Tips for buoyancy control

[Divingblueberry]

Probably the most useful certiification for a new diver is Peak Performance Bouyancy. I found it best to do a few dives after Open Water to correct problems before they became habits. Take the two dive course and make sure you have time for a detailed debrief after the dives.

There is one session soon, but it is done with a drysuit and, to be honest, I am not keen to add the dry suit complexity into the mix. I had some problem during one of my dives because of the dry (I barely knew what I was doing to be honest). I will, however, ask around for a pool session.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Divingblueberry]

If you have full access to a pool and you want a really good exercise that helps improve buoyancy, get yourself a bunch of pvc pipe and connectors and build structures underwater, say starting with a simple square with legs that you can then swim through.

Get yourself a lift bag and assorted weights and practice filling it to the point that it is neutrally buoyant in the pool.

When doing any of these exercises make it a point to never touch the bottom.

We did all of that during my early training and it was quite helpful.

I really like the idea ! I'll drop by Home Depot this week-end and certainly try that exercise.

Thanks very much.

 

[Divingblueberry]

Trim needs to be established first. If the trim is right, then your buoyancy ceases to change when you go from still to moving or back to being still. It's the biggest mistake is to try to perfect trim without being flat, ie the Scuba position.

Flailing needs to be stopped. Whatever you call it, flailing, fly swatting or sculling simply ruins trim and covers up poor buoyancy. FWIW, most people will swear that they don't do this because it's just so natural. Fold your hands together. Don't use your hands to change direction or for anything: fold them together. Watch your SAC drop when you do this.

I guess the difficulty comes from the fact that I cannot see myself, hence the option of working with an instructor. I got the hand position from looking at the dive master last week-end and working on it. But it is not natural yet ; I guess it'll come with time.

Thanks for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

 

[Divingblueberry]

Ton anglais est très bien. C'est mieux que mon français.

Comme les autres l'ont dit, pratique, pratique, et pratique un peu plus. Peux-tu creer un course d'obstacle en la piscine ? Avec des choses pour nager entre, ci-dessous, et au dessus ?

ha ha ha ha

Merci.

That is what I am planning to do for the next few weeks and even after my trip to Cozumel.
Unfortunately, I can't have the type of set up you are describing. I will, however, try the exercice @caruso mentioned.

Thanks for your comment. C'est fort apprécié.

P.S : ton français est vraiment bon ;-)

 

[boulderjohn]

I guess the difficulty comes from the fact that I cannot see myself, hence the option of working with an instructor. I got the hand position from looking at the dive master last week-end and working on it. But it is not natural yet ; I guess it'll come with time.

Thanks for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

One of my tech students got a sheet of mylar from home depot and made a mirror he could hang to watch himself practice.

 

[Divingblueberry]

@Divingblueberry - you're asking for help, but you didn't describe the difficulties you are experiencing. There are some fantastic resources here, but you'd likely fare better by identifying the specific issues you are trying to correct.
From the perspective of someone that has only recently begun to have decent control over his buoyancy here are a few general pointers:
- Try to get your weight right. (I came out of OW carrying 32 lbs of lead...I'm at 12, now)
- Get comfortable being under water. Take your time, and get a feel for the effect that your breathing has on buoyancy.
- As you get comfortable, you'll start to anticipate changes. Small adjustments early is what works... If you wait too long to add air on your way down, it's easy to go to far; and the next thing you know, you're drifting to the surface. (Then you have to dump your air to stay submerged, and try to play catchup again).
Those three things all interplay. Working on one without simultaneous progress with the others yields fleeting successes and recurrent frustration. Personally, I find it easier to be a little light, and perhaps struggle a bit with my initial descent, than to be heavy & try to compensate for the additional weight.

You are totally right ; I didn't mentioned what I am struggling with. To be honest, I cannot pinpoint one element that stands out. My main objective is to generally improve and get a better feeling of the buoyancy in general. I had a great instructor, but there was a lot to do during the sessions and I felt a bit rushed. I would have liked to have the chance to practice more than trying the Buddah hovering. And since trim and buoyancy are key elements, I wish to improve.

I bought my BCD a week ago and opted for back inflated (Cressi Back Jak). I already ditched some weight compared to what I had previously and I am now at 16 pounds and will try with less next week. We will see how it goes.

Anticipating changes is not a given yet... I still have to integrate the delay between the breathing and its impact but I am hoping to get a better control with time and practice. One has to be patient though...

Thanks very much for your advice. It will certainly help.

 

[Divingblueberry]

One of my tech students got a sheet of mylar from home depot and made a mirror he could hang to watch himself practice.

wow !
Great idea !!!

This will be added to my shopping list. Thanks very much

 

[The Chairman]

I guess the difficulty comes from the fact that I cannot see myself,

GoPro on a tray in a pool.

 

[MichaelMc]

Building contraptions to swim through is great, but a lot of basics can come first. Boulder Johns list is great.

If you hover a half meter off the pool bottom, clasp hands a bit in front of your shoulder/head, and put your lower legs up at roughly 90 degree angle at the knees, and lightly cross your ankles/fins, do you rotate to where your knees hit the bottom fairly quickly? This is the same question as boulderjohn ‘what happens if you stop’ but with a handy reference of the level bottom. Unless you are really good as a new diver, your body will rotate in some direction. Do not worry that eventually you rotate. But the question is how fast and in what main direction first. If you do this a few time and your body really wants to go quickly vertical, knees down, you need to move some of your weight higher, while still leaving a good bit in your ditchable pockets for safety. Take two pounds total out of your pockets and hold them in your hands together. Repeat the drill but move your hands up your body to see how high they need to go for you to not rotate to the knees down position. Does that BC have trim pockets part way up the back? I could not tell from on line pictures. If not, you likely need to get some smalll pockets that you can attach higher up on your BC to hold this trim weight, likely on your shoulder straps or on your tank cam bands.

The weight in hands moving up the body is an exercise to learn where you need that weigh to be in flat trim. Once you know that, find a way to attach it to your BC. Then put hands back to being still and in front of face area. Make small adjustments to trim by varying the angle of your knees in their resting position. That position sets you up for the frog kick, which is rather like the leg part of the breast stroke.

You can practice the trim, hand weight, and frog kick part in snorkeling gear at your pool. No scuba required. (It’s not my idea, I stole it from others...)

 

[mallbritton]

My suggestion is to get into a habit of controlling your breathing. Breath in for 4 seconds, breath out for 6. Do this while hovering 1 meter off the bottom of the pool. The goal is to not move up and down at all. To ascend, just breath in more. This will also help you work on your trim. Follow @The Chairman's suggestions on trim. Once you get comfortable like that you can start moving around the deep end of the pool. Kick and glide. Kick and glide.