Horizontal trim

[SkullDeformity]

Frankc420, did you try to put your arms out in front of you at all? Are your legs straight back out? While the ankle weight on your valve may be an effective bandaid, I don't feel it is really fixing anything. Personally, when I try to maintain horizontal buoyancy in the water column, my chest rises, feet sink. So I stick my arms out a little bit, cross them, problem solved.

Rawls, while you can get some advice from SB on trim, the only true fix is going to be diving with someone who can correct you, or address the problem in person.

 

[rawls]

Ok, "forcing" was not the correct term to use. When you are foot heavy naturally, your body is like a giant fan underwater. As soon as you begin forward movement, the action of your fins, and the water pressure, act to rotate you back into horizontal. Once the water pressure is gone, you rotate back to "normal."

By trully still, I meant no movent other than breathing. No sculling, no feet, no legs. Just pretend you are asleep underwater. This of course doesn't mean you can't be neutrally bouyant, just that when you are, your body finds it's equilibrium.

Fire diver...Thanks...Yeah, I misinterpreted what you, Tobin and RJP were trying to say. I was interpreting the word "forcing" being akin to "fighting", and as a result I was trying to say I was not "fighting" to stay horizontal while swimming. RJP clarified what you all were trying to say, as have you in the above reply. And I appreciate your help...Sorry about the misinterpretation...

Rawls, while you can get some advice from SB on trim, the only true fix is going to be diving with someone who can correct you, or address the problem in person.

Very true....

 

[MikeFerrara]

I think the answer has already been given but lets talk a little about the mechanics that we're dealing with.

If you center of gravity and center of buoyancy are in exactly the same place there won't be any apposing forces and you will be able maintain any position that you assume. If they are not in the same place your body is going to rotate around the "center" until the center of buoyancy is directly above the center of gravity...picture a weight under a float.

ok, so getting things close is largely a matter of equipment configuration. With a bc on our upper body and weight down around our belly it's easy to end up foot heavy. As has already been pointed out, the answer is to move some of the weight higher on the body.

Body position comes into play also. Moving arms, head, shoulders, feet foreward or backwards effects where our center is. Trim then is the reult of the mechanics of our weight/buoyancy combined with our body position. We can't always get things perfect and it changes through the dive anyway as our tank empties and gets lighter or as we go deeper and our wet suit compresses. These, hopefully, small changes need to be compensated for with body position.

That's about as good of a explaination as I can give of the theory this early in the morning.