floating feet

[Rick Inman]

What kind of tank are you using? Drop a half-filled AL80 in the water and watch the way it floats - valve (head) down.

I know a young lady who had that problem and switched to a steel tank and solved it.

Just a thought...

 

[1divadiver]

went diving this weekend. first with my steel80 and then an AL80. on the 2nd dive i had floatie feet on the deco stop. heehee. I love my steel!!
i also tried out a dry suit first time at the DUI demo. it seemed a little long in the legs as my rock boot came off!!! but i was having problems when i came up from 60-40 feet and even tho i had all the air out of BC & suit i had to hold onto the rope for dear life!! thank goodness for my dive buddy! i was using an AL80 on that dive and ended with 1000 psi, and i know i worked my butt off hangin onto that rope! i dont like the idea of using ankle weights as i dont want to become dependent on them, and i really dont want to have to work that hard. this is spoda be fun. any suggestions for keeping my tushy down??

 

[H2Andy]

any suggestions for keeping my tushy down??

i've been going through this, as i just got my first dry suit, and i've found that
the trick is to ascend SLOWLY, keep the dump valve open, and keep venting the drysuit anyway

in a few dives, you'll "discover" what the best ways are to vent (for me, it involves
wiggling, waggling, woggling, and wuggling a lot). if your feet start to get light,
get your head up and *vent*

it has worked well for me, but i am far from "graceful." i'm sort of at "uncoordinatedly
clumsy," and working my way to "spastically non-elegant"

 

[Rick Inman]

i've been going through this, as i just got my first dry suit, and i've found that
the trick is to ascend SLOWLY, keep the dump valve open, and keep venting the drysuit anyway

in a few dives, you'll "discover" what the best ways are to vent (for me, it involves
wiggling, waggling, woggling, and wuggling a lot). if your feet start to get light,
get your head up and *vent*

it has worked well for me, but i am far from "graceful." i'm sort of at "uncoordinatedly
clumsy," and working my way to "spastically non-elegant"

She said, wet suit. Mcfly!!

I'm using a 3ml wetsuit,

 

[H2Andy]

i was, like, responding to 1divadiver?

 

[lorien]

Floaty feet is a problem that I had from day 1 and it was so bad that my feet would get up over my head and then actually start me heading (feeting?) towards the surface. I did use ankle weights for a while until I figured out how to compensate for the problem. Ankle weights worked great and while I did find that my legs got a little more tired at first I got used to it quickly. Then I started trying to redistribute everything so compensate. I am pretty buoyant, not everyone is and different people have different levels of buoyancy so what works for one might not work for the next. Some people sink, for me the tread with hands out of the water was a breeze but not for others.
I switched to a steel tank, I wear if lower in my BC, I removed my trim weights as they were too high on the BC and I use both a weight belt and integrated weights. That has pretty much solved the problem but I still have to pay attention to where my feet are as they still want to get up over my head if I allow it, the difference is that now I can control it.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

...and I use both a weight belt and integrated weights. That has pretty much solved the problem...

That's the ticket right there.

Move your weights around until you get your trim figured out, its possible to be stable (relatively) in a rec bc. Try some weights in the pockets, some on a weightbelt, maybe a tank weight on the lower camband (if so equipped). The thing I most often see people forget is that it doesn't all have to be in one place. Also be careful if placing your tank too low, I'm assuming your in class with a regular old AL80 and as someone else pointed out they are extremely light in the bottom and float neck down. I have seen divers mount them so low ("because the valve hits my head") that as they got low on psi the positive buoyancy of the tank pulled it from the bc and floated along behind the diver tied on by only the reg hoses. (As an aside, once it breaks loose like that your floaty feet problems are over!)

And an added benefit to moving some weight around, once you are properly weighted, you can't lose all your weight at once as you could with it all on a weightbelt.

 

[The Kraken]

Tina,
H2Andy is spot on . . .
You didn't mention how you have your weight distributed.
If you have any disposable weight located in trim pockets high up on the back of your B/C, move it down to your waist.

As Andy said, the first and easiest step is to locate your B/C higher up on your tank.

The center of gravity of the human body is on a line across the hips and centivis pubis.

Envision yourself balanced on a rod with a tank on your back. Visualize moving the tank one way or the other and you'll see what Andy's talking about - your balance (trim) will see-saw . . .

 

[irishreefer]

Hey all, I really dont know what kind of tank we are using.(maybe something I should learn about). I go to pool class tonight and will put the tank lower. I have a weight belt around my waist and the instructor said I need a couple more pounds. Most of the weight is positioned on my sides. I have been using the cheat loop with the tank and bc, maybe tonight I wont loop it on. Glad to know others have the same problem.
Lorien, lol, you sound just like me Tina

 

[Hank49]

Are you wearing neoprene booties? My daughter had this problem and switched to full footer fins and no booties and, TaDaaaa. Now she's perfectly trimmed.