Drysuits and Trim

[lucid]

I am having some problems with my trim when diving dry. Here is my setup.

Double 80s
SS Backplate.
Explorer Wing
11 Pound V-weight
8 Pounds on Weight Belt.
CLx450
Fin Savers
Halcyon Gators
Jet Fins
Helios 9

I do not feel stable in the water wearing the drysuit. I find myself constantly needing to fin in order to keep my feet from going up. It annoying when doing valve shutdowns or air shares and I have to keep moving to feel stable. I keep very little air in my suit so I don't think its an air in the boots problem. If I drop my knees it takes care of the problem. Second I arch my back I am unstable.

Am I head heavy? If so what can be done to move weight towards my feet? I really don't want to use ankle weights.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

ps: My trim is good when I dive the same equipment wet.

 

[O-ring]

What type of undergarment?

Here's my setup (very similar)
Double 80s
SS Backplate.
Explorer Wing
4 Pound V-weight (only worn without light - rare)
CLx450
Turtle Fins
AUL Spectrum 14
Softwear 200 weight Polartec undies

 

[lucid]

The Softwear Undergarmets that have been advertised on the board. 200 weight polartec I think.

 

[O-ring]

How negative is that light? Are you adding air to the suit before you are arching your back (getting "into" trim)??

 

[lucid]

Im not really sure. It's halcyons really small cannister. Its couldn't be much.

I rarely add air to my suit. If I do I add little bursts when the squeeze starts hurting. I usually have dry suit hickies at the end of dives.

 

[metridium]

lucid wrote...
Im not really sure. It's halcyons really small cannister. Its couldn't be much.

Buoyancy for the 9 is -2.25 lbs.

 

[Waterlover]

Where are your tanks bands in relationship to the start of the curve on the neck of your tanks? Are you sure you need that much weight?

 

[Braunbehrens]

lucid once bubbled...
Am I head heavy? If so what can be done to move weight towards my feet? I really don't want to use ankle weights.
/B]

Don't use ankle weights, they will not solve your problem. For fine tuning stuff like this you should take a DIR-F class, they will straighten all that stuff out hands on.

Firs off, it sounds like you are using too much weight. I thought I had my weight down when I went into my DIR-F class, and then Andrew took a 16 pound belt off of me in 20 feet of water. I still had to add air to the wing to stay neutral.

Don't skimp on getting the kit properly set up. I find that most people just don't take the time to really set up the rig, if they take time out they want to do a dive. Forget the dive. Go with a buddy with nearly empty tanks, in 20 feet of water, and see with how little weight you can maintain 20 (or 10) fsw.

Once you have removed all that weight, be sure to dive the suit pretty tight. I know that you said that there is no gas in the suit, so I'm just mentioning this for completeness.

Ok, now, as someone mentioned, make sure that the tanks are low in the tank bands. you want the top just at the point where the tanks start to curve. Make sure you can get to the valves!!

You are wearing a large trim weight. Trim weights tend to put weight over your upper body, taking it away from your hips. Try the same setup, with a weight belt only, no trim weights.

Lastly, and I know you don't want to hear this, different tanks have different trim. Some tanks don't work for some people. 104's work for almost anybody, but 80's are pretty short. They put more weight towards your head and less towards your feet. Rent, borrow or steal a set of 104's for at least one dive, and see if that fixes your problem.

If switching to 104's does the trick, you may still be able to dive the 80's. As with any sport, the more you do it the better you get. After you get the hang of it with the 104's, you can go back to the 80's and play with it.

Lastly, there is a little trick you can use. If you are finning a bit to keep your legs down, you can put your arms out in front of you and slightly up. This works especially well with dry gloves, some of the gas in your suit migrates to your hands and you have a nice lever pulling your head up.

BTW, don't be afraid to get vertical in the water to get all the gas out of your legs. Gas in the legs is probably the main reason for your problem. You shouldn't really need the gaters, if you don't put any gas in your legs. I used them when I first went to a bag suit, but after a while I just stopped using them.

Let us know how this works out for you.

 

[dsgobie]

I had a similar problem.. I thought that I was about a pound or so head heavy. Well I took a look at my feet, there was way too much air in them. So what I did was take the gators and were them lower. I have mine just above the ankle bone. Problem solved. Just be sure that you don't put them on to tight. you'll have a problem venting air on you way up.