Need advice on buoyancy

[deignor]

Sorry this is long but I need some advice so I can be a better diver.
I just got my OW certification 2 weeks ago. Thanks for all the support
I went and did two dives this weekend with my buddy at a quarry that was about 47 degrees. I had on a 7.5 mm Farmer John and jacket, 7.5 mm hood, thicker boots, and gloves. I was OK with the cold water. This is the same quarry I did my 4 OW dives in with skills at a 30 foot platform. So much for the 10% of your body weight plus 4 pounds theory for weight. I ended up adding weight after every OW dive until I hit 32 pounds my 4th OW dive.
I started with 32 pounds this past weekend. I am just incredibly buoyant. I can't descend easily. It was easier during my OW dives- I held onto the rope on the buoy for the platform to get down the first 10 feet. This time we tried a fin pivot up into the air, releasing air, trying to be like a toothpick to go down. I get about 5 to 6 feet down and I am floating there. My buddy gave me a little push to go down and then I was fine but I seem to be overweighted and kind of go down with thump. I add a little air to my BCD- I have to be so careful or else I suddenly zoom up.
I did fin pivots to establish neutral buoyancy and we started touring. I am definitely bouyant on my top half (big breasted) but also buoyant with my legs so I have on some light ankle weights (2 pounds each leg). My profile is certainly not streamlined and NOT ideal. It is more like me head up with legs and feet down- mucking everything up. I then consciously started to streamline- pulled my head down in an attempt to try to be horizontal.
We were OK touring for awhile but then my buddy decided to stop and take some photos of some fish. If I stop, I don't just float there. I start descending and end up having to add air to the BCD.
If we get to about 10 to 15 feet, it is a fight for me to stay down. My body starts trying to ascend, I dump all my air out of my BCD. Generally, I go up, as slow as I can, fighting all the way.
I like diving but this gets pretty exhausting. I seem to need to be moving all the time or else I sink (20 feet or greater) or if in shallower water (under 20 feet), I ascend.
Everyone says with experience, you end up with less weight, a better profile, streamlined, better fin control, etc. I know I need to work on my fin kicks- I keep having to remind myself to do a nice full kick from the hips.
But what else can I do? Are there any tips? I appreciate hearing from you all, especially you plus sized women with bouyancy issues. I hope not to go up to 34 pounds plus.

 

[MNScuba]

Alert: Advice from a Newbie!

I'm also new to the sport, certified this past weekend...
From what it sounds like, you might be weighted ok, but need to use your breath/lungs more once you are down. Instead of adding air to your BC, try taking bigger breaths and breathing at the top of your lungs, if you start to ascend, do the opposite. You can vary your buoyancy quite a bit using your lungs alone. Just remember, it's not instant and does take a moment to ascend/descend using your lungs.

Just a thought, hope it helps.

 

[Wendy]

If you hare in a head up - feet down position maybe you don't need the ankle weights. Also are you using integrated weights or a weight belt? What size tank? You may have your tank too low, try moving it up some. This will help you get into that horizontal position. Also streamling isn't ncessarily your body being horizontal. Streamling also refers to your gear configuration, not having anything dangling or hanging from you. This will hwlp you move more efficiently in the water if you don't have things on your creating excess drag inthe water.

And moist importantly..move somewhere warmer! Florida is nice and you don't ever have to wear that much wetsuit, at least I don't, even in the springs, where most wear drysuits in the 72ºF water, I still wear a 2-piece 3/3 suit, no hood, or gloves. Fortunatley in fresh water I don't wear weight because of my steel doubles for cave diving, but even in awetsuit in the ocean with a single Al 80 tank I'm only wearing 8lbs. When I started diving I think Ihad about 15lbs of weight on, but as you get better with your diving, you will end up using less weight. Once you are more comfortable than you are now, you start to relax more, and you aren't task loaded you will see that controlling your trim and bouyancy is pretty easy. Also that was good advise you were given about trying to use your inflator less and your lungs more. If you feel you are 'sinking' take a depth breath and you will see that you actually rise up some. Takes some time to get it right, but it works.

This post ended up longer than I had planned, but I hope that it helps you out some.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

nt

 

[Walter]

Usually when a diver is feet down/head up that diver is overweighted. Head down/feet up usually means underweighted.

