Help needed to descend!

[DandyDon]

It's not going to kill you to do one dive like this to test it out. Just do the test properly.

That may sound odd to an Asian. It's an old American saying meaning: "It'll be okay to try it."

 

[hchen]

That may sound odd to an Asian. It's an old American saying meaning: "It'll be okay to try it."

heh! thing is, i have actually tried with one additional 2lb weight on my last dive. i sank like a rock. and during the dive, i kept having to pump air into my BC to get my neutral buoyance. anyway, i'll give it a shot. and see how that works out on my next dive.

 

[Scuby Dooby]

Hchen,

You might not want to add that weight quite yet. I dive with a lot of asians and 4 lbs isnt uncommon at all. My son is 5 8 and 100 lbs and 4lbs is a bit heavy on him, he could get by with 2 if he needed to.

I think the comments about unconscious finning and especially controlling your breathing at the start of the dive ought to be checked out first. You might laugh but sometimes if i haven't been diving for a while and I'm not sinking on that first dive I stop and think this word to myself - 'Heavy'. Don't know why but it slows down my breathing and within a few seconds i'm dropping like a stone. Once you get beyond about 1 foot you will gain momentum and it will be no problem.

Don't add the extra weight unless you really need it.

 

[amcarlson4]

do you pple just sink at will?

what about a simple, good surface dive... to get you initially under?
I thought I'd just sink when I deflated my bc...but totally forgot about the 3 surface dive options ... we learned in basic.

 

[serambin]

As you've noted, your tanks weighs more at the beginning of the dive than at the end, so since you are okay with your weights at the end, then you should have no problem at the beginning.

If you are using a vest BC, then try this: Float vertically, hold the BC deflator up high and press until all the air is out (some BC's only empty completely when you are vertical). Simultaneously you should exhale all the air out of your lungs, and either use you hand to push yourself under water while doing this, or kick yourself up so as to then fall down below the surface which will give you the initial momemtum to descend.

This sounds good and also try to make your left side sholder a little higher than your right(assuming you BCD deflator is on the left side). This helps to get all the air out of your BCD.

Stan

 

[Scubagolf]

1. Cross your legs.
2. Pull on the neck of your wetsuit to let water into the suit. This is a tip I got from a divemaster in Cozumel -- it works!

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Add the weight and then do a proper weight check as described above. This will give you the exact amount of weight that you need...no guessing involved. Then just start diving. Try out some of the good tips that have been suggested here and just get some more time in the water and it will all work out.

But, remember, 4 pounds belongs to that Al80 on your back. When nearly empty, that's how much weight it needs to be neutral. In order for 4 pounds of lead to be enough for you...you must be so inherently negative that you can sink that wetsuit and BC that you're wearing...in the ocean...with absolutely no weight at all. Can you do that? I'm betting that you're gonna need a few more pounds. I suppose the only catch to this might be your BC. I thought that you originally posted that you were in a Seaquest but now I see that you are using a Transpac. I don't know anything about those. Are they negative or positive? Anyone?

 

[JRScuba]

I know how you feel. I'm 6 ft tall and weigh at least 200#, so I may be a long bigger than you with a lot higher fat ratio. A lot of Texans are, and many Americans carry a lot more fat than Asians. Still, diving in SW with a 3 mil, I'll usually carry 16# of lead, 26# with a 7 mil - now that is cumbersom! :11:

Now we're getting to the real problem of the texan decending problem. It's not the fat ratio, it is letting all the hot air out of your lungs. LOL

Could not resist that one Don.

 

[hchen]

1. Cross your legs.
2. Pull on the neck of your wetsuit to let water into the suit. This is a tip I got from a divemaster in Cozumel -- it works!

hey scubagolf, i've actually tried letting water into my wetsuit and that worked out pretty well most of the time.

alright. here's what i'm gonna try to do on my next dive. *makes list*
- breathe slowly and exhale completely.
- think "HEAVY" <--- i like this one. i'm definitely going to try this out. asked a friend and was told that it actually works. just think "ROCK" and your body just sinks. that's why i asked in my earlier posts whether can pple actually sink at will.
- let water into wetsuit
- stop finning <-- i don't think i do. i usually cross my feet at the ankles while trying to descend the first few feet. will check myself again.
- and if all else fails, i'm gonna add one more 2LB weight to my belt. that should get me to the bottom pretty quick.

 

[hchen]

Add the weight and then do a proper weight check as described above. This will give you the exact amount of weight that you need...no guessing involved. Then just start diving. Try out some of the good tips that have been suggested here and just get some more time in the water and it will all work out.

But, remember, 4 pounds belongs to that Al80 on your back. When nearly empty, that's how much weight it needs to be neutral. In order for 4 pounds of lead to be enough for you...you must be so inherently negative that you can sink that wetsuit and BC that you're wearing...in the ocean...with absolutely no weight at all. Can you do that? I'm betting that you're gonna need a few more pounds. I suppose the only catch to this might be your BC. I thought that you originally posted that you were in a Seaquest but now I see that you are using a Transpac. I don't know anything about those. Are they negative or positive? Anyone?

sorry. one more post. when i switched from a vest BC to the transpac. i dropped at least one 2lb weight. can't remember whether i dropped 1 or 2 weights.