Will I notice an extra 10 pounds of lift on the surface ?

[iainwilliams]

Hi

Will I notice an extra 10 pounds of lift??

Currently I use an oxychec 30 pound wing and transpac harness. To stay on the surface with my camera (subal, 2 strobes and wide angle port) I have to inflate the oxychex to full capacity.

Perhaps an extra 10 pound lift will help my situation - comments?

Thank you, Iain

 

[herman]

Unless that camera is very negative, you need to be looking at your weighting instead of adding lift to your BC. You should be dead on neutral at the surface unless you are diving doubles so unless that camera is 25-30 lbs negative, you have a major weighting issue, not a lack of wing lift problem. I can't imagine the camea being more than 4 or 5 lbs negative and even at that amount of negative buoyancy it is going to be a pain to deal with from a control standpoint. If it is that negative or worse, you need to deal with that instead of adding more wing lift if for no other reason than to to eliminate a safety issue. If that camera is very negative and you for what ever reason drop it, you will be in a very positive situation, not a good idea considering that if you drop the camera, odds are there is a bigger problem you are already dealing with. To fix this problem the right way, add solid positive buoyancy to the camera housing instead of compensating for it wiith your BC.

 

[iainwilliams]

Thanks for your input Herman.

Actually I am normally a bit overweight so I can maintain neutral when at 5M after a deeper dive. Last thing I need is to be floating toward the surface at the end of a dive when I have critters to shoot. Iain

 

[scubafanatic]

I dive Oxy 'Extreme' 40# 'singles' wings (not counting my dual bladder Oxy wings in this discussion) and I insisted on the 40# wing to give me more safety/contingency margin. I don't see any downside to the 40# wing vs the 30# wing, only upside!

 

[Tortuga68]

You get more air shift with a bigger wing - I have Halcyon Eclipse 30 & 40# wings and prefer the 30. Unless you need the extra lift, I'd stick with the 30#

 

[halocline]

Thanks for your input Herman.

Actually I am normally a bit overweight so I can maintain neutral when at 5M after a deeper dive. Last thing I need is to be floating toward the surface at the end of a dive when I have critters to shoot. Iain

You really should not need to be overweighted at the surface to remain neutral at 5 meters. In fact, assuming you're diving wet, you can be a little positive at the surface and still neutral at 5 meters where your suit will be a bit compressed. A bigger wing is not your problem, getting the weight right is. I'll bet you're just used to finning a little at your safety stop and/or holding a lot of air in your lungs. If you've been diving overweighted it's very easy to get in the habit of staying negative and constantly swimming/finning.

 

[scubafanatic]

You get more air shift with a bigger wing - I have Halcyon Eclipse 30 & 40# wings and prefer the 30. Unless you need the extra lift, I'd stick with the 30#

My Oxy wings are 'donuts' so air trapping isn't an issue, can't say I've ever noticed 'air shift' being an issue whatsoever in the 40# wing, IMHO.

 

[Tortuga68]

The Eclipse is a donut too - I'm talking about the air shifting around the wing when it's only partially inflated, as it is during the dive; not trapping. It's not a big deal, I just find it mildly irritating and noticably worse in the 40 than on the 30. There's really not an advantage to having extra lift capacity in a wing like that IMO, 30 is plenty for me even with a steel tank and thick wetsuit. YMMV

 

[Capt.Gene]

If you are over on your back on the surface and swimming to shore, resting, or waiting for the taxi boat to pick you up a larger bladder is more like riding with your butt in an intertube, and will get your head higher out of the water.

 

[iainwilliams]

You really should not need to be overweighted at the surface to remain neutral at 5 meters. In fact, assuming you're diving wet, you can be a little positive at the surface and still neutral at 5 meters where your suit will be a bit compressed. A bigger wing is not your problem, getting the weight right is. I'll bet you're just used to finning a little at your safety stop and/or holding a lot of air in your lungs. If you've been diving overweighted it's very easy to get in the habit of staying negative and constantly swimming/finning.

Thank you for all your comments

I am slightly overweight on the surface on purpose. The reason is that at 5M at the end of the dive, I photograph gobies in the sand. I want to be negatively buoyant at this time so I can lie on the sand to get portrait shots. Without being negative it is not possible with a near empty aluminum tank to rest easily on the sand.

Hope this makes sense.

My interest in the extra 10 pound lift was at the surface carrying my heavy camera, etc. The 30 pound keeps my afloat, but the extra 10 pound would keep my higher in the water if necessary waiting for a pick up.

This is what I was asking - would the extra 10 pound lift make a big difference on the surface. One responder remarked that it is like having your butt in an inner tube.

Thanks everyone. Iain