MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
tbones' points are spot on that body closer to neutral is the right approach.
I assume this is a DM test. I agree with not gaming the test by using a gear setup you would not normally use. I also think the test is a great giant sledgehammer of clue that having all your weight on your rig may not be a very good idea. For recreational divers absent light tropical weighting.
Is this for Padi? They have a confined underwater R/R for their OW students preparing their kits for their first open water dives. Not as a gear tweaked just for this drill exercise. Their OW class R/R is to be done "without losing control of buoyancy, body position, and depth" "in a reasonably comfortable, fluid, and repeatable manner". Before moving on. Which, absent a simplification to irrelevance, would not seem to permit being planted on the bottom.
Padi actually has two OW class R/R skills: 1) removing the scuba kit and 2) removing all or part of the weight system. Now if an OW student feels like removing all their weights as part of their scuba kit, that's fine. But having some on their body would make the scuba kit removal skill easier, especially if they have a lot of lead.
As a DM/AI, doing a demo in a way that takes great skill to pull off is likely a disservice to your OW students. When you demo to these OW students, you're showing them how to do it and providing a smooth demo to show them how easy and straight forward it is. Even if you manage to do it with a heavily weighted BC and no weight belt, as you've tried, that will suggest to these OW students that something similar to what you do should work. Which will likely result in epic and dangerous fail on their first few tries, as it did for far more experienced you, shattering their confidence and their likelihood of learning.
Yes you *can* do this with your current weight distribution. But it makes more sense with your body closer to neutral. I did full remove/replace of BC+belt+fins+mask in a 20/10 suit in an 8' pool, properly weighted. The suit was new with 32 lb. of lift. It was smooth, but it was slow and *very* delicate. It wasn't for DM but for naui master scuba diver. I would not do it 'sitting' up. I did it laid out on the bottom on my back with rig above me on my stomach. For mid water, keeping a decently weighed belt on made horizontal R/R of BC+fins+mask way easier in a 10/5. Ocean 15' R/R of tiny doubles was also straight forward properly weighted hovering over the bottom in a 15/10/5, given some on the belt, yet with normal horizontal trim when the rig is on.
I would rethink the belt thing for your general diving and thus for the test. If belts don't work for your body, a weight harnesses, belt and suspenders, likely would.
(I've seen suit X/Y/Z as meaning some parts of the body are covered by Xmm, some Ymm, some Zmm. So I think your 7mm + 5/3 vest would count as a 12/7/3 for in this case core/arms&legs/head)
I assume this is a DM test. I agree with not gaming the test by using a gear setup you would not normally use. I also think the test is a great giant sledgehammer of clue that having all your weight on your rig may not be a very good idea. For recreational divers absent light tropical weighting.
Is this for Padi? They have a confined underwater R/R for their OW students preparing their kits for their first open water dives. Not as a gear tweaked just for this drill exercise. Their OW class R/R is to be done "without losing control of buoyancy, body position, and depth" "in a reasonably comfortable, fluid, and repeatable manner". Before moving on. Which, absent a simplification to irrelevance, would not seem to permit being planted on the bottom.
Padi actually has two OW class R/R skills: 1) removing the scuba kit and 2) removing all or part of the weight system. Now if an OW student feels like removing all their weights as part of their scuba kit, that's fine. But having some on their body would make the scuba kit removal skill easier, especially if they have a lot of lead.
As a DM/AI, doing a demo in a way that takes great skill to pull off is likely a disservice to your OW students. When you demo to these OW students, you're showing them how to do it and providing a smooth demo to show them how easy and straight forward it is. Even if you manage to do it with a heavily weighted BC and no weight belt, as you've tried, that will suggest to these OW students that something similar to what you do should work. Which will likely result in epic and dangerous fail on their first few tries, as it did for far more experienced you, shattering their confidence and their likelihood of learning.
Yes you *can* do this with your current weight distribution. But it makes more sense with your body closer to neutral. I did full remove/replace of BC+belt+fins+mask in a 20/10 suit in an 8' pool, properly weighted. The suit was new with 32 lb. of lift. It was smooth, but it was slow and *very* delicate. It wasn't for DM but for naui master scuba diver. I would not do it 'sitting' up. I did it laid out on the bottom on my back with rig above me on my stomach. For mid water, keeping a decently weighed belt on made horizontal R/R of BC+fins+mask way easier in a 10/5. Ocean 15' R/R of tiny doubles was also straight forward properly weighted hovering over the bottom in a 15/10/5, given some on the belt, yet with normal horizontal trim when the rig is on.
I would rethink the belt thing for your general diving and thus for the test. If belts don't work for your body, a weight harnesses, belt and suspenders, likely would.
(I've seen suit X/Y/Z as meaning some parts of the body are covered by Xmm, some Ymm, some Zmm. So I think your 7mm + 5/3 vest would count as a 12/7/3 for in this case core/arms&legs/head)
