Hint for decreasing weights?

[scuba_katt]

I have been diving for a couple years, have done about 90 dives.

I use a fair amount of weight when i dive, because i find nothing more annoying then struggling to stay down when in shallow waters if underweighted. I have great buoyancy control, and my breathing must be improving, cos I'm lasting long dives etc, but I just have trouble when in the shallows if underweighted.

Maybe it has something to do with my wetsuit (5 ml long john and jacket with really really thick kneepads)?

any ideas on how to gradually decrease the amount of weight I use without flopping around on the surface during a safety stop!?

cheers!

 

[art.chick]

I dropped my weightbelt from 32lbs to 21lbs in less than a year by getting more relaxed & changing my gear. I went from a 2-pc to a 1-pc. I added a fleece lycra suit under the wetsuit. It adds warmth but, when it absorbs water, becomes NEGATIVELY buoyant. I also got rid of my complicated back-inflating BC & replaced it with a very simple jacket style.

 

[lisacats]

If you are still using aluminum tanks, try steel. They should reduce you weight by at least 6 lbs.

 

[scuba_katt]

that I always use, but then on the second dive (and third...) when i use a rental tank its always aluminium and i have to add even MORE weight so that i don't end up a floater!! :bonk:

I think I'll have to try the lycra suit idea -

thanks gals for your tips!

 

[nudinut]

Women seem to have "floaty feet" more often than men, something to do with fat distribution. When I first started I had a terrible time with my feet wanting to float away to the surface when shallow (<6m). Made some safety stops very interesting hanging on upside down. I found that using ankle weights (500g per ankle) meant I got rid of heaps of lead around the waist. I started on 24 lbs, was able to quickly reduce that to 15 lbs. I've also heard that wearing a pair of heavier fins can also work. I've now got hundreds of dives up and have ditched the ankle weights (also lost 15 kg off the bod) and now found I don't need any weights if using steel, 3 lbs for ali tanks. Mind you my wetty is no longer buoyant.

 

[Amanda]

Sorry girls, I'm french so all weights will be in kg...

I began with 4 kgs... but I soon learned that the less the better. I'm 1m63 tall and 52 kgs (because it depends on how slim / fat you are).

Breathing correctly, getting yourself a better BCD (it can help too, some BCDs are just floating, God knows why), and doing some "lung exercices" in the swimming pool (like getting laid on the bottom with a tank but no BCD, then trying to breathe real slow to feel the change on your boyancy) can be great.

No, with a 5mm suit + 5,5mm shorty, I only wear 1 kg.

 

[o2 clean]

Amanda once bubbled...
like getting laid on the bottom with a tank but no BCD

Hmmmmm, that's a technique I've NEVER tried.

 

[O-ring]

o2 clean once bubbled...


Hmmmmm, that's a technique I've NEVER tried.

You forgot about last weekend already!

;-0

 

[raxafarian]

o2 clean once bubbled...


Hmmmmm, that's a technique I've NEVER tried.

it's easier to stay under if you forego the use of a bc during certain underwater acrobatics...


at least that's what I've heard.

 

[O-ring]

raxafarian once bubbled...



it's easier to stay under if you forego the use of a bc during certain underwater acrobatics...


at least that's what I've heard.

I like to maintain perfect horizontal trim when engaging in these maneuvers....unless she is into something a little funkier...

Welcome to the 30' club, Amanda!