issues with trim

[creamofwheat]

I was diving last night, and i decided to just stop all of my movement and chill out for a bit as I was watching all the baby scallops on the wall. very cute, by the way. what happened next surprised me. I immediately started tilting onto my left hand side, and my feet and legs started going down. now this put me in a very inconvenient position. I never realized before that I had been fighting my trim. When I am moving, it's no problem really. I just force myself into the horizontal position and go. never noticed that I was fighting to stay there. Anyway, question is, what do i need to change about my rig to stop tilting onto my left hand side? obviously i need to move some weight up towards my head more to stop my feet from going down, but i dont have the slightest as to what to do about this awkward left tilting. I wear an BP/W, and a weight belt. any ideas?

 

[Quarrior]

wetsuits collapse at depth and weight belts move around as a result. you need to ensure your weight is evenly distribute toward your stomach to stop the twisting. the problem you are experiencing is because the weight is to close to your tank.

as for the tail down thing, move your tank up in the bands a little at a time. when you finally get what you want, mark the tank with indelable marker before you break down the setup.

 

[knotical]

You’ll have to analyze yourself for bilateral symmetry.
Is anything heavy on your left side?
Are your weights evenly distributed from side-to-side?
Is your right lung larger than your left? <Half kidding there, but human bodies are not symmetric.>
If wearing a dry suit, are you certain the air is evenly distributed between sides?
etc.
If all else fails, shift a weight more toward the high side.

 

[spectrum]

I see that you have a handle on one important point. Since you seem to be saying that your overall weight is correct it is not about what end is too heavy but rather the opposite end being too light. I had the same thing starting out and a mentor suggested moving some weight up. A 3 pounder up in each trim pocket with the corresponding weight gone from my belt and voila! Night and day. Sliding the tank, plate weights or weights on an extra cam band can all be good tweaks. Be sure that you are OK with what becomes non ditchable.

Side to side does sound like a quirrly belt. Are you diving hard weights. Are you using keepers all around? I like to keep about 6 inches clear for back and center to stay off my spine and to leave tanks space. I then have 2 more keepers at the ends so nothing moves on the belt. With the belt symetrical and balanced a tightness adjustment once down and prone should proove stable.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

I use weight pockets available from Trident that cost me $10 each. There's one on either side on my upper camband. Four pounds of my 22 lbs of weight (outside of the BP) ride there, and that trims me out dead even nose to tail.

As far as side to side . . . One thing is to be sure your wing is centered under your tank. I don't remember what kind of BP/W you have, but if it's the DSS, if the thingamabobs come out, the wing can end up twisted and off center. It's also possible to get more air trapped in one side of the wing than the other, particularly if you are not having to use much. Briefly coming head up out of trim will redistribute it.

Otherwise, what others have said about assessing the side-to-side distribution of your fixed weights is the rest of the picture. Remember that, if you are carrying a light or a negative camera, that's weight, too.

 

[The Chairman]

There are LOTS of conditions that will result in poor trim. Without pictures of you at depth in your gear, we can only guess at the problems.

Keel or back weights. For most of us, we like wearing our weights riding about where our kidneys are. It's easier when we walk. However, its far better to wear them on your belly and have them adjusted to where you have some slack when buckled. Weights on our back tend to slide a bit when we are at depth, causing a port/starboard imbalance.

After you sort this out, do you have anything heavy on your port side? Any thing buoyant on your starboard?

If not, then you are experiencing a subtle wing shift. BPs & Wings are definitely a balancing act in that respect. All it takes is a slight tilt to start the process.

The solution? Get your buoyancy as close to neutral as possible. The less air needed in your BC, the less likely there is going to be a shift.

I might point out that learning to stop and hover is an art: not just a science. It's important that you try to hold your position WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED. The first time, 15 seconds will seem like an eternity. Adjust your tank/weights to achieve fore/aft stability, and try again. You will even start to tune into depth changes and such over time, but it takes concentration.

 

[jepuskar]

Pete is right on about hoovering. For a long time I relied on visual clues as to my buoyancy...once you realize that your ears tell the whole story you'll be better off. With my ears I can notice depth changes at about 3 feet in either direction....

 

[TSandM]

I don't know . . . I think hoovering comes naturally to a lot of new divers.

Hovering, on the other hand, takes practice

 

[The Chairman]

Bwahahahaha!!!

 

[The Chairman]

BTW. when doing this as well as when diving in general: FOLD YOUR HANDS TOGETHER. Learn to use only your feet and you will go a long ways to stop being a "hoover" as well as learning how to hover.