Charlie99 once bubbled...
Great illustrations, but wouldn't the first diver be more streamlined if the tank band were a bit higher in the bands, his feet were a bit lower so that they don't stick out so far beyond the tank, and his hands and arms were folded back along side his body?
Hey dude: how are you doing?
OK, your questions one at a time... but with the preamble that I did the illustrations and I intended them to illustrate the point that balance is key to "harmony" rather than to say: "this is exactly how things should look." (You engineers are exacting souls!! LOL)
Tank higher in the bands... well, moving the tank around in the bands (with doubles) or up and down in the BC Band with a single is a key way to adjust trim. IN fact many single tank divers have a problem getting trimmed out correctly because one day they may have six inches of tank above the strap and the next it may be much more or much less.
Feet a bit lower. I have tried to illustrate the "optimal" position for silt-free finning. The illustration may be a bit exaggerated but shows that we do not want to have the legs flattened out when at rest... I tell students to think of getting a position something like a skydiver... at least with the legs.
Which brings us to the hands... out in front is prefered in the horizontal position since they 1/ help with the balance 2/ are ready to do work 3/ make it easy to read wrist-mounted gauges and 4/ that's where your light will be held.
I realise not everyone uses a light with a goodman handle or has wrist mounted gauges, but I try to reinforce these techniques in classes... hence the way the illustration is.
One small point with the extended arms... lengthening the body may decrease drag very slightly... and so actual outcome is better streamlining.
Thanks for your questions. Hope my answers helped
Steve
