Help needed to descend!

[Jeff Toorish]

I was having the same problem. I learned two things, which I do in conjunction. First, I make sure my air release is at the highest point possible on the BC. The second, and this is what really started working for me, is I arch my back as much as possible.

To help you learn this, do it on the ground. Kneel down and arch your back until your body looks like a giant C while holding your inflater/release as high as possible.

When I started doing this, I was able to descend those first few feet and then I would add a bit of air to my BC to control the Descent.

Safe Diving

Jeff

 

[The Kraken]

Ber Rabbit hit on a very good point!
How about a second dive? Do you require the same efforts to descend as you do for the first? If not, then Ber Rabbit has hit the nail on the head, your wet suit is considerably more buoyant before your first dive than it is at your second. One way to prove this to yourself is to hold up your wet wuit when it's dry and then compare its relative weight to it when its wet.

the K

 

[Diver Dennis]

You are either underweighted or your gear most notably your BCD takes time to get soaked an loose bouyanvy trapped in the padding or your are trapping air in the bladder of your BC.

You say that you can stay down with a near empty tank, does this include when you get shallower? at 15 feet? as you get into the shallows near shore? If you are staying down in the shallows with an empty tank then you have plenty of weight. 4 pounds is not a lot of weight. You don't say what you use for a cylinder but you'd need most of the 4 pounds just to keep an -AL-80 neutral near the end of a dive.

I know my wife's Seaquest Diva LX holds some air in the padding. When I have it underwater in the rinse barrel at home it looks like a bladder leak so much streams out of the stitching! It would be a shame to carry extra weight for this so a more aggressive duck dive and or a deeper than deep exhalation to start the process should help. Spending some surface time floating and relaxing with your snorkel can let some of the gear saturate as well. The relaxation will pay off in reduced conumption when you do go down as well.

If you still have air in the bladder stop and examiine what you are doing. If you use the inflator dump are you holding it high?, Try raising that shoulder. There is no pump involved it's all physics so pay atention. Same if you are dumping with the rear dump, raise that cheek.

Pete

I agree. I dive a Seaquest Unlimited Pro that has a lot of padding that holds air. I usually dive about 4 days a week so it doesn't dry out completely but I've been away for the last 3 weeks so my first dive I'll have to use the head down finning technique to saturate the padding again.

 

[HowardE]

Ber Rabbit hit on a very good point!
How about a second dive? Do you require the same efforts to descend as you do for the first? If not, then Ber Rabbit has hit the nail on the head, your wet suit is considerably more buoyant before your first dive than it is at your second. One way to prove this to yourself is to hold up your wet wuit when it's dry and then compare its relative weight to it when its wet.

the K

Depending on the boat you go on... perhaps they have a shower to wet yourself down before you get into the water.

Like the Kraken said... A dry wetsuit it MORE bouyant than a wet one.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

I'd suggest that you pay heedance to DandyDon's comments. I suspect that he is right on. 4# with a 3mil and a Seaquest BC is very little. (I'm assuming your in salt water and using an AL80) In fact, that alone is what you need to offset the positive buoyancy of that cylinder when it is nearly empty, leaving no weight to offset your exposure suit. As Don said, it may seem like that is enough weight when you are at depth...but it might not be enough to hold a safety stop.

In addition to this, here are some things that I find most commonly contribute to this problem...

Not getting all of the air out of the BC bladder. I know this seems obvious but it happens oh so frequently. It usually goes like this...a new diver can't get down...I tell them to let all the air out of their BC..."I have...it's empty!"... as I swim up next to them and grab the big bubble of air behind their head. I'm not saying that you have trapped air...but it might be a good idea to have your buddy at least take a look. It might just surprise you.

Another common problem...with all the work and excitement of getting geared up and jumping in, a lot of folks will be breathing a bit hard...some more than others. Take a minute or so to just chill out on the surface...catch your breath and relax. This will make a HUGE difference and descending will be much easier.

You can also try this...after getting ALL the air out of your BC, exhale hard and long and then hold it for a few feet. Often this will be all that one needs to get a descent started.

If you have to kick to get down, something isn't right. Put some more weight on...use little weights...like 2 pounders...and use a total of say 8 pounds. Do a dive. Then do a weight check at the end of your dive...at your safety stop...with 500 psi or so in your tank. Pass off weight in little increments to your bud until you start to get floaty...then take a little weight back. If you can do this while remaining nice and relaxed with good trim and buoyancy control, then you have found your weight requirement. Now, when you do your next dive, you will have the extra negative buoyancy of the air in your full cylinder to help you descend.

...or

...take a PPB class with a good instructor!

 

[DandyDon]

I wake up during the night at times, and instead of just going to the head - I have a horrible habit of looking at SB again, so it was 4.30am for me when I posted above. That's why I didn't go into more detail, but then - I also counted on others giving the advice they have here...

We do not yet know if you are speaking of FW or SW diving, nor if you are using an 80 AL tank, a heavier steel one, etc...?

If you are a smaller, more slender person, you will not need nearly as much weight to get down and stay down as an overweight Texan, but these two factors can affect the amount of lead you need by more than 4#.

The way that I like to finally determine how much weight I really need for a dive - then keep in my log book for future reference - is to determine how much I need to get down quickly in case there is a boat coming at me with a nearly empty tank. Of course, this can only be established with a nearly empty tank, completely wet wetsuit & gear, usually at the end of a dive.

After that, all the above posted advise will help a lot...

 

[hchen]

hey guys thanks for all the advice. much appreciated!

okay. more info: i dive saltwater and use an AL 80 tank. oh and i use a diverite transpac with the travel air cell.

and i've tried every single method possible short of adding weights. i've tried letting all the trapped air out of my wetsuit, deflating my BC completely, crossing my arms and playing dead and hoping i'll sink like a rock. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. and when it doesn't, i end up floundering at the surface. argh.

do you pple just sink at will?

 

[HowardE]

do you exhale?

 

[DandyDon]

hey guys thanks for all the advice. much appreciated!

okay. more info: i dive saltwater and use an AL 80 tank. oh and i use a diverite transpac with the travel air cell.

and i've tried every single method possible short of adding weights. i've tried letting all the trapped air out of my wetsuit, deflating my BC completely, crossing my arms and playing dead and hoping i'll sink like a rock. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. and when it doesn't, i end up floundering at the surface. argh.

do you pple just sink at will?

You need more weight. You are not carrying enough to stay down for safety stops with a nearly empty tank, much less get back down to avoid boat traffic in an emergency. I allow 4# just for my 3 mil suit alone in saltwater. Add 2# at a time until this works better, all the way thru.

 

[ccohn2000]

Are you really sure you're not descending? I used to have swim down too, with the same weight I wear now. It's just that at the start of the descent I was going down so slowly, I didn't think I was actually sinking. Now, I let all the air out of my bc, and wait a few moments. If I look up, I'll notice I'm about six inches under, after that I start moving faster and go horizontal.

Carol