How much weight can you swim up???

[dcahill129]

I am working up some bouyance calculations and was curious as to how much weight some of you consider swimmable from say 100 fsw. Consider a situation where you have a major failure to your BC, can you swim 10 , 15 maybe 20lbs. to the surface? Thanks!

 

[OceanObsessed]

If I were your dive buddy I would be very suspicious of why you are asking a question like this.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I don't know how much I could swim up from 100' with, I do know grabbing a 12lbs lost pouch for a buddy from 40' required a signficant amount of effort. I carry an SMB which is a redundant source of lift in addition to its primary purpose. Of course, my buddies can also assist with lift if my BC ruptures so I don't worry much.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

If I were your dive buddy I would be very suspicious of why you are asking a question like this.

Give him a break, he is ASKING a question and he is a newish diver!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I think it is a VERY important consideration for those who choose to dive with zero ditchable lead.

Some people will claim to be able to swim UP a considerable negative weight and will then in the next moment claim that a diver will be incapable of performing a controlled ascent in a situation where the diver is 5-10 lbs positive.

I have personal experience in this regard. I can swim 10 lbs (negative) up from the bottom, but the deco/safety stop became pretty strenuous.

 

[ArcticDiver]

The answer is: It doesn't matter what someone else can swim to the surface. It matters what you can swim to the surface.

How much weight someone can swim up depends on their physical condition, swimming skill, swimming technique, etc. For some it even depends on whether they have a hang over or not.

What I did was figure out the minimum added weight I needed to maintain my ascent stops in rough water conditions. Then I tried to swim it up from depth. I gave myself all the time I needed consistent with available breathing gas; it isn't a race after all. My swim up had to include all the planned deco and "safety" stops.

Then I figured how much weight I had to ditch to be able to stay on the surface without swimming. That became my Ditchable Weight.

Someone with poorer physical ability may have to ditch some weight to even make it to the surface. Although, all things considered, if that were the case I would wonder if they were physically fit enough to dive at all.

So, go do some experiments. Take along a buddy to carry weights, etc.

 

[OceanObsessed]

Give him a break, he is ASKING a question and he is a newish diver!

Lighten up Grumpy...it's just a joke. Gheez, talk about a fitting name

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Lighten up Grumpy...it's just a joke. Gheez, talk about a fitting name

Please explain the joke, maybe I am slow. If you can add a them maybe consider adding a if you are joking so other know. The guy asked a question, you did not answer but rather implied he was an unfit dive buddy merely because he asked a question. Asking and answering questions is part of SB - I hople:no

 

[Scott M]

Please explain the joke, maybe I am slow. If you can add a them maybe consider adding a if you are joking so other know. The guy asked a question, you did not answer but rather implied he was an unfit dive buddy merely because he asked a question. Asking and answering questions is part of SB - I hople:no

Grumpy, I think the joke was it sounded like he was trying to figure out how much to put on his buddy to keep him from swimming up. At least thats how I read it. A smily wouldn't have hurt though.

 

[Gombessa]

I took it as a joke too. Nothing to get worked up about.

Ah, the perils of speech over the Internet...even when we have access to a cornucopia of smilies.