Neutral Buoyancy...............

[scubarn0203]

Hi,

Started class about 2 weeks ago and I love it,thanks for the advice from those that stated" the first breath is the hardest".......it was,but man was it cool after that.Still learning alot but wanted to know if anyone has any tips on attaining neutral buoyancy, so that I can get a better handle on the "helicopter" technique.Thanks for any advice

 

[The Wanderer]

Tell us what gear.... BCD, BP/W, weight belt, tanks, etc. you are using.

 

[theskull]

Tell us what gear.... BCD, BP/W, weight belt, tanks, etc. you are using.

Irrelevant info. Neutral buoyancy is simply having enough air in your BC to exactly offset the weight you are wearing and render you weightless.

Don't ask for any additional weight if you don't have to, you probably won't be given a choice about wearing less at this point.

The key: Get close to neutrally buoyant using your BC, then control your place in the water column by contolling how much breath you keep (not hold) in your lungs. If you have to breathe shallow to be neutral, let a very small amount of air out of your BC; if you have to barely exhale to sink, add a quick shot of air to the BC. It is that simple. (And a real art to get good at!)

Have fun. Did I mention to have fun?
theskull

 

[The Wanderer]

Irrelevant info.

Absolutely relevant. A brand new diver must understand his gear and weighting to learn about bouyancy and trim.

 

[Uncle Pug]

There are multiple factors that go into gaining and maintaining neutral buoyancy... and hopefully you will get some good pointers from your instructor as well as the internet.

That said, here is a tip or two:
1) You will never achieve neutral buoyancy for any length of time since you need to breath. Inhale=positive and exhale=negative. So controlling the swing between positive and negative is just a matter of breath control. And to control your movement up or down in the water column, that is being able to stay in one place, is a matter of resistence to movement... ie... you need to maintain a horizontal attitude to provide maximum resistence to movement up or down.

2) Learn to control your buoyancy while stationary... not moving... and not flailing your arms and hands about... nor finning. In fact clasp your hands together and cross your legs.

3) Learn to swim through the water in a horizontal attitude. Most folks think they do... but they don't. Most divers I see are at anywhere from a 30 degree head up angle to almost perpendicular (!) When you swim with a head up attitude you plane upwards. To counteract this tendency divers add more weight and/or less air in the BC. When they stop and the lift from planing is no longer there... they sink. That is why heads up divers never stop swimming... the are in constant movement.

4) Learn to hover mid-water well off the bottom and in any attitude.. prone, supine, left lateral recumbant, ect.

5) Then you can start to deal with things like helicopter turns.

 

[The Wanderer]

Good post, great advice Uncle Pug!

 

[Finnatic]

You can also practice with a tank with about 700psi, vent all air from the BC, descend to 15ft, and adjust the weight until you can hover at that depth while breathing normally from the regulator. You should only rise and fall slightly with your breathing. This will help you maintain your safety stop while being neutrally buoyant at that depth. A good time to try that is at the end of the pool class if your instructor let's you burn the rest of your tank. A DM taught me this on my first dive trip.

 

[Finnatic]

What's a helicopter turn anyway?

 

[DBailey]

Hi,

Started class about 2 weeks ago and I love it,thanks for the advice from those that stated" the first breath is the hardest".......it was,but man was it cool after that.Still learning alot but wanted to know if anyone has any tips on attaining neutral buoyancy, so that I can get a better handle on the "helicopter" technique.Thanks for any advice

Best tip that I received: dive more!!

 

[FrankT]

In the pool last week I had no trouble staying nice and neutral in a horizontal plane, but if I changed to a sitting, legs crossed possission I sank like a lead weight, landing on my tank bottom. Why?