dry suit hover need instructor help

[SubMariner]

I have tried differant postions of the exhast valve,I like it closed tight and find it very easy just reach over and vent.my problem is hovering doing nothing else,I can get netural and swim okay .if I need to vent alittle can do that okay while swiming.this evening going for a dive with less weight and a new dm friend ,will report on dive.

s7, you should not have your exhaust valve closed. It should be open to the point where you can exhaust your suit quickly & easily; something you cannot do if it is cranked shut.

For example, the placement of the exhaust on my DUI is on the left deltoid (just above the bicep), which is a standard configuration. My valve is open so that I only have to raise the upper part of my arm in order to vent the suit. That is MUCH more efficient than having to actually use my other hand to open/close the exhaust valve.

Meanwhile, how did the dive go?

 

[s7595]

submariner
the reason I had exhaust valve closed ,when first had suit I had problem keeping air in. the dive was great first dive we desended to 70' wich is top of block house(old dam site realy cool) then we went over wall ,droped to 81' plus 20% for alt=97' .then my buddy's (dm) friend had a problem and we called dive.second dive me and dm only swam out till about 25' below and desended I could not get down with 32lbs (first dive pulled my self down on dam marker)dm opens exhast valve and I sink nicely ,we swim around ,I working on buonancy,we stop at old drum with stick in it and worked on hover ,I found that I need to put a lot of air in suit ,finnaly did hover for a min.by that time it was getting real dark ,so we called dive.at this point I belive a few more dives and maybe some less weight ,hover will be masterd

 

[String]

)dm opens exhast valve and I sink nicely ,we swim around ,I working on buonancy,we stop at old drum with stick in it and worked on hover ,I found that I need to put a lot of air in suit ,finnaly did hover for a min.by that time it was getting real dark ,so we called dive.at this point I belive a few more dives and maybe some less weight ,hover will be masterd

Again putting a lot of air in suit is indicative of having too much weight.

Although i personally despise shoulder dumps (i removed mine and fitted a cuff dump), you SHOULD be setting it on the bottom if its leaking air until it *just* stops bubbling air when neutral. In theory that should keep you neutral.

 

[Boogie711]

submariner
the reason I had exhaust valve closed ,when first had suit I had problem keeping air in....

... I could not get down with 32lbs (first dive pulled my self down on dam marker)dm opens exhast valve and I sink nicely...

OK - so, if I read this correctly - you were wearing 32 lbs, couldn't get down, but then your Divemaster opened the exhaust valve on your suit and you could descend?

Also - if you're continually burping air from your suit with the cover opened, you're probably overweighted. With the cover closed like that, you're just trapping air (which is dynamically instable) and that causes you to need more weight.

 

[s7595]

thanks guys ,the info was great.sunday going diveing again ,will try less weight .I will report how thinks went

 

[SubMariner]

thanks guys ,the info was great.sunday going diveing again ,will try less weight .I will report how thinks went

Keep us apprised, eh?!

Meanwhile, have FUN.

DSDO,

 

[s7595]

well sunday came and what a cold rainy day. new dive buddy ,a real cool dude who just floats through the water. first dive was on dam site ,I did not get neutral till near the end of dive. second dive was strickly working on hover and breathing ,well I had to adjust the exhaust valve several times .I had several runaway asents .on the first desent I did the skydive method ,put enough air in dry suit and did not crash into bottom .at the end of dive I finnaly came realy close to perfection ,I was doing the nose to rock drill buddy told me about and body postion was head down feet up ,was controlling everthing by breathing untill brain went feet to high and tried to recover next thing runaway ascent.so we called the dive .buddy was a great help.I feel now close to getting it down ,the key seems to be breathing.weight was the same .I am not sure I need to drop any at this time .

 

[String]

Although breathing will help weight is the factor that controls just how easy it is to get neutral or not.

The more weight you carry the more air is needed to get neutral. Therefore the more air you have to expand and contract therefore buoyancy changes are more sensitive and larger.

Getting the weighting correct is the key - after that breath control and everything else becomes so much easier.

38lbs in fresh water still sounds a collosal amount to me.

 

[FreeFloat]

I've been experimentnig with my drysuit too, lately, and just wanted to drop a word about weighting.

I dive backplate (6lb) with wing, PST LP80 (steel) tank and 7mm non-crushed neoprene drysuit.

Yesterday I did two dives, both freshwater - first one to 72', I wore 6lb on the belt and had a few difficulties staying neutral at 10' (this was a shore dive and the bottom topography was such that there's a line swim for about 100 yards at about 10' depth) By "difficulties" I mean that while I was able to stay "down" I was sort of yo-yo-ing a bit and kept trying to vent my drysuit, even though it was pretty well empty of air (I only added 2 taps of air the way down to 72', I like my drysuit squeeze tight and only add enough air to still be able to move)

Second dive was a lined dive max depth 26', I wore 8lbs. I was burning off the last of my tank so essentially this was an "empy tank" dive. With 8lbs I found I could still hover well in 10', although at 5' I started feeling pretty light again.

So, freshwater, steel tank, 6lbs and 8lbs respectively on the belt (totals of 12 and 14lbs ballast when you count the plate) for a neoprene (!) drysuit - I agree that 38 lbs sounds a little excessive.......

 

[FreeFloat]

I did not get neutral till near the end of dive.

This stement alone tends to suggest that perhaps you had a few too many pounds on to begin with, as a tank becomes "lighter" at the end of the dive - so, if you found buoyancy easier at the end of the dive this would make sense.