How to stop rolling to the left

[decompression]

Some good points above...

Diving with a single for a new sidemounter it's very easy to think you are going to lean to that side. However, it's not really true if you think about it.

Most AL80's are 3 to 4 lbs positive when empty. So when you add gas you are very close to neutral. Also adding a pound or two for the valve/first stage etc will possibly make it "slightly" neg.

It's more the fact you have a large piece of metal that moves and has inertia. It's a mental exercise to overcome the belief that you are being pulled to one side.

It's more body control and getting used to how things move.

 

[mddolson]

I think you're not getting your counter weight far enough away from your center line.
My guess your tank is out on your hip, but your weight plate is likely still within your kidney line.
Torque is force x distance. These two need to balance.

 

[Coztick]

Yes finning and body language can counter the roll, but simply moving a
little weight during the dive maintains
perfect balance with no effort. It isn't
the mass or inertia of the tank, it's the
change in buoyancy from full to end
pressure. I notice it at the end of the
glide portion of the frog kick or at rest
during a drift dive. Why fight it if you
can fix it?

Kevin

 

[Razorista]

Because there is no reason to fight it or fix it.

If you cannot drop or attach a single kilo anywhere on or beside your body at any time without being affected by that:
Back to pool sessions!

 

[Coztick]

Cheers

 

[Razorista]

Well,I think I have to apologize here to @wetwelder, even if it is a misunderstanding.

I did not mean to critizise anyone!
It was just a small advice.

Counterweights can move, entangle or get lost.
According the KISS principle it is better to go without.

 

[Coztick]

To be fair, I did invite criticism. I meant the constructive kind...
No hard feelings Raz.
Short leashes, tidy, OW only.
Cheers, Kevin

 

[Patoux01]

Why fight it if you can fix it?

Most, if not all "experts" in sidemount that dive aluminium cylinders regularly will tell you there's no need for a counterweight. If it required any real body tension, that would mean they'd all have terrible backaches at the end of a liveaboard... Haven't heard of any.


Fiddling with your weight during the dive, except in case of a weight check (for which I use clip-on weights), is a bad idea.

 

[Razorista]

On the other hand you will find few real experts diving single tank more than 'occasionally'.

 

[Pao]

On the fly, you can always extend your arm (the one opposite the direction of the roll) to counterbalance and keep you level. This trick works when you have an uneven number of cylinders or when the buoyancy characteristics of your cylinders change during the dive. My sidemount instructor taught me this trick when I had to do the remove and replace drills.