Hi All,
I have almost 15 dives under my belt. I am really messed up on the weighting for proper bouyancy. Part of my problem is the majority of my certification dives were cold water and a 7mm wetsuit. Then I did 2 boat dives in Monterey under perfect conditions and had the lesson that tanks get lighter reinforced...had to work at staying at 15ft stop. Then I went on vacation to Fiji...3mm/steel and 80degree water.
I reduced my weight by 8 pounds... I was extremely worried about my safety stop.
I did lose one weight pocket (forgot about the snap) at 40 feet. I let the air out of my BC and kept swimming....my sharp eyed buddy spotted it...I did not know it was gone.
I think that is telling me to lose half the weight...or at least one pouch worth.
Is the idea not to have any air in the BC at the safety stop depth? And just enough weight to be neutral when the tank is low?
I will be getting a tune up when I dive in August because I have been in the desert since my Fiji vacation. I am also an air hog but one problem at a time.
Thanks,
Jerry
Well, I have just the double in number of dives, and just over a thousand minutes underwater, so I am just ahead of where you are experience-wise if you only look at the numbers.
On the weighting: I was always over weighted after my OW certification dives. I then began to drop the weights, and ended up having a much better time, and much easier to stay trim. As long as I barely float on the surface, and I can easily make myself go down, I think I'm good with the weights. But I always take extra weight with me, and test myself if I'm diving with any variables not mastered before (water temp, salt or fresh, different gear, etc...), and I ask the DM if it's OK to go in first to weight check. They typically like that because it means less chance of an incident for them.
On the wieght pocket: I was diving 3 weeks ago on the Conestoga (a wreck in shallow water - 24ft - in the St. Lawrence River in Ontario), and I lost BOTH my weigh pockets. My dive buddy found one of them, but the other one is lost.
I'll try and find it, but I know why I lost them: I just relied on the velcro attachment and not on the clip. Lesson learned! So just remember this: check ALL your clips, straps and velcro strips: lost gear costs money better spent on other gear!