We are Certified OW

[chris z]

My fiance and I passed our OW cert yesterday...

Madison, WI, The lake was 47F, 10-15 ft vis, but we did 7mm wetsuite hoods, gloves and all!

We even got to see some fish!

I had to wear 26lbs of weight to get me down in a 7MM in freash water. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to take a good guess at how much I may need in 70F Saltwater (I'm guessing I'll be using a 3mm wetsuit since I was very comfortable for 1 1/5hr in a 7mm w/ hood and glove in 47F)?

Italy here we come!bounce:

 

[MNScuba]

Congratulations! Awesome feeling isn't it... If you're interested in local diving maybe you can join us some time? Especially since you don't seem to mind the cooler waters!

Anyway, congratulations and best wishes diving.

 

[jbd]

Keep in mind that the more you dive, you will probably be able to remove weight. Once you find the correct weight for freshwater I think you can multiply that amount by 1.025 to come up with the correct amount for saltwater.

For the 3mm full wetsuit the recommendation in the PADI Peak performance bouyancy course is to start with 5% of your body and then make adjustments from there. Also they recommend adding 5 lbs of weight if you are using an AL 80.

Welcome to the underwater world!!

 

[MNScuba]

Here's a link to the above:
http://www.padi.com/fun/reading/readinggen.asp#q2

I'll take a guess at about 16# if you are currently buoyant using 26# with a 7mm suit.

Reversed thick wetsuit math:
( 26# -5# = 21# divided by 10%= 210 pounds )

Equivilent thin suit math:
( 210 x 5% + 5# = 16# ) (actually 15.5)

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by chris z
My fiance and I passed our OW cert yesterday...

Madison, WI, The lake was 47F, 10-15 ft vis, but we did 7mm wetsuite hoods, gloves and all!

Congratulations to both of you!!!
I hope you continue to have wonderful experiences UW

 

[Tavi]

Congrats to you and your wife!

Welcome to the boards!!

 

[socaldiver]

To answer your question about amount of weight though is hard to do. It varies and depends on the individual IMHO.

Saying that, I can tell you my weights. First off, I tip the scale at 190 lbs. In my 7 mil, diving with my Scubapro 72 steel I will wear 22 lbs. In my 3 mil 1 piece (and the same tank) I will wear 14 lbs. Wearing my 3 mil farmer john I wear 16 lbs.

In Hawaii, I wore my farmer john, rented 80 al tanks and wore 20 lbs.

The best way to determine the amount of weight is just to dive and adjust as you go. I would drop "X" amount on my first dive, see how you handle your descent and ascent and adjust from there.

Another consideration you should make is the wetsuit itself. A well-used neoprene wetsuit will be more compressed than a brand new one making less weights possible.

 

[jtl01]

I got certified 2 days ago! I have the temporary cards and the real ones are on the way :^) I will be going to belize in a month so I will have about 4-5 logged dives before i leave it's over I have them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!