getting horizontal for those with no natural buoyancy

[The Chairman]

Tank as high as possible without knocking into my head.

If these are aluminum tanks, and you're trying to get your feet up, you're doing it wrong. You're not adjusting 'weight' distribution, but 'buoyancy' distribution. Put an aluminum tank in a pool and you'll see the butt float. So, as butt goes higher, so does the center of buoyancy. Put Al tanks as far down as you can go. Counter intuitive? You betcha!

If these are steel tanks, then something else is going on.

It would help us if you posted a video of you in the water.

 

[boulderjohn]

As Pete said, we would all love to see you in order to help out.

The fact that you are a "sinker" does not matter in the long run. I am a sinker, too, and I am especially leg heavy. It is all part of the mathematics of buoyancy, the balancing act of stuff pulling you down and stuff pulling you up and where to put what to make it all work.

 

[dorsal]

Lots of great input and questions. thank you for the ideas so far. ... yes my challenge is trim I said buoyancy as my mental model has them related. What's driving me? Improving my skill, desire to get in better hover position for photos, and desire to work towards wreck penetration dives in the future.

@chairman. I'm diving AL rental tanks at the moment. Pete, your point of moving the tank down is counter intuitive but I'll give it a try. I'm going to get some pool time with an instructor friend in a week or so to play with trim quite a bit.

@RainPilot I take fairly normal breaths, I'm fairly athletic so I stomach breath for the most part. I love my deep 6 eddys which are neutral as you pointed out. I was looking at a few trim pouches but have not purchased yet. Do you have any suggestions on brands or models? Your thought on the backplate was the same as mine. Btw I'm also a pilot (comm rated but fly for fun) where trim is key

@fmerkel as a hack, ive used a weight belt around the top of the tank. Weights on the bc side.

@KevinNM I'm sure the random rental bc is contributing. My local shop have trim pouches, others don't. I have been trying different bc's to find a style I like.

@ronscuba. Most recent set of dives was a 3mm full wetsuit in saltwater with a rental bc. 10 pounds got me to an eye level float with normal breath - reading my notes it was 4 trim, 6 waist. Diving dry is yet another dynamic as I have the rental fit issue to contend with so I'm planning to get the wetsuit trim sorted first.

@boulderjohn. You summed up what I was trying to convey nicely. Nice to meet another leg heavy sinker.

Video - I'll try and get something at the pool. That may not be for a week or so.

 

[joe10540]

An option would be to get into a sidemount BC where the bladder is only around your hips and there is no way for air to rush up to the back of your neck? Maybe that's a solution looking for a problem maybe it's all just shifting things around to get proper trim. Posture as noted above it important keep your knees bent to keep the weight of your feet and lower legs closer to your middle it might help to tip you in the right direction.

 

[RainPilot]

I use these ones:
trim pockets for backplate | DTD

I put them above the shoulder d-rings if I need them ditchable else on the BP slots high up. Not a fan of mounting weights on tanks as they tend to make me top heavy in the water. I try to keep all my weighting as close to my longitudinal CofG as I can get them.

There are lots of other models, check UTD page they do nice ones and I'm sure XS Scuba and Diverite do some as well

Every athlete/ swimmer that I've trained had the same issue as yours. Low body fat, muscular legs and a large tidal volume. The first two you can't really do much about but I suspect you are shifting a lot more air in and out than an average Joe. Those big athlete lungs will make trim a little more challenging.

Oh and I've also found that even holding my hands further out in front helps.

 

[Taronmyheel]

Most guys I know are leg heavy. It's just a matter of shifting weight and body position (and experience).

 

[gfaith]

@dorsal rongoodman gave you some good advice he read from TSandM on posture. Here is the information she had in her thread.

Trim: the nitty gritty

I had read it before myself and again today, good read..

 

[dorsal]

Trim: the nitty gritty[/URL]

Great read and lots of tips. I thought I book marked that before but couldn't find it.

 

[gfaith]

I understand .. I had to do a search on TSandM and topic posture to find it. She had so many really helpful posts and links. A legacy in fact.

 

[dorsal]

@RainPilot Thanks for the links.