Weighting based on body weight or am I getting better at breathing and entering the water?

[jellycatsdad]

Over the last year, I was making almost every one of my dives a skills dive to work on buoyancy since I feel like I struggle at it - my trim wasn’t great either. I started out needing 26lbs of lead just to sink with Al80s.

I was playing around with @rsingler’s Optimum Buoyancy Computer a few times and did weight checks when I remember to do so. I was carrying a vastly different amount of lead. On my most recent dives with an HP100 and BPW with an aluminum dogbone plate and 27lb wing, I was able to drop down to 14-16lbs of lead down from 18lbs. Judging by my weight and exposure protection, I should be diving 18-20lbs of lead. My dive buddy said I had no problems decending but looked a lot better underwater and was able to hover. Is this a sign I’m becoming a better diver?

 

[inquis]

You'll have to assess "better" yourself, but experience usually pays off. Being less overweight means things happen slower, which is also very helpful.

My main comment is to suggest that you measure the surface buoyancy of your wetsuit. They can vary a lot from the "nominal" case in the spreadsheet. This might confirm what you're seeing on your weight checks (or possibly suggest you can drop more).

Bottom line, though, if you can hold a safety stop at reserve pressure with an empty wing and normal exhale, you've got your total weight figured out for that gear combination. If you can stay horizontal without kicking, then you've got the placement worked out as well.

 

[Diver-Drex]

Great progress. Just remember the ballast is driven by what you need to be neutral at a safety stop at the end of your dive. You may be able to descend and dive at depth with 16lbs but still need 18lbs to hold the stop.

 

[johndiver999]

Over the last year, I was making almost every one of my dives a skills dive to work on buoyancy since I feel like I struggle at it - my trim wasn’t great either. I started out needing 26lbs of lead just to sink with Al80s.

I was playing around with @rsingler’s Optimum Buoyancy Computer a few times and did weight checks when I remember to do so. I was carrying a vastly different amount of lead. On my most recent dives with an HP100 and BPW with an aluminum dogbone plate and 27lb wing, I was able to drop down to 14-16lbs of lead down from 18lbs. Judging by my weight and exposure protection, I should be diving 18-20lbs of lead. My dive buddy said I had no problems decending but looked a lot better underwater and was able to hover. Is this a sign I’m becoming a better diver?

You want to know if you are a better diver because...
(a) you wear less lead than before or
(b) because your buddy says you look better?

Seriously what is the question?

 

[Rilelen]

In general, I do find that divers tend to be able to drop some weight as they get more experienced. A large part of this is just relaxation on the initial descent; many new divers who could hold a safety stop with say 12 pounds may need 14-16 to descend.

Usually this is due to two things - breath control and kicking. New divers tend to have trouble fully exhaling and breathing out on the initial descent - many also struggle to fully deflate their BCs. So, they need some additional weight to compensate for the additional air they are holding in their lungs and wing.

Second, new divers often kick a lot. Before they nail neutral buoyancy, many kick to stay up, or stay roughly horizontal-ish. And years of experience swimming in pools treading water means many kick just a little when floating at the surface. Those kicks keep you at the surface and prevent the initial descent. Thus, the added weight.

Asking new divers to cross their legs and use a dump valve (rather than the inflator hose) to descend usually helps. So, NO, using less weight doesn’t make you a better diver, but YES, as divers get better many are able to use less weight, IF the initial extra weight was due to poor skills/habits.

 

[boulderjohn]

A factor that is usually not considered with weighting is the BCD. A few years ago I spent two weeks in Roatan, using a land-based operation for one week and a liveaboard for the second. When I packed for the trip, I mistakenly left the single tank adaptor for my BP/W home, and I quickly found that the only solution was to rent a BCD for each week. In both cases, that meant wearing a pretty popular jacket BCD. I had not worn such a style of BCD in the ocean since my very first weeks as a diver. I had started my diving career with (over time) two different back inflate BCDs before switching to a BP/W.

I felt I had an inner tube around my waist. That bulk made a huge difference. I needed much more weight than I have ever needed before.

 

[jellycatsdad]

Great progress. Just remember the ballast is driven by what you need to be neutral at a safety stop at the end of your dive. You may be able to descend and dive at depth with 16lbs but still need 18lbs to hold the stop.

I had no problems with a safety stop at 16lbs. What I want to do is try 14lbs of lead. I did notice this though - with an Al80/LP95 I felt myself being floaty around 500-700psi in the shallows.

 

[Wibble]

As someone once said, the more you practice the easier "it" gets.

 

[boulderjohn]

I had no problems with a safety stop at 16lbs. What I want to do is try 14lbs of lead. I did notice this though - with an Al80/LP95 I felt myself being floaty around 500-700psi in the shallows.

While you are playing around with that weighting, I suggest you do not make too much of an effort to chase the ideal of perfect weighting. I did that years ago before finally deciding that I preferred being a couple pounds overweight. It made it much easier to burp out a tiny bit of air at the end of a dive. I especially preferred to be a little overweighted if it meant that I got my weights distributed for better trim. Back when I was diving with a ScubaPro Nighthawk, a back inflate BCD with trim pockets at shoulder level, I trimmed out beautifully if I had the same amount of weight in the shoulder trim pockets as the waist pockets. I was sometimes limited by what kinds of weights were on the boat, and I preferred to come as close as possible to even distribution, even if it put me a bit overweight.

 

[Bob DBF]

I felt I had an inner tube around my waist. That bulk made a huge difference. I needed much more weight than I have ever needed before.

My old poodle jacket was 6# positively buoyant, not counting any air trapped.before the first dive. Earlier jackets were not that bad, but it all depends on the amount of padding used.