Safe amount of non-ditchable weight

[otter-cat]

Does anyone know if there are guidelines out there for the maximum percentage of weight that can safely be placed in non-ditchable configurations? The reason I ask is that I have the (apparently unusual) problem of being very leg heavy (or top-buoyant, depending on how you look at it -- i.e. my ankles and legs sink), which really throws off my trim. The best solution I've seen is a system for mounting a significant portion of weight onto the tank, but of course that weight is non-ditchable. The manufacturer of the system recommends that no more than 2/3 of the total weight be non-ditchable, but that seems like a lot to me, and since they sell this system, I'd prefer to see some more information on this from another source.

Any info on this would be appreciated!

otter-cat

 

[Wendy]

have you tried moving your tank up a little on your BC? This might shift some of the weight from your leg area to your upper body. Also are you using heavy fins?

 

[WreckWriter]

2/3 of your weight non-ditchable??? Depending on how much weight you wear in total that is certainly way too much. Unless your total weight used is less than 10 lbs or so I would disregard this figure.

Wendy's ideas are your best bet to try first. You're not wearing ankle weights or anything like that are you?

What sort of suit are you wearing? A heavy shorty (top only) with bare legs could produce this effect. The solution there might be to balance out your exposure protection.

Remember, if you go with non-ditchable weight, you MUST always be able to swim up with all your weight on you and no air in your BC. This should be fairly easily done, not a big struggle.... Don't be attaching 12 pounds of weight to the top of your tank if you use 16 pounds total. It's a recipe for disaster.

Tom

 

[BadFish]

I use weight on my tank, however i use a tank strap with a cam and set it up so i can reach it on my left side, thus making it ditchable. If for some reason i am unable to get to it , it is only 4 lb so i can still get to the surface. it helps with balance and trim.

 

[otter-cat]

I am usually wearing a drysuit, but it also happens when I am wearing a 3mm full wetsuit. Moving the tank up isn't really an option for me because I am a short person, and it is probably already up as far as I can reasonably get it. I'm not wearing ankle weights, not sure about the relative heaviness of my fins, they are Aeris Velocities.

BadFish, what kind of tank strap are you using? Just the regular kind that is used to attach tanks to bc's? I think I'm going to need more than 4 pounds on my tank to straighten this out, although if I get a steel tank, maybe not, but of course that is just more non-ditchable weight. And of course when I travel, I'd still probably end up with Aluminum tanks.

I do wear quite a bit of weight: 35 pounds in my drysuit, which is neoprene, and I'm naturally pretty buoyant thanks to a high body-fat percentage. Much of it is concentrated in the upper body, which is why I think I have this problem.

Thanks all for the suggestions! Let me know if you have any more!

otter-cat

 

[large_diver]

Otter-cat,

Have a look-see at this informative thread from scubadiving.com. The author of the original tip (cast55) is a search and rescue diver in Canada/Pacific Northwest. His opinions are usually right on.

-Chris

http://www.scubadiving.com/talk/read.php?f=1&i=443651&t=443651