vertical sweet spot on BP/W?

[DEEPLOU]

Originally Posted by FFMDiver
Pony in the tank was a metaphor.

Sorry, that one went over my head.

I got it and I am feble minded,(and old)

 

[FFMDiver]

I got it and I am feble minded,(and old)

well, this was a communication error.
sorry for the confusion.

 

[BCS]

Strange question. I just purchased a shorter (but wider) steel 95 w/ an H valve to put my pony inside my tank instead (pls no pony or doubles arguments) and when I slid my cam straps on there wasnt a lot of room to grab the H valve so I hiked the STA higher on the plate to compensate. Of course it was very top heavy in the water and I was nose diving. Anyhow, I moved the camstraps into the narrower slots and the tank appears to be more centered on the plate. The heavier tank also got the ABC pockets off my harness. My question is, is there a sweet spot on a plate? When I lift the plate with the tank attached holding it with a hand on each side of the plate, the balancing point appears to be at the break of the plate angle (see pic). Is this where the tank should be balance so the tank will not pearl or pull me or is it just trial and error? Thank you.

Hi Brad,
Basically, there's some trial and error to this. But this kind of equipment placement issue is only part of being able to balance yourself underwater. Your body positioning and breathing play a far greater part than moving a tank up or down in the cam bands. As we said in class, the equipment is certainly helpful, but the balance and skill come from the diver.
If it were me in your position, I would go to a quarry or local mudhole (or even a pool) and move this stuff around until it feels best. A problem like this is not fixable on the Net. Using an STA does contribute a bit to moving the weight of the tank farther away from your body and thus harder to control....it wants to roll on you, since it is seeking to be lowest or closest to ground due to it's weight. The more weight you have concentrated on your center of gravity or closer to the c.o.g., the easier time you'll have of achieving balance and trim. As you move weight farther away from the COG, balance becomes more difficult since slight changes or movement at points farther from the COG will cause greater changes in the "see saw" that is your body underwater.
Hope that helps a bit Brad.

dive safe!---b.

 

[dtdiver]

wasn't having a pony "in the tank" an esso advertising ditty way back when?

maybe he also was making a funny based on having a pony "ON" the tank.

dt

oh yeeah it was TIGER in the tank

 

[FFMDiver]

Thanks Brandon.

 

[WJL]

He's an attorney, they get paid to act dumb...

It's not an act.

 

[FFMDiver]

It's not an act.

Apology for the remark.

 

[The Kraken]

It was, "Put a tiger in your tank . . .". I believe it was a Chevron commercial, or maybe an Exxon . . . don't exactly remember, too many years.