trouble trimming out in doubles

[orange_diver]

hey all:

i've started diving in double Faber LP 95s for a class and am finding it difficult to maintain trim because i'm so head heavy. i'm like a sand dart the minute i stop moving.

i've tried a 4lb trim weight on the rear of the tanks and that helped some. i've tried to extend my legs and that helped some as well, but i'm still having a lot of trouble.

it was mentioned that because i'm 6'1" and have a long torso maybe i could benefit from longer tanks, perhaps the LP 85s. but i know there are tons of divers using my tanks and some of them have to have my build.

to complicate matters i'm also new to drysuit diving. i'm in a TLS 350 and use gaiters but still get floaty feet and have a hard time venting - i have to break trim and go vertical.

i'm using a weezle if that matters.

other than that, my rig is DIR, DSS backplate and doubles Torus 49 wing, can light, etc.

any advice? any divers out there who have gone through something similar?

this is only my 3rd dive in doubles and in an drysuit so maybe i should just suck it up and check back in a hundred dives or so but it's damn frustrating when i'm fighting my trim the whole dive.

 

[Rick Inman]

Sure there are adjustments you might make (I assume your tank bands are as high up on the tanks as they can go), but the best thing you can do is dive the things about 50 more times. You'll be amazed at what a bunch of dives will do.

Sorry, I know you're looking for an adjustment that will make it all better, and some adjustments might help. But I'm afraid you're right. More dives.

 

[H2Andy]

to complicate matters i'm also new to drysuit diving. i'm in a TLS 350 and use gaiters but still get floaty feet and have a hard time venting - i have to break trim and go vertical.

i would say this is the first problem to solve right here

do you keep your dump valve open at all times? you may want to do that

do you remember to vent your suit as you ascend? you need to do that

once you are closer to the surface, don't let your feet get too far above your head, or all the air will rush to your feet again, making you feet light (and head heavy)

assuming you have already moved your tanks as much as possible, the second step i would take is to get an aluminum BP (if you don't already have it) and add 2-6 lbs on a weightbelt, to counteract any head-down tendencies of your rig (i dive with no weight other than my plate, so i don't feel adding 2-6 lbs to fix that problem would be too much ... this may not be a DIR answer, however ... so ... see what others say)

 

[jhoey]

I think you need to give yourself a break -- you're only on your third dive with a drysuit! Of course it's going to take time to get used to it, so just be patient and your trim will most likely sort itself out naturally.

I had the same problem as you for a long while (CLX450, Weezle, floaty feet), and while it was tempting to assign blame to the gear, I knew that it was really just a matter of skill development. I resisted the urge to use gaiters or ankle weights, and just worked at it. The biggest thing for me was to be more patient when dumping air from my drysuit -- sometimes it does take some time for the air to work it's way through the undersuit and out the valve.

Another thing: sometimes it's okay to break trim and go vertical for a moment if that's what it takes to dump air from your floaty feet. People fixate on achieving horizontal trim 100% of the time, but there are occasions that warrant breaking trim. Doing so doesn't make you a stroke.

 

[cool_hardware52]

hey all:

i've started diving in double Faber LP 95s for a class and am finding it difficult to maintain trim because i'm so head heavy. i'm like a sand dart the minute i stop moving.

i've tried a 4lb trim weight on the rear of the tanks and that helped some. i've tried to extend my legs and that helped some as well, but i'm still having a lot of trouble.

it was mentioned that because i'm 6'1" and have a long torso maybe i could benefit from longer tanks, perhaps the LP 85s. but i know there are tons of divers using my tanks and some of them have to have my build.

to complicate matters i'm also new to drysuit diving. i'm in a TLS 350 and use gaiters but still get floaty feet and have a hard time venting - i have to break trim and go vertical.

i'm using a weezle if that matters.

other than that, my rig is DIR, DSS backplate and doubles Torus 49 wing, can light, etc.

any advice? any divers out there who have gone through something similar?

this is only my 3rd dive in doubles and in an drysuit so maybe i should just suck it up and check back in a hundred dives or so but it's damn frustrating when i'm fighting my trim the whole dive.

You are already using a wing with more lift up high, and a tail weight. Longer tanks sound like a step in the right direction.

New doubles and a new drysuit are lot to master in 3 dives.

Tobin

 

[orange_diver]

thanks to everyone who has posted their comments, all sound advice, keep 'em coming!

as regards to the equipment, i certainly do not blame it! everything i own from the drysuit to the can light to the DSS gear is wonderful stuff. "it's a poor musician that blames his instrument"!

i was just wondering if i could have an easier time mastering these new skills with a different config, especially the longer tanks. the weezle was also a question, i know that some amazing divers use it but maybe i could start with something that allowed for venting air faster and then move back to the weezle. it is very warm, tho...

sounds like i should just buckle down, which i am doing every weekend, surf permitting...

 

[rjack321]

I would recommend going back to a single tank for 15 dives (at least). Get the drysuit worked out, then add the doubles.

Don't bite off too much all at once, build new skills onto preexisting solid skills.

 

[TSandM]

It's not easy getting used to doubles -- I can testify to that. And I think it is possible that the wrong tanks just won't trim out on a given body. But there are things you can do about the head heaviness, as people have mentioned. Move the bands as high as they'll go on the tanks (as long as you can still reach your valves). Switch to an aluminum backplate and put the four pounds on a weight belt. Extend your legs, and run a little air in your dry suit and get it up in your shoulders and arms. Make SURE you have your head up.

All those things help, but I'm about 50 or 60 dives in doubles now, and I STILL can't balance in my 72s without going about 30 degrees out of trim. I have a set of LP 85s that are MUCH easier. The buoyancy characteristics are really similar, but the tanks distribute weight differently.

With regards to venting the drysuit -- It takes time to master that. You have to stay well ahead of the buoyancy curve (vent before you think you need to, and sometimes when you barely can squeak air out of the suit). And the Weezle does NOT make this easy. I dove one a few times when I was a fairly new diver, and there was no way I could cope with the buoyancy problems it created. It traps a lot of air, and takes time to move the air to where you can vent it. The instructor who lent it to me told me SHE had to stop and go vertical and wait to vent, even when teaching. I know there are people (Doc Intrepid among them) who love their Weezles, but I didn't.

 

[PfcAJ]

The gaiters help "prevent" gas from getting to your feet, but they also slow the gas trying to get out of your feet. Try a dive without them, see how it works.

As others have said, do a whole bunch of dives!

 

[Kevrumbo]

I find LP Faber Double 95's short in length, even for me (5'7'', 155lbs).
Used to use gaiter wraps but found they were conducive to cramping in my calves. Solved the "head heavy" trim (especially on descent where it was so bad, that I would be rolling forward into a front flip upside down), by using a five pound steel BP and a five pound tail weight.