Pool Hovering issues.

[TSandM]

Yes -- our students use steel tanks, and many of them do their pool work in a bathing suit. If they wear a weight belt, which is required for some of the skills, they are significantly overweighted, and the weight is in the wrong place. My husband, bless his heart, doesn't make his students wear weight belts (unless they need them) except for the pool day when they will do the weight belt skills. They still are often unbalanced, but it's better than it would be with the weight belts.

 

[fjpatrum]

Yes -- our students use steel tanks, and many of them do their pool work in a bathing suit. If they wear a weight belt, which is required for some of the skills, they are significantly overweighted, and the weight is in the wrong place. My husband, bless his heart, doesn't make his students wear weight belts (unless they need them) except for the pool day when they will do the weight belt skills. They still are often unbalanced, but it's better than it would be with the weight belts.

Which skills require weights? I didn't need any weights in the pool, even with a shorty on, and for skills that required a weight belt, I just added an empty belt. No over-weighting and no lack of practicing the skills. I'm sure it was slightly different than if I had actually had the weights on, but the only thing I can think of that required it was ditch and don.

 

[tadawson]

Weight belt remove/replace isn't the same when empty, among other things . . .

- Tim

 

[fjpatrum]

Weight belt remove/replace isn't the same when empty, among other things . . .

- Tim

How so? I mean, obviously there is a bit more difficulty maneuvering the belt with weight on it, but what "other things" are you referring to there? This is a serious question, not just me being argumentative (which sometimes happens).

 

[elan]

Am having some issues hovering in the Buddha position in the pool.

I usually hover in a horizontal "skydiver" position when in the open water with no issues can keep hovering for a sustained time and stay within about half a meter of my desired depth. Eg when doing a deco/saftey stop with no issues

Get in the pool and try to hover in the Buddha position bam! I'm rolling backwards! have tried adjusting weight positioning and cylinder position. I'm staring to frustrated with this anybody else had this issue?

Who cares about that position anyways AFAIK there is no requirement re which position to use. My instructor made me do it and I flipped over on the back a I had a BP. I know he did it because he would not miss a chance to make fun of the hog setup

 

[TMHeimer]

Which skills require weights? I didn't need any weights in the pool, even with a shorty on, and for skills that required a weight belt, I just added an empty belt. No over-weighting and no lack of practicing the skills. I'm sure it was slightly different than if I had actually had the weights on, but the only thing I can think of that required it was ditch and don.

We need weights in the pool with a shortie--maybe a Canadian thing. But either way, if you don't wear weights, isn't everybody's buoyancy different? Same problem?

 

[Dsix36]

How so? I mean, obviously there is a bit more difficulty maneuvering the belt with weight on it, but what "other things" are you referring to there? This is a serious question, not just me being argumentative (which sometimes happens).

If you are attempting to donn the weight belt via the "roll into it" method, the lack of weight will make this exercise rather futile in my opinion. It just will not respond in the same fashion as a weighted belt would.

 

[TMHeimer]

No offense to anyone, but a weight belt without weights is something I haven't heard of and it doesn't seem to make sense, no matter what you're doing.

 

[tadawson]

How so? I mean, obviously there is a bit more difficulty maneuvering the belt with weight on it, but what "other things" are you referring to there? This is a serious question, not just me being argumentative (which sometimes happens).

It is almost mindless with no weight to do the skill - adding weight makes it shift around, and be more difficult to get into place. Considering that if you wear a belt, you have weight on it in "the real world", so I see no value whatsoever compromising that skill in a student.

By "other things" I was referring to other skills that I could not come up with at the moment . . . . no matter what, i feel that you should train with what you will dive with, wherever possible.

- Tim

 

[fjpatrum]

No offense to anyone, but a weight belt without weights is something I haven't heard of and it doesn't seem to make sense, no matter what you're doing.

I didn't think it made much sense but I at least got to practice the skill of ditch and don with a weight belt sortof. There wasn't really much point to being over-weighted for the rest of the skills in the class just for the sake of that one skill, though. I think the instructor just did it as a compromise, assuming no one would wear a weight belt in the "real world" anyway and would opt for integrated weight BCs. Perhaps short-sighted of him but he was trying to facilitate a class that met the requirements for PADI and came up with a workaround for us rockheads that don't need weights. Hence weight belts with no function other than to practice ditching them.