Horizontal Position Problem

[Rainer]

He doesn't seem incredibly over-weighted as some have suggested. I know that my 7mm wetsuit takes 18 lbs to sink. I also dive with a hooded vest and that's another few lbs (not to mention 5 mm boots and gloves). So 26 lbs with an AL tank doesn't strike me as seriously over-weighted. As Red suggested, I'd start by positioning less weight in the rear pockets (might even try NO way to start) and moving the tank up.

 

[Rainer]

Aren't we talking about the rear trim pockets (around the shoulder blade area) found on many new BC's (never seen any other type of rear pocket on a BC)?

No. The Zeagle trip pockets are quite low, around the bottom of the tank.

 

[Rainer]

I weigh around 185 and only use 12 pounds in salt water with a 1/2 mil full suit. 26 pounds sounds incredibly heavy.

He's diving in CA, and likely using a 7mm suit (and maybe a hooded vest). This is substantially more neoprene to sink than your 1/2mm suit!!! Yup, more than 10 lbs even.

 

[Jason B]

No. The Zeagle trip pockets are quite low, around the bottom of the tank.

My bad, never seen them low before.
Okay, I agree with Red then.

 

[Chad Carney]

Hi Folks,
I dive with a Ranger LTD BCD, use 20 lbs on the front weight pockets, 6 lbs, on the back pockets, and just rent the tank (usually AL80s). I currently weigh at 165-170 lbs
My problem is that when I cruise, due to my weights (I'm guessing), I'm always slightly inclined unless I try super hard to be horizontal
QUOTE]

Hapiguy,

There have been many good suggestions so far to solve your trim issue, although you don't have a huge problem. If you were a slim old pro you could probably shed 8 to 10 pounds more.

But beware of some bogus claims or partial truths.

Fact: A Ranger LTD is not more than 1 lbs inherently buoyant. I've tested it personally.

A new diver may not be getting all the air out of the wing, but that's common with any 44 # wing, designed to be wide enough for use with double tanks. This is often true with slimmer wings and novice divers. Try sucking the air out of the inflator to be sure. Practice and persevere, you'll get total control of your BC.

An aluminum 80 is 3.9 lbs buoyant when empty. Nobody dives with a 7mm suit and 4 lbs of weight without a stainless BP and/or a steel tank. Most experienced divers will still need both, plus the 4lbs which = 16 lbs of ballast.

After finding your proper ballast, you will probably not need much if any trim adjustment.

Moving the tank forward more than an inch or so will just cause your regulator to beat you in the back of the head.

The ankle weights around the tank valve idea works pretty well for some folks. To test this you could easily just put a 2 or 3 lbs soft weight in a small mesh pouch and tie it under your valve.

Chad

PS... Zeagle rear weight systems are at the base of the BC, not the bottom of the tank.

 

[realdiver7]

realdiver7's advice is very sound.

Hello TheRedHead...thanks for the support. Just trying to help.

Hapiguy...I'll add a little weight if I go to a thicker wetsuit, but not a great amount. I do a lot of exhaling! Like someone said before, you don't have to sink fast to get underwater, and you want to be as neutral as possible. Just have to work on fine-tuning your body with your gear.

Good luck! You'll get it!

 

[Rainer]

Fact: A Ranger LTD is not more than 1 lbs inherently buoyant. I've tested it personally.

I e-mailed Zeagle about the Ranger. Their response is 3 lbs positively buoyant.

PS... Zeagle rear weight systems are at the base of the BC, not the bottom of the tank.

Correct, attached to the base of the BC (on the back side) which with most tanks puts them exactly to the side of the base of the tank.

 

[im_a_piranha]

I'm a beginner and my problem that stemmed from my certification is being over-weighted. I always had problems with trying to be horizontal as i was dragging my hips everytime...my bc always felt like it was fully inflated as well and so I got trigger happy with my inflator ..Now, after 13 divves (gear still fairly new as well), I have reduced my weights from 26lbs to 18lbs Also, I am getting the hang of being horizontal! Few things that I did to get to this..

1) First, if you are concerned about being overweighted, do a buoyancy check at 500PSI to see if you have the right amount of weight. Sometimes it could feel like you have the right amount, but you really won't know until you do this. It happened to me. Once I started sinking with a fully emptied BC with 500PSI, I knew I could shed some more weight.

2) You can move your tank higher because if there's a bit of more weight than needed towards your lower body, or back, this will cause you to tip at some angle other than a horizontal position. Also shift some of weight onto the tank. Those pouches they suggested in here are great ones. This will definitely help wit your trim as well.

3) And of course, a steel tank is always nice to have =) You get to shed about 4lbs with a steel tank and that's quite a lot of weight. We all know this is very expensive though so wait as much as you can, it will always be an option, a good one at that Having your own tank (be it steel or aluminum) will help because getting comfortable with your own gear is very important when mastering buoyancy and trim as you don't need to adjust to different tanks all the time

4) Lastly, leave the camera at home for now while you work on other very essential skills such as buoyancy and horizontal trim underwater. Try to get very comfortable with these skills first before you introduce a new gear. The faster you get to master these skills, the better underwater photographer you would become. Try to introduce new gear a bit at a time. The less drag and movement underwater, the better you will be

Anyway, don't know if I said the right things, but at least these are things that have worked for me and hopefully it will work for you. You can take it for what it's worth. You will get better as you get more dives in..esp that as new divers, we still do get a little nervous before each dive (I do anyway!)

Best of luck!

 

[undrwater]

If you have access to a pool, here's something you might try:

Put 50% of your weight somewhere on the BC (say, your usual pockets), the rest, hold in your hands. Move the weights in your hands to different locations on your body till it starts to feel "balanced". You'll probably find it needs to be close to your body, but might differ from where the other weights are placed. Find a solution to place the weights where the "balance" is, and you should be golden for about 10 dives!

 

[TeddyDiver]

If you have access to a pool, here's something you might try:

Put 50% of your weight somewhere on the BC (say, your usual pockets), the rest, hold in your hands. Move the weights in your hands to different locations on your body till it starts to feel "balanced". You'll probably find it needs to be close to your body, but might differ from where the other weights are placed. Find a solution to place the weights where the "balance" is, and you should be golden for about 10 dives!

A good advice! Except dont take more than 2lbs each hand I'd get a cramp carrying 13lbs (I've tried in couple of occasion)