I agree with Wendy get rid of the ankle weights. I am of the opinion that no able bodied diver ever needs ankle weights.

If you are moving up and down as you describe you are adding too much air to your BC then you are dumping too much air. Changes in buoyancy are not noticed immediately. When adding air do so with small bursts with long pauses between. When dumping air, dump small amounts with pauses between dumps. If you are ascending out of control I'd recommend dumping as fast as possible, but in general small amounts are best.

Practice will help.

 

[Starfish]

You sound just like me when I did my OW's. Here are some things to start with (the ultimate answer is the same you heard above, as you become more relaxed you will dump weight).

1. Get rid of the ankle weights. If you end up needing the 3 pounds after a few more ideas, I would be very surprised.

2. I can guarentee that you are so worried about this issue that you are tightening up, so relax. You are probably doing what I did which is to take a deep breath of air when you go to descend. This causes you to stay bouyant.
Instead, take a deep breath and vent the air from your BC WHILE AT THE SURFACE. Your inflated lungs will keep you above the water. Now that your vest is empty, check #2

2. You are using a vest BC, right?
You have a trapped pocket of air in your vest. I did even when I could have sworn I didn't (see below). Use your pull dump to vent the rest of the air in your BC. I'd bet you a virtual $10 you have air in there.

3. If you haven't let that air in your lungs go yet, breath out, and I'll bet you go under.

If you still have the problem:

4. You have trapped air in you 7mm. literally squeeze out any air pockets. You may have trapped air in your headgear or in your chest area. Some guys get this too, so it's not just a large breasted problem.

5. Was you neoprene wet when you put it on? Dry neoprene has more air in it.

As for needing to move to stay in the same spot.

I am going to assume your in less then 60 feet of water and recommend the following:

Yes you are probably overweighted to begin with, hence the movement down. As you start to go down, you put air in your BC and then have too much as you ascend. Big problem circle.
Hopefully you have been able to take weight off already from the above so this will be less of a problem.

(By the end of my OW's I was over 10 pounds overweighted because of anxiety and the Instructor not wanting to find out what the problem was/problem with the gear was, it was easier to put more weight on me instead.)

The second you go to ascend, start dumping. As you know, that little bit of air becomes a big pocket of air as you ascend. With a vest it may take some use of the pull dump AND actual hand compressing of the vest AND/OR some underwater twists to get the trapped air out. My husband says I look like I was dancing/doing the Twist underwater when I realized I had trapped air and was trying to get it out of my BC.

I know this seems wrong. After all they taught you to put air in to ascend. Your moving 3 or 4 feet up in the water column may be all you need to start moving up. Use you lungs and one kick to move you up rather then relying on you BC

Give these a try --Starfish

 

[art.chick]

Expert advice on all fronts! You are quite tenacious to endure this discomfort & work towards better trim. Origionally, I was wearing a 7mm farmer john & jacket. I wore ankle weights that brought my total lead content to 32lb. I got 3 years of experience, including further training in an Advanced Diver Program. Because I dove with a vairety of buddies, I got feedback about what they all saw. In some cases, my equipment was working against me. I have simpler stuff now, and have switched to a 1-pc wetsuit that I pair with a triolifin suit as underwear (it adds no buoyancy.) The back-inflation BC was replaced with a jacket (the back-bladder trapped air terribly for me). Also, I have perfected my surface dive. Now I get down fine with 23lbs. Has anyone mentioned that you dump air before ascending? YOu can just swim up and stay in control of your ascent rate. I know the other diver who said to move somewhere warmer was just kidding, but it helped me to go on a diving vacation to the tropics so I could do 3-4 dives/day without buoyancy issues. It really built my confidence. Let us know how you do!

 

[art.chick]

Oh yes, on the issue of staying in one place, have you learned to scull with your fins?

 

[chiara]

Even with a 7.5 mms suit 32 pounds look a lot, even for a beginner.

It would help to know how much you weigh.

I weigh about 170 pounds, and in a drysuit, which is more boyant than a thick wetsuit, I use 20 pounds.

Ok, I'm not exactly a beginner, but I never went down with more than that, even when I was diving with a 7+7 mms.

When in really warm water, using a 0.5 mms wetsuit I go down with 7 pounds, trying to trim it to even less.