NJScubaDoc
Contributor
What's the best way to ascend safely in a drysuit?
Drysuit Ascents
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slow
OP
NJScubaDoc
Contributor
Ask a simple question get a simple response, thanks wayne I like that 
Now for the fifty dollar follow up....
Which technique allows a drysuit diver to ascendy safely and slowly while avoiding inversions and managing buoyancy?
Now for the fifty dollar follow up....
Which technique allows a drysuit diver to ascendy safely and slowly while avoiding inversions and managing buoyancy?
sorry....my attempt at humor (sorta)
you have to anticipate, and stay tuned into where you are in the water column. I tell people physically stop every 5 ft above the 40 ft mark and dump some air from the suit, get comfy and move. With experience you'll soon not have to really stop. I'm sure you already know that you have to get that valve in the right possition to dump the air.. initally it may behove you to keep it wide open.. (this is good for someone who struggles with getting the valve in the right possition but soon becomes a drag as everytime you lift your arm you'll dump air) Perhaps just open it up for the ascent? Do Not (as a new drysuit diver) set the valve to manual.. not really enough of an upside for the beginner in that, and a whole lot of downside.. (I know someone will probably disagree with that but you are probably not just learning to drysuit dive)
Why not take a drysuit orientation... if you bought the suit new from a shop I'd think they'd take you out at least once for free.
you have to anticipate, and stay tuned into where you are in the water column. I tell people physically stop every 5 ft above the 40 ft mark and dump some air from the suit, get comfy and move. With experience you'll soon not have to really stop. I'm sure you already know that you have to get that valve in the right possition to dump the air.. initally it may behove you to keep it wide open.. (this is good for someone who struggles with getting the valve in the right possition but soon becomes a drag as everytime you lift your arm you'll dump air) Perhaps just open it up for the ascent? Do Not (as a new drysuit diver) set the valve to manual.. not really enough of an upside for the beginner in that, and a whole lot of downside.. (I know someone will probably disagree with that but you are probably not just learning to drysuit dive)
Why not take a drysuit orientation... if you bought the suit new from a shop I'd think they'd take you out at least once for free.
matt_unique
Guest
Ascend the same way regardless of equipment. The only difference is you're managing another air bubble. You manage all air bubbles (BC, drysuit, etc.) the same way - stay ahead of the ascent with proper venting. When I ascend from depth the first thing I do is dump some air so I'm slowly kicking up and staying ahead of my buoyancy.
--Matt
--Matt
I agree, stay ahead of the gas exapansion, and remember the gas volume of in your suit (aka: 300 lb lift bag) doubles in the last 33 ft of the ascent so a slow ascent rate is needed to allow the valve to vent the required volume of gas.
Ventng to keep yourself a few pounds negative and "swimming" up is much easier to control than trying to maintain the right degreee of positive bouyancy needed to ascend at 30 ft/min.
Remember, if things do start to get out of control going horizontal and flaring skydiver style adds a huge amount of drag and will slow you down. Drag is an exponential function so it takes 4 times the lift to ascend twice as fast and flaring to increase drag really helps to cut ascent speed and may give you enough time to dump enough air soon enough to stop an out of control ascent. If you are vertical in the same overly bouyant situation, you are guarenteed to imitate a polaris missle launch.
Ventng to keep yourself a few pounds negative and "swimming" up is much easier to control than trying to maintain the right degreee of positive bouyancy needed to ascend at 30 ft/min.
Remember, if things do start to get out of control going horizontal and flaring skydiver style adds a huge amount of drag and will slow you down. Drag is an exponential function so it takes 4 times the lift to ascend twice as fast and flaring to increase drag really helps to cut ascent speed and may give you enough time to dump enough air soon enough to stop an out of control ascent. If you are vertical in the same overly bouyant situation, you are guarenteed to imitate a polaris missle launch.
OP
NJScubaDoc
Contributor
I've got 5 dives with the drysuit, 1 shallow water one (that was the real challenge) and 4 deeper 65-75 foots. I did the pool stuff and picked all the little excentricities of managing buoyancy with the suit fairly quickly. Hoveration/trim were pretty good, although I need a few more ozs on my ankles to make it perfect. My last ascent with the suit was after a pretty crappy dive to begin with and thus lead me to the above question...
*insert mystical dive dream sequence*
...water was 45F, wasn't much better topside at around 28 in the morninng and hitting mid forties before the precipitation hit in the late afternoon The sea was calm though so it was a good day for diving. First dive of the two tanker was to a barge in 65fsw. At this time of year there aren't as many fishies and lobsters are all on the rag, but still good time with the 8 ft viz. Nothin special bout this one, it was my first time running a reel though and did so with no problem.
