Perfecting Buoyancy and Trim

[Comm]

@rmills I have had similar issues with my single tank, warm water setup - 5mm wetsuit with aluminum BP/W. Not sure of your height, but I am 6'1 and I naturally found myself foot heavy. I did 3 things to gently change my center of gravity

1- I switched to Scubapro Seawing Nova fins. They are a positively buoyant fin compared to my Hollis F2's which are negative.
2- I made sure that my 3 or 5mm boots (cant remember the thickness) were actually positive and not negative.
3- I added 2 lb's total to the top strap cam-band pockets (1 on either side of the tank)

The combination of those 3 kept my weighting effectively neutral, but changed how it was distributed

 

[tursiops]

@rmills I have had similar issues with my single tank, warm water setup - 5mm wetsuit with aluminum BP/W. Not sure of your height, but I am 6'1 and I naturally found myself foot heavy. I did 3 things to gently change my center of gravity

1- I switched to Scubapro Seawing Nova fins. They are a positively buoyant fin compared to my Hollis F2's which are negative.
2- I made sure that my 3 or 5mm boots (cant remember the thickness) were actually positive and not negative.
3- I added 2 lb's total to the top strap cam-band pockets (1 on either side of the tank)

The combination of those 3 kept my weighting effectively neutral, but changed how it was distributed

@rmills, depending on your fins, if you DO switch to lighter ones, you may in fact need to add some weight back. Try putting 1 or 2-lb weights on the tops of your shoulders with either bungees or weight plates.

 

[rmills]

@rmills I have had similar issues with my single tank, warm water setup - 5mm wetsuit with aluminum BP/W. Not sure of your height, but I am 6'1 and I naturally found myself foot heavy. I did 3 things to gently change my center of gravity

1- I switched to Scubapro Seawing Nova fins. They are a positively buoyant fin compared to my Hollis F2's which are negative.
2- I made sure that my 3 or 5mm boots (cant remember the thickness) were actually positive and not negative.
3- I added 2 lb's total to the top strap cam-band pockets (1 on either side of the tank)

The combination of those 3 kept my weighting effectively neutral, but changed how it was distributed

Seems like the best solution is for me to get positive buoyant fins. I was hoping that wasn't the case lol. When I bought my current set I didn't realize there are some that are negative and some positive and apparently bought some negative ones. At least they're negative in fresh water.

 

[tursiops]

Seems like the best solution is for me to get positive buoyant fins. I was hoping that wasn't the case lol. When I bought my current set I didn't realize there are some that are negative and some positive and apparently bought some negative ones. At least they're negative in fresh water.

What fins do you have?

 

[Wants2divemore]

From what I can tell from reviews online, SB comments, and personal experience, Deep 6 Eddy fins are some of the most positively buoyant fins. I've been very happy with mine.

 

[Lorenzoid]

@rmills, depending on your fins, if you DO switch to lighter ones, you may in fact need to add some weight back. Try putting 1 or 2-lb weights on the tops of your shoulders with either bungees or weight plates.

I would add for the OP that some people who are already correctly weighted may still add a couple of 1-lb. trim weights to achieve horizontal trim if other options don't work out. A couple of pounds "overweighted" is not a big deal.

 

[johndiver999]

You are more or less on a fool’s errand-should you follow some of the advice that has been offered. You are already diving a light tank and bc. You are unusually dense (literally not figuratively).

You should keep your gear, keep your fins and place the weight up high on your tank. There is no sin in wearing 4 lbs more than the theoretical minimum!! Playing with the vertical location of the 3-4 lbs of ballast should get you very close to horizontal!!! Save you money and don’t buy into the pervasive theme that you must wear the minimum amount of lead.

 

[scubadada]

Is there a resource somewhere listing the buoyancy of fins?

What are the most buoyant fins

Hi, I have heavy legs and after just doing a peak buoyancy course the instructor says I need the most buoyant fins I can find (may still have to change weight position but thats for another day), I have found some old threads but wondered if there are any new fins that are more buoyant. Is...

scubaboard.com

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

The challenge now is how do I achieve natural trim when I don't have any weight to move around?

don’t buy into the pervasive theme that you must wear the minimum amount of lead.

Also don't buy into the pervasive theme that "natural trim" musty be perfectly horizontal.

 

[johndiver999]

Also don't buy into the pervasive theme that "natural trim" musty be perfectly horizontal.

I was going to say that as well, close enough is probably close enough (to horizontal).