Gonna get my AOW this month

[Divin'Papaw]

You're not the only one! My first dive of the season was terrible. I had to wear my 6.5mm suit & used 24# weight. I couldn't even begin to descend. I added a couple more pounds & then could descend with some difficulty. Towards the end of the dive I had a lot of trouble staying down for the safety stop. Even a couple of weeks ago at Falling Rock, wearing the same suit, I got a little too shallow checking out the sail boat & popped up to the surface. I was able to get back down & finish the dive without too much trouble. It will be nice when things warm up to the point that wetsuits won't be needed. I am basically needing to learn how to properly weight myself, in stead of guessing (which is usually wrong). I am going on a live abard this summer & want to enjoy it without worrying about damaging the environment.

I hear ya. I did 3 dives at Gilboa in later April. I had a 7mm farmer john, boots, gloves. I use a bp/w with an extra weight plate that takes the rig to 10-11 lbs. I was also wearing 12 lbs on top of that and also had a hard time holding my stops. I am going to add another 2-4 lbs when I do my AOW dives and just continue to work on my buoyancy and trim. I'm sure it'll come but I'm impatient!

I did 2 dives in Monterey on Memorial Day using a LP steel tank. I actually had the opposite problem ... I was too heavy and had a hard time staying off the bottom. Now if I can just find the happy middle ground!

If you end up diving locally later in the summer without a wetsuit or with a smaller one, be sure and stay above the thermocline. I know at Gilboa it is 42-44 all year below the thermocline. I'd hate to sink into that stuff without a wetsuit. :shakehead

 

[David The Gnome]

I had to double my weight at Joe's with all my new equipment compared to what I did before with just a wet suit. Took 20 lbs of weight to get under water. I think I was over weighted a bit but all I had was four 5 lb weights so I couldn't really fine tune it.

PS: Integrated weights are SO much better than wearing a weight belt. I'll never go back!

 

[tstormdiver]

PS: Integrated weights are SO much better than wearing a weight belt. I'll never go back!

I agree. Part of the equipment issues I had with my AOW deep dive was the weight belt kept trying to fall around my ankles & I couldn't tighten it any more. The wet suit & myself compressed a considable amount. When I was in the Bahamas diving last Nov., my weight belt got loose enough on me that it flipped around backwards. Weights were up front & buckle in the rear. It's a good thing I didn't have an emergency & have to ditch my weights, I would have been in a heap of trouble. I do have a weight belt though that I use when my weight requirements exceed my BCD's integrated system (which is not very often). Yes, the integrated system works very well for me.

 

[KROBI]

I'm going to Laurel Lake on the 24-25 to get my advanced open water certification. I'm doing Diver Propulsion Vehicle, Search and Recovery, and Night Diver as my three electives. Deep Diver and Underwater Navigation are the two required courses. I'm really looking forward to it except for the fact I've been informed Laurel Lake is REALLY cold. I may double up on my wet suits or something, I doubt my 3m suit is gonna cut it . I'm also going to take the Nitrox course but that's a one day classroom only thing.

Hey David,
you will need more than a 3m suit, you can always wear a core warmer underneath your suit, also take a hood and gloves and light...

Kenny

 

[Land Locked]

PPB course is well worth it, hopefully the instructor will take the time
to work out your weight and trim issues. It is not the total solution
though. This is something you should always go back and work on,
not to mention your different gear configurations! Start by keeping
details in your logs for all your different configurations and fresh/salt
conditions. I kept a weight specific sheet in the back of my log book.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

PPB course is well worth it, hopefully the instructor will take the time
to work out your weight and trim issues. It is not the total solution
though. This is something you should always go back and work on,
not to mention your different gear configurations! Start by keeping
details in your logs for all your different configurations and fresh/salt
conditions. I kept a weight specific sheet in the back of my log book.

Thanks Chris. I'm actually keeping record in my log book regarding exact equipment config (exposure suit, type/size tank, weighting, bc type) as well as notes re: whether I felt light or heavy and how I felt the dive went. I definitely see the PPB course as one step in the process, but I'm certainly expecting it to help me to be better able to analyze my buoyancy and trim on my own and make adjustments.

 

[Hoosier]

Thanks Chris. I'm actually keeping record in my log book regarding exact equipment config (exposure suit, type/size tank, weighting, bc type) as well as notes re: whether I felt light or heavy and how I felt the dive went. I definitely see the PPB course as one step in the process, but I'm certainly expecting it to help me to be better able to analyze my buoyancy and trim on my own and make adjustments.

There is no magic way to master the buoyancy except more diving and practice after taking the class. I am sure you will get it quick...

 

[Divin'Papaw]

There is no magic way to master the buoyancy except more diving and practice after taking the class. I am sure you will get it quick...

Thanks hoosier. I plan on keepin' at it!