how to achieve better buoyancy control?

[IndigoBlue]

Here is my method, for myself, and for my students:

1) take all your gear to a pool, with your tanks almost empty (500 psi), and with an adjustable weight belt (bag weights and pouch belt).

2) put your weight belt by the side of the pool, with the weights out of it.

3) get in, empty your B/C-wing, and exhale all the way; if you sink, then you are perfectly weighted already, at least for fresh water; just use 6 lbs for ocean diving.

4) ditto step 3; if you still float, add weight to the belt and put it on, in minimal increments, until you just barely sink when you exhale; then this is your perfect weight for fresh water, and you only need to add another 6 lbs for ocean diving.

The key to good buoyancy is starting out with minimal weighting.

Once you have that down pat, then the next step is to control your breathing so that your buoyancy is first monitored by your breathing. When you have perfect buoyancy underwater, you will rise up a little when you inhale, and sink down a little when you exhale. Monitor that all through your dive, and then you will have good buoyancy.

Try that, for openers. Since you do not seem to have many dives, try it in a pool first, several times. Then graduate to calm open water.

Good luck.

 

[diver_paula]

Rufous,

Indigo has some great suggestions. One thing to remember, once you are weighted properly / better, is that small amounts of air added or dumped from your BC can make a big difference. Don't be so fast to pump air into or dump out of your BC. First thing is to see if a big breathe or exhale does the trick. When adding or dumping air just do so a little bit at a time. You'll be surprised what a big difference one little shot of air can do.

Paula

 

[ScubaFriend]

Hi

Of course weighting is important but 2 other things to remember..your breathing and RELAX

 

[lamont]

The solution to buoyancy control is breathing control and the solution to breathing control is buoyancy control. They either fight one another or they work together.

So how do you get them to work together? If I'm going down it seems like I wind up breathing out of the 'bottom' of my lungs and pretty much skip breathing, and if I'm ascending them I'm breathing out of the 'top' of my lungs, and it makes me worry about AGE if I make a mistake -- particularly with the inhale/hold-with-airway-open/exhale method...

 

[Spectre]

3) get in, empty your B/C-wing, and exhale all the way; if you sink, then you are perfectly weighted already, at least for fresh water; just use 6 lbs for ocean diving.

Not trying to ride you... but.

Just in case this actually -does- get them to sink.. there is no guarantee that they don't have too much weight in their rig.

 

[IslandHopper]

Simple answer ... go out and dive somewhere easy ... at the END of the dive ... determine how much weight you really need to wear (with an near empty tank). Yes, you CAN dive overweighted, but it only exagerates bouyancy control problems.

Then next time you go out, get neutral at 20-30 feet, then make small ascents/descents controlling your bouyancy with lung capacity only (breathing control)...

Yes, we ALL had trouble with bouyancy in the beginning ... those of us able to dive alot are able to make it second nature with a little practice ... if you only get to dive a couple times a year, it will ALWAYS require concentration. But practice when you can, and it will get better

 

[Canucklehead]

I'm relatively new to diving and not very experienced (55 dives since 1999) but it seems to me that diving is a lot like golf. It's easy to say "golf more" to get better, but you can golf 10 times a week and if your technique is bad, all you'll get for all that effort is frustration. However, there will be incremental improvements as you recognize the macro errors and correct them.

To take the analogy another step, you don't learn how to golf on a PGA-level course, but it seems to me that a lot of people try to "learn" diving under conditions that can be difficult - usually on vacation somewhere.

To me the ideal way to learn golf would be to golf with a pro every game on an easy course, someone who points out the micro errors (hand position, feet, etc.) and helps you improve. Diving should be like that too. Wouldn't the ideal situation be to find a dive club and dive with people you feel comfortable with, so that you can get constant feedback on improving technique?

I've been on those dive boats where half the people are rank amateurs, and the rest are supposedly the "pros", the latter showing off their groovy equipment and low air consumption, for the most part totally intimidating the amateurs without helping them much.

However, as much as DIR might have value as a philosophy, I don't think a vacation dive boat is the place for some well-meaning stranger to give me a lecture on diaphragm vs. chest breathing. Now, don't get me wrong - if some part of my technique or equipment is life threatening to me or others- speak up. But don't try to improve my air consumption rate on the spot.

Getting back to the golf analogy, the worst thing is when you get 3 other people in your group trying to give you pointers on technique in the middle of a tournament. Too much to think about and it usually leads to bad results. And we all know that a mistake on the golf course might mean a lost ball, but a mistake underwater can have far more serious consequences.

So, in order to bring this ramble to a close, I guess my recommendation is to dive often, but in the right situation. Local, not too deep, and with people you like and who like you.

 

[rufous]

Thanks everyone for your input. Clearly I do need to dive more. One poster asked what kind of equipment I was using. It was provided by the dive shop and I do not remember what it was. Next time out I will ask the dive master to help me. I have experienced the relative weightlessness where when I breathe in a rise and when I exhale I sink a few times so I will work to achieve that condition. Rufous.

 

[Uncle Pug]

So how do you get them to work together?

Gross neutrality while stationary needs to be acheived first. To that end proper weighting is important as is adding the correct amount air to the wing/bc.

Maintaining that neutrality while moving depends upon trim and technique. Swim head up and you will plane up and gain buoyancy and continue up unless you add extra weight to offset this tendency in which case you will sink when you stop moving and then need to add air... and so on.

Beyond that however breathing control and buoyancy control are married.

How do you get them to live together in harmony?
1. Realize they are married.
2. Realize they cannot be divorced.
3. Counseling... err... practice.

 

[JPBECK]

All this mombo jumbo ---noone can tell you how to achieve "neutrality" you just have to go diving--pools help