The second dive, however was utterly craptacular. I had warmed up significantly during the SI and was ready to hit the water. I start running the reel (which was an OMS that I didn't particularly like, it wasn't mine though and when I get my own it will be the halcyon with the handle on the side, the pathfinder model.) Anyway, I'm running the reel and at some point drop it literally half a foot to the sand and thing explodes like a spaghetti bomb. I attempt to untangle it with no luck so I signal my body when time/air get low that we are turning around. After getting back to the anchor line I spendt the rest of my dive just exploring the area around the anchor before my ascent (i had extra gas). Before doing my ascent I take the tangled reel and put it into my catch bag (which is fairly small, and unfortunatly empty) and make my ascent. Somehow in swimming the 15 feet from my stop to the surface my catch bag, which at this point contains the tangled reel, tangles in the anchor line and with the pitching of the boat inverts me. I slowly bob topside , correcting my orientation on the way but can't seem to break the surface. When i finally do crew tells me the bag is tangled and i procede to unhook it and everything turns out to be ok. Wasn't really a traumatic experience, worst part was that my reg got knocked out and couldn't quite reach it due to tangle, but I had my pony reg strapped to my shoulder with a snorkel keeper so it really wasn't an issue. In the future I'm thinking of making a reg necklace, this was a rental reg though and considering I haven't gotten there yet with my kit (3 more purchases and I will only have to pay for air and the boatride ) so the snorkel keeper is a temporary link.
Anyway I survived the whole ordeal and got back on the boat of course met with the banter from NJ wreck diving salts, but it was all in jest and it wouldn't be NJ if there wasn't a little ballbusting.
*insert mystical dive dream sequence*
...water was 45F, wasn't much better topside at around 28 in the morninng and hitting mid forties before the precipitation hit in the late afternoon The sea was calm though so it was a good day for diving. First dive of the two tanker was to a barge in 65fsw. At this time of year there aren't as many fishies and lobsters are all on the rag, but still good time with the 8 ft viz. Nothin special bout this one, it was my first time running a reel though and did so with no problem.
The second dive, however was utterly craptacular. I had warmed up significantly during the SI and was ready to hit the water. I start running the reel (which was an OMS that I didn't particularly like, it wasn't mine though and when I get my own it will be the halcyon with the handle on the side, the pathfinder model.) Anyway, I'm running the reel and at some point drop it literally half a foot to the sand and thing explodes like a spaghetti bomb. I attempt to untangle it with no luck so I signal my body when time/air get low that we are turning around. After getting back to the anchor line I spendt the rest of my dive just exploring the area around the anchor before my ascent (i had extra gas). Before doing my ascent I take the tangled reel and put it into my catch bag (which is fairly small, and unfortunatly empty) and make my ascent. Somehow in swimming the 15 feet from my stop to the surface my catch bag, which at this point contains the tangled reel, tangles in the anchor line and with the pitching of the boat inverts me. I slowly bob topside , correcting my orientation on the way but can't seem to break the surface. When i finally do crew tells me the bag is tangled and i procede to unhook it and everything turns out to be ok. Wasn't really a traumatic experience, worst part was that my reg got knocked out and couldn't quite reach it due to tangle, but I had my pony reg strapped to my shoulder with a snorkel keeper so it really wasn't an issue. In the future I'm thinking of making a reg necklace, this was a rental reg though and considering I haven't gotten there yet with my kit (3 more purchases and I will only have to pay for air and the boatride
) so the snorkel keeper is a temporary link. Anyway I survived the whole ordeal and got back on the boat of course met with the banter from NJ wreck diving salts, but it was all in jest and it wouldn't be NJ if there wasn't a little ballbusting.
Slowly and not feet first tends to be good. Anything else is a bonus
Avoiding inversions is just a case of having the correct weight and dumping at the correct time. If you dont have too much air in the suit you wont have an issue.
Otherwise its just a case of doing what youd do normally, ascend slowly dumping air slowly to maintain a rate.
If only using the suit for buoyancy either roll with shoulder dump or lift arm with cuff dump just like youd dump from a BC.
If you have air in both then alternate dumps from bc and drysuit to get rid of the air.
Avoiding inversions is just a case of having the correct weight and dumping at the correct time. If you dont have too much air in the suit you wont have an issue.
Otherwise its just a case of doing what youd do normally, ascend slowly dumping air slowly to maintain a rate.
If only using the suit for buoyancy either roll with shoulder dump or lift arm with cuff dump just like youd dump from a BC.
If you have air in both then alternate dumps from bc and drysuit to get rid of the air.
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