bigbertha22
Guest
In scrolling through various posts regarding problems with descent, I came across a piece of information that said part of the problem could be the BCD Iam using. Can anyone comment on this? I just assumed it was my breathing.
role of BCD in descent
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What is your problem, and what BC are you using? Kind of hard to discuss your issue without that information, ne'st ce pas?
RICHinNC
Contributor
I would take a wild guess that it has to do with the title of the thread.
It could be the bc...or more probably the size and your body type. Does it have a cumberbund velcro style strap?? Since I have switched to a metal buckle style I have no riding up....no rolling....or the like.
((of course since I also switched to a bp and wing that probably had something to do with it too.....but I just thought I would whisper that>>
It could be the bc...or more probably the size and your body type. Does it have a cumberbund velcro style strap?? Since I have switched to a metal buckle style I have no riding up....no rolling....or the like.
((of course since I also switched to a bp and wing that probably had something to do with it too.....but I just thought I would whisper that>>
There are two ways the BC could give you a problem: (1) all of the air has not been dumped, which is a pretty common problem with newer divers; and (2) the BC doesn't fit properly. Make sure your left shoulder (where the power inflator attaches to the BC) is the highest point on your body, so all of the air will vent when you press the manual control button. Sometimes divers get the inflator itself nice and high, but have the left shoulder low. The air bubble in the BC will find the highest point in the BC and if that is the right shoulder, it will not vent when you attempt to vent with your power inflator. If your BC doesn't fit properly, it may be hard to get it properly positioned. In addition, you will probably feel uncomfortable, which tends to cause shallow, rapid breathing, which makes you more buoyant.
I have no idea what BC you are using but the role of any BC during descent is to control the rate of descent and then, when properly used stop you at your desired depth. Once this has occurred you should easily maintain that depth with only a very minor fluction up and down synchronized with your breathing.bigbertha22:
What style, brand, model, color makes no difference--they all perform the same function.
miketsp
Contributor
Taking into account the other thread you started about getting down the first few feet I assume your question is related to excessive buoyancy of your BC.
Some BCs with a lot of padding do tend to hold a lot of small bubbles and can make it hard to descend initially. This is easy to test if you have a large tub - just see if your BC is negative with an empty bladder, or if positive by how much.
Do you feel much difference between your first dive and your second dive when your BC has been thoroughly soaked through?
Some BCs with a lot of padding do tend to hold a lot of small bubbles and can make it hard to descend initially. This is easy to test if you have a large tub - just see if your BC is negative with an empty bladder, or if positive by how much.
Do you feel much difference between your first dive and your second dive when your BC has been thoroughly soaked through?
OP
bigbertha22
Guest
JBD,
My problem is not being able to descend easily and I use a Sherwood Spirit BC
My problem is not being able to descend easily and I use a Sherwood Spirit BC
OP
bigbertha22
Guest
CowboyNeal,
My problem is that I can't descend easily and I use a Sherwood Sprirt BC
My problem is that I can't descend easily and I use a Sherwood Sprirt BC
define what you mean by descen easily.
You don't have to rocket down. You should have enough weight on so that you can hold a 15 foot stop with little to no air in your BC with 500 PSI in your tank. If you can do that then you are probably weighted fine. If you have to fight to stay down then you probably are too light.
A side effect of that is descending slower then other people who are weighted heavier. I slower descent means more control. I typically have to exhale while I'm emptying my BC to descend. Once I get a couple feet under water I'm fine.
I doubt it's a problem with your BC, unless you aren't letting your air out of your BC efficiently during descent. It's probably more of a weighting problem.
You don't have to rocket down. You should have enough weight on so that you can hold a 15 foot stop with little to no air in your BC with 500 PSI in your tank. If you can do that then you are probably weighted fine. If you have to fight to stay down then you probably are too light.
A side effect of that is descending slower then other people who are weighted heavier. I slower descent means more control. I typically have to exhale while I'm emptying my BC to descend. Once I get a couple feet under water I'm fine.
I doubt it's a problem with your BC, unless you aren't letting your air out of your BC efficiently during descent. It's probably more of a weighting problem.
Here is a picture of a Sherwood Spirit: LINK
As you can see, this BC has a gob of useless padding material, which is buoyant. There is also excessive pocket material, dangling straps, and a big fat cumber-bun. When inflated, there are pockets of air in the neck area, the back and two pockets of air on the sides, making it more difficult to easily dump all the air. Also, the BC hose is excessively long, meaning that the diver really has to lift that puppy up at a fully extended arms length for it to be straight and allow the air to easily escape.
I don't have a clue if the BC is related to your descending problem, but certainly there are better alternatives.
One of them is a back plate and wing, which is more stream-lined, has no useless padding, and has a shorter hose for ease of dumping.
As you can see, this BC has a gob of useless padding material, which is buoyant. There is also excessive pocket material, dangling straps, and a big fat cumber-bun. When inflated, there are pockets of air in the neck area, the back and two pockets of air on the sides, making it more difficult to easily dump all the air. Also, the BC hose is excessively long, meaning that the diver really has to lift that puppy up at a fully extended arms length for it to be straight and allow the air to easily escape.
I don't have a clue if the BC is related to your descending problem, but certainly there are better alternatives.
One of them is a back plate and wing, which is more stream-lined, has no useless padding, and has a shorter hose for ease of dumping.
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