Recently certified - buoyancy a mess. Would PPB help?

[inquis]

At 8-9m plus, it was easier to control my buoyancy. I yo-yoed a lot less

This is to be expected since for a given depth change, the pressure -- and therefore your buoyancy -- changes more rapidly when shallow. The further behind you are in noticing & reacting, the worse the you will yoyo. You will improve with practice. (Fixing your trim also helps with this issue since it is easier to keep a consistent depth.)

 

[rongoodman]

Also saw videos of myself, bicycle kicks going on when not horizontal. The current moves me into the reef or wall (or if buddy wants to show me something), and I curl my legs at my knees to stop from touching anything. (Pic). The buddy can hold their position in the gentle current so they don't get moved around like I do. The current isn't strong, as the dive sites are chosen friendly to new OW divers. But there's always some sway.

If you'd get horizontal you'd find it easier to control your buoyancy and could use your fins to move up or down as needed. The surge would probably have less impact too. You're practically upright in the picture you posted. The fact that you have the inflator in your hand, as opposed to just reaching for it when you need it, is telling too.

 

[FreqFlier]

You're practically upright in the picture you posted.

Something is not right with his BCD wing/bladder. It's like hugging his hood. No way you can trim properly with a BCD like that.
Maybe it's just a bad picture and his tank is set way too low?

 

[inquis]

Something is not right with his BCD wing/bladder

Almost like the waist strap isn't even attached.

 

[Zinman]

If you'd get horizontal you'd find it easier to control your buoyancy and could use your fins to move up or down as needed. The surge would probably have less impact too. You're practically upright in the picture you posted. The fact that you have the inflator in your hand, as opposed to just reaching for it when you need it, is telling too.

Sorry, update - we were preparing to ascend in that pic, after safety stop.

 

[Zinman]

Almost like the waist strap isn't even attached.

It was, just had a really long extra webbing flailing around that I had tucked in but came loose.

 

[Zinman]

Something is not right with his BCD wing/bladder. It's like hugging his hood. No way you can trim properly with a BCD like that.
Maybe it's just a bad picture and his tank is set way too low?

I have attached 2 more, where BCD is a bit more visible. How do you bring the tank lower so it's not sitting so high?

 

[lowwall]

I have attached 2 more, where BCD is a bit more visible. How do you bring the tank lower so it's not sitting so high?

The obvious one is to attach it lower. You've got a good 10cm left before you get to the sloping part at the top of the tank.

Next is check your harness. Use the crotch strap to control the plate height. You may need to loosen the shoulder straps to allow the plate to sit lower.

Actually do the plate height first. We can't see it directly, but from where the wing sits, it appears to be too high.

 

[lowwall]

My feeling is you need to change the location of some of your lead so your legs don't sink when you stop kicking. Try moving 2 kg from your waist to the upper tank band.

Very much agree. And it's going to be even more important when the plate height gets sorted out.

A clean way to do this which also lets you experiment with different weights is to thread a trim pocket on each side of the upper tank band.

 

[Zinman]

So it's rental gear and it has weight pockets attached on both bands holding the tank. Weight sitting on upper band vs lower band, how does it feel different? Does weight in upper tank band feel heavier/more balanced on the chest allowing the torso to come down for horizontal trim?

Very much agree. And it's going to be even more important when the plate height gets sorted out.

A clean way to do this which also lets you experiment with different weights is to thread a trim pocket on each side of the upper tank band