Peak Performance Buoyancy

[boulderjohn]

I just completed Advanced Open Water certification Friday, and we did not do Peak Performance Buoyancy. I didn't care, because I mastered that skill before I ever even considered an AOW certification. Incessant lobster hunting will do that for you. Worked wonders for me!

Congratulations! To have mastered this skill at such an early stage of development is commendable. I thought I had it before my 50th dive, my 100th dive, my 200th dive, my 500th dive, etc., but each time subsequent experience told me I was wrong--I still needed more work. I am still working hard to master it. Perhaps some day you will be able to give me some tips.

 

[blackvans1234]

PPB can easily be replaced by EXP


Unless I was just one of the lucky ones...

 

[TSandM]

What boulderjohn is trying to say, gently, in his post, is that precise buoyancy control is a goal that none of us actually reach.

How satisfied you are with your buoyancy control is more a reflection of what your standards are than how well you dive.

Very, very experienced divers manage gross buoyancy control without thinking about it. But the very fine, very precise control needed for perfect photographs, or in caves or wrecks, is something which can always be improved. The more we do, the more we realize our departures from perfection

 

[Karibelle]

I think instructor's have an inflated opinion of themselves if they think they have a student mastering buoyancy in ONE dive which is what PADI provides. I mean wow, what a bunch of BS. It takes practice and diving repeatedly to master buoyancy.

This is why most instructors I've seen teach this course let their students know that the PPB specialty (which is two dives, btw, not one as stated above) is not going to have them "master" anything. Rather it should give students the tools to improve their buoyancy dramatically. I always tell my students that you can do this (improve your buoyancy) through trial and error, over many dives - the approach that I used when I was new - OR you can get some tools and tricks in your bag early, so that you can begin to make improvements immediately.

Like this student did
Guest Post: Amy Walczak | Atkins SCUBA

kari

 

[knowone]

Peak Performance Walking


[video=youtube;DgRMM9vlDtw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DgRMM9vlDtw[/video]


Without Instructors Talking


Go diving

 

[Juardis]

This is why most instructors I've seen teach this course let their students know that the PPB specialty (which is two dives, btw, not one as stated above) is not going to have them "master" anything. Rather it should give students the tools to improve their buoyancy dramatically. I always tell my students that you can do this (improve your buoyancy) through trial and error, over many dives - the approach that I used when I was new - OR you can get some tools and tricks in your bag early, so that you can begin to make improvements immediately.

kari

I just got OW certified a little over a week ago. On my very first dive I blew through my safety stop and wound up on the surface. On all my dives I was up and down 10 feet just by breathing, and not always in a controlled manner. So I'm very conscious of and paranoid about my buoyancy control. I went back into the pool last week and practiced. It's easy enough to do in a pool, but what I did was try to hover at 10-12 feet and close my eyes for 10 seconds. My goal, obviously, was to open my eyes after 10 sec and still be at 10-12 feet. After 5 sec I was on the surface. So obviously my buoyancy control is nowhere it needs to be. I also tried clearing my mask hoving at 10 feet. You guessed, I wound up clearing it on the surface. So tomorrow I go back into the pool to practice some more, this time concentrating on sipping air vs. breathing air.

But to speak to Kari's point, I signed up for a perfect buoyancy class with my instructor not expecting to be a master of a buoyancy after the 2 hour pool session, but I certainly expect to get feedback on what I'm doing right, what I'm doing wrong, maybe I'm over/underweighted, certainly my breathing needs improvement. Tips and tools I can use each and every time I get in the water. After a few more pool sessions and the perfect buoyancy class, I expect to be much better than I was in my OW certification so that when I finally do a "real" ocean dive in mid-Nov I won't be silting or running into people/wildlife/coral. That's the goal anyway.

So here's a question. My legs are fairly muscular and my fins negatively buoyant. I was able to get proper trim by dumping some weight (down to 2 lbs in the pool), but my feet drag. How in the world do you prevent that? My butt is in line with my head/torso, which tells me my weight is fine, but my legs droop and my fins drag. Obviously not a good situation if you're worried about silting or ruining the environment.

 

[rcolsen]

It should be a part of OW - They don't give pilots a licence to fly a plane and then say "by the way you should take a trim control class". My instructor made sure that I had bouncy control down and spent some time with me beyond the PADI class. A good instructor will spend the time to teach and not just push people through a course. PADI then wants to charge you for what they should have already been teaching you.

 

[TSandM]

juardis, there are a few things you can try. First, try bending your knees. Bringing the fins closer to your body shortens the lever arm they have to drag your lower body down. You can also try moving your tank up in the cambands, at least until bringing your head back puts it in contact with the first stage. If you are carrying any weight, you can move some of it to the cambands or the tank neck. If none of these strategies is sufficient, and you are sure your posture is good, then you may need to switch to less negative fins. (That's what I did for pool work with students.)

 

[RonFrank]

So here's a question. My legs are fairly muscular and my fins negatively buoyant. I was able to get proper trim by dumping some weight (down to 2 lbs in the pool), but my feet drag. How in the world do you prevent that? My butt is in line with my head/torso, which tells me my weight is fine, but my legs droop and my fins drag. Obviously not a good situation if you're worried about silting or ruining the environment.

There are only a couple options. Buy a more buoyant fin, or put you fins where they need to be and use your muscles to keep them in place. Either option works. Your legs are not that heavy and you have leg muscles, so this just requires practice. Focus on keeping you legs bent at the knees. Look at divers with good buoyancy, there legs are not straight but rather bent at the knees 45 degrees or more. The legs are the high point of their body.

 

[Scott]

So here's a question. My legs are fairly muscular and my fins negatively buoyant. I was able to get proper trim by dumping some weight (down to 2 lbs in the pool), but my feet drag. How in the world do you prevent that? My butt is in line with my head/torso, which tells me my weight is fine, but my legs droop and my fins drag. Obviously not a good situation if you're worried about silting or ruining the environment.

New fins but that would be after trying a few free tricks.
I used to dive with fins that were quite negative. While kicking I was pretty well trimmed but in the event I had to stop and hover to look around or take photos my feet would settle. What I had to do was bend at the knees as you would for a modified flutter or modified frog kick. I eventually opted for new fins.
You could move weight forward by sliding the tank up closer to your head or by shifting weights by your shoulders if your BC has trim pockets or add weight pockets to your cam band.