Reg Braithwaite
Contributor
My understanding is that a "balanced rig" is is either neutrally buoyant or a little negative, such that you can swim it to the surface if you lose buoyancy. In the charming thread on using an SMB as backup, a few people seem to be suggesting that given doubles and a wet suit compressed at depth, their rig would NOT be balanced and it would be impossible to swim it up.
Hmmm.
Could a doubles rig be designed with permanent buoyancy such that when full of air it is balanced? I am imagining two streamlined tubes filled with something like insulating foam strapped beside the cylinders, just large enough to bring the rig to ten pounds negative when full of air.
Another cheapo option would be a foam plate like a flutter board mounted between the backplate and the tanks, again sized to bring the rig into balance. Obviously there is some hydrodynamic resistance even if the buoyancy assistance is streamlined. But given the right construction, it could be bomb-proof.
Obviously, if diving a heavy wet suit you'd need a ton of ditachable weight to overcome the buoyancy at the surface, I get that and will stick with my dry suit for warmth and redundancy. But I'm just curious about whether this kind of thing (permanent buoyancy to make a technical rig balanced) has been tried or whether there is a huge problem I am neglecting (like the size of such a device).
Hmmm.
Could a doubles rig be designed with permanent buoyancy such that when full of air it is balanced? I am imagining two streamlined tubes filled with something like insulating foam strapped beside the cylinders, just large enough to bring the rig to ten pounds negative when full of air.
Another cheapo option would be a foam plate like a flutter board mounted between the backplate and the tanks, again sized to bring the rig into balance. Obviously there is some hydrodynamic resistance even if the buoyancy assistance is streamlined. But given the right construction, it could be bomb-proof.
Obviously, if diving a heavy wet suit you'd need a ton of ditachable weight to overcome the buoyancy at the surface, I get that and will stick with my dry suit for warmth and redundancy. But I'm just curious about whether this kind of thing (permanent buoyancy to make a technical rig balanced) has been tried or whether there is a huge problem I am neglecting (like the size of such a device).