on the surface.

 

[elan]

Can drysuit solve the shallow depth position issue ? I would say no, because it's the skill that would solve it Dry suit will amplify any buoyancy issue that the diver has. Having said that it's perfectly possibly to be stable in shallows in a drysuit when you have control over it (say you are not flying following the river bed that changes the depth quickly).
We oftentimes practice various drills at 10ft with no issue.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Use your BC for buoyancy and there will be little to no difference.

 

[Old Ballard]

Thank you for the responses. The application is the development of a mesh networked near-shore buoy system. No river flow, just possible tidal action. Inter-buoy rf transmission distances, for now, just a few hundred meters max, so its a paddle rather than crawling into a boat. Sensors will be dangling below at various depths. No opportunity to position myself on an anchor rope etc etc. All this to try to explain my seemingly naive questions. Thanks again. It will be worth the try.

 

[Wibble]

It’s a bit personal and especially what kit you have and your experience. Oh, and temperatures.

The commercial divers would choose a drysuit every time. It would be a neoprene one with socks so you can choose the right footwear for the task.

The benefit of a drysuit over a wetsuit is simply the obvious; you’re dry.

If it’s jagged rocks with some climbing then a wetsuit makes more sense as holes make little difference to the insulation. Cavers who sump dive use these.

TBH it’s more about the temperatures.

 

[Old Ballard]

Thanks Wibble. Fingers have usually been the cold bits, so socks and underwear will be a new adventure. Im sure after its over i will have an array of extra parts laying around eg gloves boots socks neglige, etc. Still, at this point, im concerned with stability at 6ft. down. Having images of myself bobbing around in variations orientations. In the end, a tremendous chance for operating the drysuit and bc.

 

[BRT]

Use your BC for buoyancy and there will be little to no difference.

Not quite true. The larger amount of insulation (air) in the drysuit will change a lot between shallow depths, like 12' to 8'. Easy to go out of control if you are not paying attention.

 

[DogDiver]

Sounds like your trying to solve a basis skill problem with equipment.

 

[broncobowsher]

Dry gloves are good at dealing with cold digits. You can get warmer fingers with better dexterity than you can get with wet gloves.