Teaching nothing

[Seaweed Doc]

Yes, that is true when going up and down slope. Maybe body horizontal/parallel to the relative bottom, regardless of what angle the bottom is? For addressing slopes.

I actually like your picture from Redondo with MAST in there.

Clearly low tide, or the flat bit would have to be underwater.

 

[RTee]

I did not read all the comments but will add mine...ideally, diving is a hobby for the lazy ie doing as little as possible to achieve the aim. Example that comes to mind...a boat drift dive: you deflate bcd/wing to descend, adjust air for buoyancy, let yourself drift, adjust buoyancy to control rate of ascent then stabilize for safety stop and control ascent to surface. The only exercise you may accomplish on that dive is very short swim to boat ladder and climbing said ladder. This is as little you will ever have to do on a dive. If you are the relaxed type, your tank will go a long way, depending on depth, of course. However, other scenarios will require various degree of physical involvement, but again, doing only as much as is required should be the aim. You should be aiming for efficiency.

Properly weighted, buoyancy and trim compliment each other. A properly trimmed diver will not have his or her propulsion affecting their buoyancy. For this, you need to be as horizontal as possible. However, there are exceptions. One could want to adopt a diagonal body position on a drift dive where there is no need to fin or modify their swimming position to manoeuvre in a narrow swim through going up or down.

As for the drawing illustrating coming up over a sloped bottom, I would argue that body position has little to do with vector of movement ie you can very easily come up at an angle following the bottom while maintaining an horizontal body position...finning providing the thrust and buoyancy controlling the ascent rate to follow the bottom. It is also valid while going down following a sloped bottom. I maintain an horizontal position and control buoyancy and finning to achieve the aim, not going down head first.

There are few instances where I do modify my body position and they pertain to physical restrictions of the environment ie manouevring in a relatively tight swim through, entering or exiting a wreck when the openings do not permit an horizontal position or if attempting to look under an overhang in an area where I can only do so being inverted. My two cents...

 

[boriss]

I see what you did here, a thread about nothing and in typical SB fashion, we're already 9-pages in.

I think @Vicko is spot on. You're asking a question in "Basic Scuba" as if some newbies will give you opinions about topics they may not understand. The reality is that MOST divers don't even frequent this forum, certainly not before they start diving and the answers you're getting here WILL be from those with experience (including other instructors).

Let's look at the stats. According to SFIA "there were 2.59M scuba diving participants in the USA, most of which were Casual (1.88M). Only about 708K scuba diving Americans, in 2020, dove more than seven times during the year."[1]

They define casual as those who dive less than 7-times per year. Core is further broken down into:
- Regular: 8–14 times per year
- Frequent: 15+ times per year

One more interesting statistic of note is that "certifications rebounded with a 48.5% gain over the prior year while dive gear sales remained mostly flat."[2] Which is pretty indicative of how many casual divers actually buy their own gear. If anyone has direct stats, I'd love to see them.

So all this, is to say that:
1. You're asking for opinions from the majority which is non-existent or at least under-represented on SB
2. Most divers will be in rented gear, with limited choices
3. Quite frankly if buoyancy was the most important thing then agencies would prioritize it - and they don't. Many skills are taught in the sand on the knees. Survival/safety are prioritized for a reason.

I feel it's important to teach the concept and that's part of the class, but I wouldn't stress it as the most important factor. As long as they aren't 'walking on the moon' while scuba diving and know how to descend and ascend and be able to avoid obstacles, they're good to start learning to dive and work on their buoyancy. The most important factor is that they learn all of the core material, can deal with adverse conditions, understand all the risks and that they enjoy the hobby. Buoyancy is important, but probably something that should be stressed as part of AOW.

P.S. You DON'T need to be properly weighted to achieve good buoyancy; most divers are overweighted with their ditchable pocket weights.

Source:
[1] [2]

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I see what you did here, a thread about nothing and in typical SB fashion, we're already 9-pages in.

But surprisingly mostly on topic!

I think @Vicko is spot on. You're asking a question in "Basic Scuba" as if some newbies will give you opinions about topics they may not understand. The reality is that MOST divers don't even frequent this forum, certainly not before they start diving and the answers you're getting here WILL be from those with experience (including other instructors).

Okay, I have a different view on newer divers. I don't believe in teaching to the lowest common denominator. I respect their intelligence and their ability, whether taught by me or someone else, to grasp the concepts they should have learned in open water.

Let's look at the stats. According to SFIA "there were 2.59M scuba diving participants in the USA, most of which were Casual (1.88M). Only about 708K scuba diving Americans, in 2020, dove more than seven times during the year."[1]

They define casual as those who dive less than 7-times per year. Core is further broken down into:
- Regular: 8–14 times per year
- Frequent: 15+ times per year

One more interesting statistic of note is that "certifications rebounded with a 48.5% gain over the prior year while dive gear sales remained mostly flat."[2] Which is pretty indicative of how many casual divers actually buy their own gear. If anyone has direct stats, I'd love to see them.

I don't see the relevance to the topic of this thread.

So all this, is to say that:
1. You're asking for opinions from the majority which is non-existent or at least under-represented on SB
2. Most divers will be in rented gear, with limited choices
3. Quite frankly if buoyancy was the most important thing then agencies would prioritize it - and they don't. Many skills are taught in the sand on the knees. Survival/safety are prioritized for a reason.

For #1 and #2, so what? For #3, absolutely agreed. Agencies prioritize revenue. But that's a separate discussion.

I feel it's important to teach the concept and that's part of the class, but I wouldn't stress it as the most important factor. As long as they aren't 'walking on the moon' while scuba diving and know how to descend and ascend and be able to avoid obstacles, they're good to start learning to dive and work on their buoyancy. The most important factor is that they learn all of the core material, can deal with adverse conditions, understand all the risks and that they enjoy the hobby. Buoyancy is important, but probably something that should be stressed as part of AOW.

Okay, I feel it is pretty darn important. I agree with DAN in their 2016 report in the top ten changes they'd like to see. You and I just have a different set of expectations of our respective students and likely very different results.

P.S. You DON'T need to be properly weighted to achieve good buoyancy; most divers are overweighted with their ditchable pocket weights.

No, you can achieve buoyancy control when overweighted, but it is harder to learn. I address this in my 3-part blog series that was posted on the SDI blog. The 3 links are found here: Teaching Neutrally buoyant and trimmed.

Source:
[1] [2]