Easy and Fun Bouyancy "drills"

[Kingpatzer]

My wife and I are relatively new divers. I have about 10 more dives than her, but we're pretty similar otherwise.

We're going to go tool around a local lake this weekend. I'd like to play some bouyancy games with her to help us both work on our control and trim.

Can folks give me any ideas on things we can do?

 

[battles2a5]

Here's a few:

1. Bring 5-7 extra pounds of lead down with you. Then sit indian style and get nuetral so you are hovering about 12" off the bottom. Then start passing the weights back in forth so try to hover the same distance from the bottom using breath control (e.g. more weights, hold more air in your lungs... less weight, exhale some more, etc.). Then you can speed up, slow down until you get it nailed.

2. Stand up a lead weight on the bottom. Dive down towards it from above, then inhale as you are approaching so your regulator "kisses" the weight before you begin to float back up. No arms or finning, just breath control. See how many tries it takes for your to touch the weight without knocking it over

3. Another twist on this one is to take the regulator out of your mouth and really kiss the weight. This forces you to make your breathing corrections sooner than having the reg in. So it's basically the same exercise but requires a little more skill/practice.

4. A lot of quarries have bouyancy course (e.g. suspended hoops, etc.) that help you practice refining your bouyancy. Those are always fun.

 

[eckybay]

Try playing ScubUNO. Seriously.

It may sounds silly, but if you try to actually hover above the platform or surface you are playing at and not actually rest on it, it'll take some effort.


For more on underwater game play, see this thread.
http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=194534

 

[konasdad]

My buddy and I are going to a local bay (sw) this weekend to do some perhaps similar "drills". We are new divers and want to get the weights zoned in. This might be different than what you have in mind since we are going with no tanks, BCDs, regs, etc. However, we have a trip to Hawaii coming up in Aug. that we plan to devote to bouyance work.

Since we have our own M,F,S, weight belts & wetsuits our approach is to determine the amount of weight for us with this equipment. We will rent the rest of the equipment and the idea is that we will then add weight to the BCD to make it, the tank & regs neutral. The theory is that if we are neutral and they are neutral both with be neutral. This, of course, brings up the question of type of tank & the full/empty weight thing.

So, I too would be interested in hearing about some "bouyancy games" as well as whether this neutral+neutral=neutral theory will "hold water" so to speak.

-Mark-

 

[battles2a5]

Mark-

I would just make sure you are using the same exposure suit that you plan to dive in Hawaii if you want to get yourself weighted correctly. Your rentals may or may not be weight-integrated so that may limit your options in getting the rig situated. In any case, you can throw a few pounds on the tank cam bands and go from there. I don't rent gear any more but when I did I would just use a best guess + 1-2 pounds, then sort it out on the safety stop of my first dive. Hope this helps.

 

[konasdad]

battles2a5-

Yes, I'll be using the same wetsuit. It's a 3mm shorty that used in May in Maui. But that brings up another question. I plan on diving here in SoCal off Catalina with a rented 5 or 7mm rented wetsuit. I was thinking I could rent on beforehand and take it to the bay and place weights on it until it was neutral. I could do the same with my 3mm and determine the weights needed for each wetsuit. This way I can get a better idea of what weight is needed for each combination. I know that some wetsuit mfgr. claim their wetsuits don't compress as much as others at depth and I would assume that similar wetsuits (full vs full) from different mfgr. will have difference bouyance, but I would think it would be within 1 lbs. at the surface?

The main thing we're trying to do is to get a better idea of estimating how much we need without resorting to the "around here we use 10% of your body weight".

This all becomes less of a problem once we get our own gear (complete). But in the meantime I'd like to get a better handle on it myself.

-Mark-

 

[Steve50]

Since we have our own M,F,S, weight belts & wetsuits our approach is to determine the amount of weight for us with this equipment. We will rent the rest of the equipment and the idea is that we will then add weight to the BCD to make it, the tank & regs neutral. The theory is that if we are neutral and they are neutral both with be neutral. This, of course, brings up the question of type of tank & the full/empty weight thing.-Mark-

keep in mind if you weight the full tank and BCD to be neutral, you will need to add 5-6 # to account for the air you will use during the dive

 

[crpntr133]

Heard of a couple that are a challenge. Drop a line with some type of slate on it in several places. Try to write your name on the slate without loosing or gaining depth.

Another one is to put a golf ball on the bottom and try to pick it up without moving your hand. Really makes it hard if you keep your hand close to your body, hence you have to be trimmed out as well. Want to make it even harder. Put a pole in a coffee can filled with sand or whatever. Mark the pole every foot. Try to hover at the depth without touching the pole and drop the ball in the can.

 

[ClayJar]

Try playing ScubUNO. Seriously.

It may sounds silly, but if you try to actually hover above the platform or surface you are playing at and not actually rest on it, it'll take some effort.

ScubUNO is indeed an excellent method.

Of course, when I'm just goofing off, my favorite method of buoyancy practice is to play around like an otter. You can practice your trim first, if you wish, but then start goofing off. There's no fundamental difference between neutral in a horizontal position, neutral standing on your head, or neutral while log rolling, but it's much more fun to play around while maintaining your buoyancy.

My personal favorite buoyancy drill (in a spring, at least) is to stand on my head about a foot off the bottom, fold my arms, and just hover there like some wacky excuse for an underwater scarecrow as I watch divers come and go. :biggrin:

 

[ScubaRev]

Then sit indian style and get nuetral so you are hovering about 12" off the bottom.

Great suggestions! What depth is optimal for these kinds of exercises?