Let's discuss peoples over-reliance on BC's and over-weighting.

[rx7diver]

Was the ability to hold a motionless hover seen as big of a deal in the "good old days" as it is today?

Not everyone today believes this is so important. (Um, is this thread still pertaining to recreational, open water diving?)

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[rx7diver]

I had posted this ...

This is one of my favorite "Magnum PI" episodes. Watch 46:00 through when Thomas surfaces.
Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[ScubaJill]

This is one of my favorite "Magnum PI" episodes. Watch 46:00 through when Thomas surfaces.
Safe Diving,

rx7diver

I have doubts about that storyline. But, now I'm going to have to watch the entire episode.

 

[Nemrod]

Yeah, we have kind of gone overboard with the hovering motionless thing and going up and down like the baking soda cereal prize submarine I had as a kid all courtesy of a Ninja Turtle outfit donut shaped air bladder with arms crossed and legs bent up. Where did this all begin as the end all and be all of correct diving? I am usually to busy going from here to there to float around suspended by an air bag motionless for some odd purpose other than just because I could if I wanted to. N

 

[BRT]

Yeah, we have kind of gone overboard with the hovering motionless thing and going up and down like the baking soda cereal prize submarine I had as a kid all courtesy of a Ninja Turtle outfit donut shaped air bladder with arms crossed and legs bent up. Where did this all begin as the end all and be all of correct diving? I am usually to busy going from here to there to float around suspended by an air bag motionless for some odd purpose other than just because I could if I wanted to. N

I think the whole "correct" form thing gets silly but being able to hover without movement sure helps in closely examining things and in lower air usage.

 

[TMHeimer]

Sometimes I hover because I run out of things to do at my local shore sites.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I always said the best way to teach someone proper weighting is to take away their bc. They'll be forced to figure it out sooner or later, or be stuck on the bottom crawling around.
With a bc you weight yourself so you can hover at 15 feet at the end of the dive with 300 psi in your tank and no air in your wing. You sbould be able to control your buoyancy with you breathing alone.

Without a bc and in a thick wetsuit, weight yourself so you can hover at 20 feet at the end of the dive and find a suitable rock...and don't go too deep. In warm water and with less mil suit thickness those rules change as the suits get thinner.

The reason they overweight is because they are lazy and don't want to take the time, or don't have time to teach buoyancy, or they are just teaching what they have been taught by their instructor and/or instructor trainer and don't know any better. You'd be amazed at how many instructors I have run into that don't have a clue.
After a while they begin to believe in their own lie.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Yeah, we have kind of gone overboard with the hovering motionless thing and going up and down like the baking soda cereal prize submarine I had as a kid all courtesy of a Ninja Turtle outfit donut shaped air bladder with arms crossed and legs bent up. Where did this all begin as the end all and be all of correct diving? I am usually to busy going from here to there to float around suspended by an air bag motionless for some odd purpose other than just because I could if I wanted to. N

Why is it that way now?
Because the internet dive discussion sites are where most of the Dirguetech crowd hangs out in dispropotionate numbers in relation to the rest of the worlds divers. I don't see them on any of my beaches, do you?
Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing too many (or any) of them on the dive boats I go on either. I'm starting to wonder what happened to them all?
I only see them here on scubaboard hovering in their perfect skydiver positions frog kicking around and going backwards.
We don't have them where I live.

 

[Killerflyingbugs]

We get lots of them down here

 

[Kharon]

Doesn't mean the ability to hover motionless is not a valuable skill that is worthwhile perfecting. I watch far too many bozos smash into and through coral and into the bottom because thay have absolutely no buoyancy control.