Trim, Buoyancy and Arm Position

[packeteer]

being a fairly new diver (in drysuit), I still struggle with buoyancy and trim. My biggest issue seems to be the weight of my steel tank (12L Faber). If i'm not careful, I'll get flipped over and then my feet start heading for the sky.

So, while I try to maintain good trim with my arms in front of me, with hands together, I am rarely successful, thus I tend to thrash a bit to keep horizontal.

Any tips for getting better?

 

[Peacie]

Whether it's good form or not, I tend to keep my arms at my side while in motion (except when checking gauges). If stationary, my elbows bend so that my hands are in front of my chest. With more experience I'm sure this will change, but for now my diving mimicks my swimming.

 

[Tigerman]

My "basic" position is usually with the hands in my belly, however as I dive with a camera most of the time, it can vary quite a bit throughout the dive..
Night diving and other stuff that require me to use my hands also means going out of my "starting position" too of course..

 

[knowone]

Fighting a suit might have a bit to do with it.

I don't know what it is about shoulder dumps and consoles, but with your right hand on the inflator, air 2 ahem, and the left entwined on the opposite side somewhere, with a console clipped to the right shoulder, you can look at everything without moving anything.
Unless you are about to crash, scratch your nose, or find interesting underwater things.

 

[AfterDark]

I use my hands/arms the same way a fish uses the pectoral fins, to turn, point my torso up or down. Also to stop myself in a current or to crawl along the bottom against a current.

 

[fjpatrum]

I'm still working on things but so far I find I do 1, 2, or 3 (mostly 3), with the occasional 4 thrown in when I get flustered. I switch between 1, 2, and 3 depending on what feels comfortable at a given moment and swim that way for anything from a few minutes to 10 or 15 minutes at a time.

 

[diver 85]

1 ---camera gets in the way for #2 & 3.....

 

[DennisS]

If I'm just diving, I cruise along with my thumbs in the waist belt. Usually I'm carrying a grab bag, lobster snare and towing a float, my hands are full.

 

[Reallydg]

I have my hands folded by my waist, probably because it's the same way I tend to sit when I'm relaxing in a chair. For me, diving's all about being relaxed and just enjoying the sights and this feels the most comfortable. The more relaxed I am, the better everything goes.