Learned Wrong...

[Akimbo]

I’ve been catching up reading this thread and wanted to comment on the overweighting issue which I largely agree with. I am a proponent of an even stricter, or perhaps more versatile, method of defining proper weighting:

A diver's submerged weight should be no less than neutrally buoyant

• At the shallowest decompression or safety stop
• With a fully deflated BC (if you use one)
• With drysuit deflated to minimum without discomfort (if you use one)
• With nearly empty Tank(s), like 200-300 Lbs or 14-20 Bar
• With lungs comfortably inflated to your normal respiratory inhalation peak

….

I’m OK with it being heavier, but not to exceed 1 Lb/½ Kg. — yes, I have two half and two one pound weights. This still makes you ~7-15 Lbs negative with full cylinders (single 80 – twin 100s). Add wetsuit compression and you could easily be north of ~25 Lbs negative on the bottom.

This is why I have trouble understanding the tendency of divers to be grossly over-weighted. I would think that on those rare occasions an inexperienced diver allows their cylinder to approach ~500 PSI and they discover they are too buoyant, add a two-pounder, and call it good.

I am starting to suspect that feet-first descents are the culprit. People pop up with half a tank and don’t sink or take forever to sink back to the bottom. Result: pile on the more weight. This isn’t a factor for those that duck-dive and swim down head-first, a practice I follow even in a drysuit.

 

[Akimbo]

I was taught "Never hold your breath", but I can't recall ever meeting a person able to equalize without doing just that.

I was taught never hold your breath on ascent or your lungs will explode in your chest and you will die a horrible death. A little harsh perhaps, but largely accurate. I guarantee it become an automatic reflex almost immediately. Nobody in my class had to get gut-punched on free ascent training.

Actually, I have known guys that could equalize without the Valsalva maneuver as fast as the tender could toss hose over the side. They teach several methods in freediving courses but I’m still not that good.

 

[Mark Derail]

Diving in Coz a diver of about the same size as me, same tanks, but he was in boxes & tshirt. I was with 3mm.
Integrated weights, I took 12 lbs evenly distributed.

He, took, 25 lbs on a weightbelt! I tried talking him out of it; he said he won't sink, this way he can float easily down...I thought he was crazy. Yet he had over 50 dives, and excellent buoyancy throughout, where I was still struggling.

His POV was that it was easier going down, and at the end of the dive with nearly empty tank, less problematic surfacing too easily.

I just pivot and point my head where I want to go, and once there adjust...

 

[Madcows]

For what it's worth, with the last body recovery that I did, the guy floated on his own, despite the 128 lbs of lead that he was wearing. .....

!Really?! I haven't been diving that long but I have never heard of anyone diving with that much weight. Under what circumstances would you need that much weight?

 

[Bob DBF]

In freediving, divers weight themselves to be neutral, just like scuba divers do... I have never met one thst preferred to handle an emergency by creating an uncontrolled ascent for himself (a second emergency). In every situation I know of, a freediver would handle an emergency by swimming to the surface in a quick, powerful, and controlled motion.

I'm a long time Abalone diver, which must be done freediving up on the North Coast, and have always weighted light. There are two major reasons, the first of which is to be able to rest on the surface between dives regardless of chop and foaming water, lots of air bubbles in the water will reduce your buoyancy. The second reason is to reduce the work needed to swim to the surface.

When diving in the 25-30' range I weighted for neutral at 15', now that I am working spots at 35-40' I'm dropping off more weight. On the side of some rock formations the bottom is 50+ feet and you are noticibly sinking at 25' and gaining speed after that, you only brought 1 breath and work uses air.


Dropping a weight belt is an option, and as with any option when used at the proper time can save your life. I've dropped mine twice, once SCUBA and the second Abalone diving. The first probably saved my life, the second did. I will continue to practice in case I need the option again sometime in the next 30 years.



Bob
----------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I used to weight myself for neutral at the safety stop, and that worked great until I got a DSMB and noticed that I couldn't pull on the cord unless I was a little negative. It takes about 4 lbs pull to make a 6' DSMB stand up.

Then, on group dives, there is one diver in the group who, you notice, is struggling to stay down. Sometimes when I think that is likely to happen I will tuck a couple of extra weights in my pockets JIC.

 

[Bob DBF]

I’m OK with it being heavier, but not to exceed 1 Lb/½ Kg. — yes, I have two half and two one pound weights.

And my buddies give me crap because I have three one pound weights and use them to tune my buoyancy within a pound or two , I'll have to e-mail them this post.

Thanks


Bob
------------------------------------
I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

New instructors (post-2005 PADI instructors) and it was in the PADI manual (uh oh, I think), to fully deflate before ascending. I do that, then again, I use the proper weight amounts...

The reason being you want to swim up, at the same speed or slower than air bubbles, to prevent uncontrolled ascent. Always be in control.

However at the safety stop I will inflate a bit if I'm not on a line.

As you continue to dive and begin to master your equipment, the idea of dumping all the air from the BC on ascent and swimming up will become a distant memory.... I used to teach my OW students to try to stay just slightly negative on the ascent and gently kick toward the surface. It is much easier to control if you stay slightly negative. However, I NEVER would teach a student to dump all air from the BC before the ascent. Doing so in cold water while wearing a thick suit could be downright dangerous from the exertion alone.

It is generally best to remain close to neutral while in the water column, dumping all your air on the bottom is not consistent with this very basic idea. It is one of the very basic concepts that should be taught in openwater: try to stay close to neutral in the water column and when you reach the surface, establish positive buoyancy.

 

[Mike Boswell]

I wish you guys would stop quoting that deep south diver dud. He is the ONLY person on SB that has made it onto my ignore list. It is NOT worth even addressing some of the stuff he spews.

S'matter, DD, you don't believe 128 lbs of lead? Heck, they musta used twice that on Jimmy Hoffa!

 

[Akimbo]

And my buddies give me crap because I have three one pound weights and use them to tune my buoyancy within a pound or two , I'll have to e-mail them this post.…

I use the small weights instead of different combos primarily so I don’t have to adjust my belt. I have a couple of weight pockets on my back plate to adjust for different cylinders, wetsuit, and drysuit on Scuba. My freediving belt is set for neutral at 20 Meters/66' and I slip weights in pockets on a vest for shallower target depths. They sent people back to the boat for 1 & 2 Lb weight adjustments during my Performance Freediving course.

The trick of using a scale described in that same post makes weight checks fast and completely accurate on Scuba. You’re back on the surface often enough freediving to swap weights if you have the pockets in a vest. Your buddies just are as [-]lazy[/-] efficient as you.