Weight question

[Peter69_56]

Been in the ocean on the surface with the boat disappearing, didn't drop my weights or any gear, in time the boat came back, still had all my gear. And I was explaining to the wife, all is well just have patience. I think the term is "Don't Panic"

 

[eelnoraa]

Why do you think you need to drop weight?

Assuming you have near empty tank at the end of the dive, you should be neutral with a empty wing. Sure you need to float your head above water, but that is what the wing is for. Now if your wing fail and can't trap air at all (not likely) and you are wearing a wetsuit, it is good time to ditch your weight.

10lb wing is too small, that is why you don't see them.

FWIW, what if I'm ocean diving (where ever) and the boat is gone when I ascend. Because it's before christmas and I haven't bought my emergency beacon yet, I'm stuck bobbing in the ocean trying to explain to my wife why I got us into this mess.
Would I not drop my weights after a short while?
Would a 10 pound wing create a problem in this scene?

 

[Imla]

FWIW, what if I'm ocean diving (where ever) and the boat is gone when I ascend. Because it's before christmas and I haven't bought my emergency beacon yet, I'm stuck bobbing in the ocean trying to explain to my wife why I got us into this mess.
Would I not drop my weights after a short while?
Would a 10 pound wing create a problem in this scene?

Nope... You would inflate your drysuit... because diving just before christmas is %$#$ cold

Now... I am assuming diving in Norway.
Personally I dive a few different setups.
For work, I dive a drysuit, a Zeagle bc, 10L 300Bar tank and a whole truckload of lead.
In Norway, most OWcourses are held with students in drysuits, so I usually carry a bit of extra lead.

For fundiving, I dive a drysuit, and a D8.5L 232Bar doubles, Steelplate, 40lbs Halcyon wing with 8kg tailweigh.
Now... Waters here are cold, I have a certain amont of excess bioprene, and unfortunately it is placed conveniently on my a$$.
With proper undergarments to stay under for about an hr, I need this much weight to stay under.
This however, means that my rig wouldnt float without me inside... THis is still not a problem, as I wouldn't let go of my rig!
Drysuit and Wing together gives redundancy for lift, and I can easily swim the rig up with no air in wing, and squeeze in the suit.
The likelyhood of both wing and suitfailure is miniscule.

My second rig is the same plate and wing, but with D12L 232Bars Steel tanks. With this rig, I use a 6kg tailweigh to balance the rig from getting too front-heavy.

None of the weight is ditchable... and none of the people I dive with have their main weights ditchable. When it gets really cold, most of us tend to add a kg or two on a belt, or next to our cannister on the harness.

 

[beanojones]

I asked because I was told if I need to make an emergency surface to ditch the weight and go up. I also thought if I felt like I was going to pass out I would be able to drop some weight and go up with being unconscious.

You were given some strange information.

Being positively buoyant underwater is a cause of an emergency, not a solution to an emergency. Boats hurt when you slam into the bottom of them. Kelp makes for a good dive, but it can also make a diver trapped up against unable to get to free air.

On the separate issue, if you feel like you are going to pass out, ever, diving is simply not for you. Consciousness is required to keep the regulator in one's mouth.

Assuming you have near empty tank at the end of the dive, you should be neutral with a empty wing. Sure you need to float your head above water, but that is what the wing is for. Now if your wing fail and can't trap air at all (not likely) and you are wearing a wetsuit, it is good time to ditch your weight.

As noted, here (and only here) is where one should be positively buoyant: on the surface.

This is why people who do routinely get stuck on the surface for long waits do have ditchable weights, and/or Safety Sausages that double as life bags, and/or huge lift capacity BCDs with redundant bladders. Especially in the tropics, where there is often no buoyancy provided by exposure protection, it is just easier/safer to get very buoyant to maximize chances to see the boat, and to be able to talk to fellow divers.

 

[eelnoraa]

For fundiving, I dive a drysuit, and a D8.5L 232Bar doubles, Steelplate, 40lbs Halcyon wing with 8kg tailweigh.
.... however, means that my rig wouldnt float without me inside...

So you rig wouldn't float without your inside with a 40lb wing. That means you rig is 40+lb negative. Assume you are weighted properly, so with empty tank, empty wing, you are neutral. This means your drysuit+ undergarment is 40+lb positive???? If this is true, for your own safety, you need a bigger wing, or transfer some of the balast from your rig to yourelf.

 

[Imla]

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