Peak performance Buoyancy

[ScubaSteve]

I took PPB during my AOW - what a waste of time and money that was. It was likely my instructor that was the problem, but there was nothing peak or performance that I learned in the class. No weight checks, no ballast placement, no real practice or feedback. It was essentially "jump in and descend, start adding air so you don't hit the bottom. - GO!"

It was also the last PADI class I took. YMMV

I got basically the same thing only when in the water, we had to follow the instructor as he see-sawed through the water up and down. This might have been even mildly uselful had he not been racing through the water such that you were kicking up and kicking down.......nothing performance based at all.

I wound up just diving a lot and tried to improve and learn as I went. Thankfully I got to where I thought my buoyancy was IMO Peak .....then I bought a drysuit and eff'd things up again.

 

[scubassplayer]

Just came off my AOW with the PPB segment. In my case it was outstanding...a great instructor... I thought my buoyancy was pretty much dialed in before I took this course...but wow talk about an improvement! Can't say enough about it....your results with a different insturctor may differ.

 

[AndyMtl]

I took PPB soon after OW with a private instructor. I had absolutely no control of my buoyancy at that point.

In the pool session, we did hovering for one and than three minutes (pretty difficult in 7 feet of water) and swimming through hula-hoops. In the open water dives, we did proper weighting (and weight placement in BCD) and then practiced hovering, swimming through hula hoops, swimming under a platform between beams, and swimming "corkscrew" around a rope. Once I achieved neutral buoyancy, all exercises had to be done with lung capacity only (without adding/removing air from the BCD.)

I found that PPB helped my buoyancy tremendously.

Andras

 

[FireInMyBones]

Good course. I did not take the class officially. I just starting diving with an instructor friend and he helped me out for the price of a beer.

I think that PPB needs to be part of the OW class though. Sure would have less silt-outs at the lake if it were.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Good course. I did not take the class officially. I just starting diving with an instructor friend and he helped me out for the price of a beer.

I think that PPB needs to be part of the OW class though. Sure would have less silt-outs at the lake if it were.

Some instructors make it a point, others do not. I wholly agree with you but unfortunately some would rather get the student out the door for the next one because that is what the standards call for. But then, that is sort of another topic.....

 

[Anti-Hero]

What, no swimming through hula hoops? You got taken for a ride.

Seriously! What the heck am I going to do if I encounter a hula hoop on a dive now? :depressed:

 

[Tigerman]

@FireInMyBones:
PBB as many other things we want to include in the OW cert could be useful to have there, but would (mostly) just make the course unneccesarilly long and expensive. Sure there is more than there should be of trainwreck ow divers that survive on pure luck, but that wouldnt be remedied with longer and more expensive courses. When people certify divers that shouldnt be certified with the current courses, they would do the same if the courses where longer and more expensive as well..

 

[ScubaSteve]

Seriously! What the heck am I going to do if I encounter a hula hoop on a dive now? :depressed:

:spit:

 

[FireInMyBones]

I support continuing education. I recommend the PPB class. I hear Jason does a good job.

 

[ajduplessis]

PPB and rescue are 2 courses I will always recommend to any diver.