drysuit tech diving

[Doc Intrepid]

Why does some of the rec training agencies tell you to use your drysuit for bouyancy then? What your saying here makes way more sense!

In two words? "Task Loading".

Training agencies don't want beginning ow divers/beginning drysuit divers trying to deal with two separate bouyancy sources simultaneously.

Many brand new divers have adequate challenges trying to achieve neutral bouyancy with only one. Giving them two different tools and telling them to moniter both of them simultaneously (while still trying to figure out equilibrium) is only asking for trouble. (At least this is the perspective of the training agencies. YMMV.)

As you noted, however, it doesn't take long before most drysuit divers figure things out and get themselves dialed in.

(As Tassie Rohan noted, however, martini_effect is basically getting used to a drysuit to do some diving in a very different environment. Tassie Rohan nailed it - 200 fsw in extremely cold, dark as hell, low vis water is nothing like 200 fsw in warm, clear, 200' visibility tropical ocean. So there is some real task loading associated with learning the drysuit AND using it in the more psychologically challenging environment. That's what will require some getting used to...)

 

[MikeFerrara]

Why does some of the rec training agencies tell you to use your drysuit for bouyancy then? What your saying here makes way more sense!

They claim that it's to reduce task loading but I think it's because they don't know any better. They really seem to lack an understanding of the basics. Even in light recreational gear the problem starts on descent. They apparently think you should dump all the air out of that BC, descend and inflate the dry suit as you do. Then we don't have to worry about the bc again. Except that if you want a nice controled descent, you don't dump all the air out of the bc. You dump enough to get neutral to slightly neg and exhale. With a full tank that's still going to leave gas in the BC. Get all that gas out of the bc with a full tank and heavy by the weight of that air and you're dropping like a stone. Is that a familiar sight or what?

Their errors start at a much more basic level and they carry over to the dry suit stuff.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Training agencies also say you should not solo dive. From my own experience and that of others I've talked to, the instructor may tell you that the "book" says to use the suit but reality is far different. Mine told me what he had to say and then proceeded to tell me how to do it the way that is reality. BC for control, suit for warmth.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Many brand new divers have adequate challenges trying to achieve neutral bouyancy with only one. Giving them two different tools and telling them to moniter both of them simultaneously (while still trying to figure out equilibrium) is only asking for trouble. (At least this is the perspective of the training agencies. YMMV.)

My miliage deffinately varried. Most of the problems my dry suit students had were associated with controlling buoyancy with the dry suit. Once I stopped teaching that nonsense most of the troubles went away.

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Why does some of the rec training agencies tell you to use your drysuit for bouyancy then? What your saying here makes way more sense!

Task loading - by only using the drysuit you have only one air space to worry about. However it creates more problems as you have a larger air bubble to deal with, and drysuits are not only slower to vent then a BC but also only vent in one position.

Better to just keep some squeeze in and use you BC as normal - its not much more of a load. Just squirt some air into the suit to offset squeeze as you descend and let the open autodump vent do its thing on accent.

After you've mastered the suit then play around with using the suit for buoyancy if you want to - if you having you weighting right and the suits non-compressible there won't be that much more air to deal with.

Cheers,
Rohan.