Hard to get horizontal

[paddler3d]

Another vote for the SlipStreams.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

You'll probably need about six more pounds for the saltwater.

When I got a drysuit this spring I had to buy new fins since my old SP Jets wouldn't fit. I can tell you, the difference in trim between the Jets and my new OMS Slipstreams was quite dramatic. With the Jets I had to put weight up on my tank valve - you may want to try an ankle weight up there. With the Slips I had the opposite problem until I added spring straps - just that little bit of weight out on the end of your legs makes a big difference. FWIW, floaty feet make for a much more uncomfortable/tiring dive than sinking feet.

boat

Do you think it was the drysuit changing the way your center of gravity was or do you really think the the fins were the answer?

 

[keithdiver]

You will love the slipstream fins, they are great!! The navy used them and cut a percentage of time on there skills.

 

[boat sju]

Do you think it was the drysuit changing the way your center of gravity was or do you really think the the fins were the answer?

Actually it was some of both. Don't get me wrong, I love my size large Jets but I need XL fins with my drysuit and the XL Slipstreams fit my Chuck Taylor's better than the XL Jets I tried. I guess it is what it is. Different gear you need has different buoyancy and you have to account for it. I'm just getting enough dives in where I'm starting to realize this and have fun with it. I was recently irritated for part of a dive with the way I was rolling to the side a bit, until I realized it was due to how I was holding my light. More experienced divers probably adjust intuitively without giving it a second thought.

(But yes the Slipstreams are definitely more buoyant and stiffer. Took me a while to get used to them.)

boat

 

[rongoodman]

They're great for frog kicks, back kicks, and helicopter turns.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from buying Slipstreams, I'm saying that the difference between Jets and Turtle fins are very minute, and one over the other will not effect trim. +1 for spring straps though, it's will add weight and keep the feet from being floaty along with added safety...

 

[boat sju]

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from buying Slipstreams, I'm saying that the difference between Jets and Turtle fins are very minute, and one over the other will not effect trim. +1 for spring straps though, it's will add weight and keep the feet from being floaty along with added safety...

So you don't think there's a buoyancy difference between Jets and Slips but you think springs add noticeable weight ? I agree that proper technique is desirable but even dir divers balance out their gear/weight distribution don't they?

You wouldn't wrap your weight belt around your neck and think proper technique will overcome your floaty feet would you? Or are you just baiting me for some reason?

 

[japan-diver]

In preparation for my upcoming Christmas Fl Keys trip, I've been working on my bouyancy skills in an indoor pool. I'm 5'11", 190lbs, wearing a 3 mil shorty, my old sinking jet fins, and I have no problem descending with six lbs of lead on my belt. Problem is, my feet still sink, slowly, but nevertheless, they still sink.
So, in an effort to get horizontal, I managed to shift the weight fwd by slipping six 1lb lead ingots into the shoulder strap sleeves of my old Dacor bladder type BC. Pool isn't open today, so tomorrow after work I'm going to try this new method of weighting myself to see if I can attain a horizontal attitude.

Question is, about how much more lead am I going to need in the brine? Been a while since I dove in the ocean, and I don't remember how much lead I needed last time.
Tomorrow at the pool the plan is to see if I can get horizontal with both the six lbs on my shoulders, plus the six lbs already on my belt. And then I'm going to ditch the belt and empty the bladder and see what happens then.
Think 12lbs total is enough for a guy my size in salt water in a 3 mil shorty? Too much?Or if I can get horizontal with just the six lbs on my shoulders, how much more will I need in salt water? (I'm hoping I can just slip a couple more 1lb ingots in my bc pockets, and get by with a total of 8lbs without even wearing a belt).
And do floating fins make that much of a difference?

Your feet sinking may not be a result of your fins at all but being over weighted all together. In fresh water in a 3 mm shorty - al or steel tank?

Try with a few less lbs and you might fix your problem the easy way. Manipulating where your weight is will also help. A weightbelt has a tendency to pull your feet down. A backplate tends to move some of the weight up and balances you better than a typical BC. By moving the weight around in your BC you are attempting to do what a BP does by design.

A weight test should be done with a nearly empty cylinder - hovering at 15ft with no air in the BC not by how well you sink at the beginning of the dive.

 

[fishoutawater]

"A weight test should be done with a nearly empty cylinder - hovering at 15ft with no air in the BC not by how well you sink at the beginning of the dive".

Japan Diver, kinda hard to do in a 9 ft deep pool.
Anyway, I found a picture of me jumping off the dive boat off Boynton Beach a couple years ago, and could see that all I had on for weight was the same six lbs that are on my belt right now. And as I recall, I was slightly under weighted, because I remember having difficulty staying down at the safety stop with 500 in the tank.
Other than that, while at depth I'd completely empty my bc and I was neutral, just unable to stay horizontal without any input from my fins. My feet would slowly sink. So, I'm not far from it. I'm just hoping that changing my cg with the shoulder weights will help, hence this afternoons experiment.
Who knows, maybe I'll find a good used BP/W setup for sale while I'm in the keys, and I can get rid of this crappy bc all together. Never did like the way it wants to nose me over at the surface if I relax. Obviously my shoulder weights aren't going to make that any better.

 

[TSandM]

Gear DOES matter, and fins are at the end of a long lever arm, especially if you are tall.

In tropical water, when wearing a wetsuit, I have enough weight requirement to allow me to put weight on my back and offset my Jets, so I'm balanced. But when I started helping my husband with students in the pool, I had NO weight requirement, so the only things I could play with were posture and gear. There was no way to balance out my Jets, even with my heels in my butt and my arms out in front of me. I ended up buying Deep See Pulse fins (but still put springs on them!) and that helped a ton.

I suspect moving weight up to the top of the BC will make a big difference for the OP, and probably mean he won't have to replace his fins. But I'd try putting weights on the cambands, or the neck of the tank, or somewhere else on the back of the BC, if it is at all possible. Weights hung from the front ARE going to encourage the tipping forward problem at the surface.