surface descent

pjdc1 · Jun 20, 2005

OK,... heres the question up front.

I'm at the surface ready to desend; I empty the air in the BC and Exhale;

Is that all I should have to do to desend?

Now for explanation......

When I do all of the above,... i start to desend but then i have to inhale again and i pop right back up to the surface. Luckily i have always been near a desent line so i just grab hold and pull myself down. The weird thing is once i get 5 - 8 ft down i have no more problems desending. I wear a 2 pc FJ and am 185 wearing 24lbs of weight.
Once I desend to the location, like 35-40 ft. i dont seem to have any problems with bouyancy.

Do you think maybe a 5lb tank weight would make a difference?

The Kraken · Jun 20, 2005

PJ,
Sounds as if you're doing just fine . . . all you need is a little more practice. One thing you may want to concentrate upon is whether or not you are unconsciously finning during your descent. Many divers have an inherent propensity to fin to stop a descent.

The fact that you are descending indicates that you are not underweighted.

If you can make that exhalation last just a leeeeeeeeeetle bit longer or take just a smaller inhalation you will probably resolve your issue.

Safe dives . . .
. . . safer ascents

the K

String · Jun 20, 2005

Totally normal, if wearing a wetsuit then you need to allow the air in the suit/trapped pockets to leave to sink and so on. Most people tend to have difficulty for the first 7ft or so and fine after that. Im the same in a drysuit.

The Kraken · Jun 20, 2005

Guarantee you that you won't have this problem on your second dive of the day if you don't let your wetsuit dry out.

H2Andy · Jun 20, 2005

pjdc1, some good advice above... some thoughts:

1. get rested on the surface. if you've just done a surface swim, you'll be breathing
deep, and you're going to be sucking air mega time into your lungs. rest up until
your breathing is back to normal

2. get vertical, stop finning, and empty your BC

3. don't exhale all...the...way....out.... cause you're gonna take A HUGE BREATH
next time you inhale... the key is to use just a tiny little bit of your lungs breath
in and out, just use lots less of your lungs

4. check to see if you're finning again. most people do this unconsciously

DandyDon · Jun 20, 2005

And if you feel you just have to add weight, try adding 2# - don't want to get carried away there. You didn't say what thickness the suit is, but you're already carrying a lot of weight for freshwater dives.

Of course, once you're down aways, the neoprene bubbles start collapsing, making it easier to descend.

Rick Inman · Jun 20, 2005

DandyDon:
And if you feel you just have to add weight, try adding 2# - don't want to get carried away there. You didn't say what thickness the suit is, but you're already carrying a lot of weight for freshwater dives.

Of course, once you're down aways, the neoprene bubbles start collapsing, making it easier to descend.

I wouldn't recommend you add a pound. Like others have said, I think you are right on the way to being perfectly weighted. In fact, after another 20 dives, I wouldn't be surprised if you could even drop some more weight. For sure, right now, you don't want to add any, IMNSHO.

DandyDon · Jun 20, 2005

Rick Inman:
I wouldn't recommend you add a pound. Like others have said, I think you are right on the way to being perfectly weighted. In fact, after another 20 dives, I wouldn't be surprised if you could even drop some more weight. For sure, right now, you don't want to add any, IMNSHO.

You're probably right. He was talking about adding 5#, and I said "if" but you're probably right.

matt_unique · Jun 20, 2005

Without the benefit of seeing you dive in person I would suggest you are underweighted if diving aluminum tanks. If you are this close to neutral buoyancy with a full tank such that one breath returns you to the surface you will be too light with a 500 psi tank. Adding weight is not a bad thing. You may find with experience you need less weight but you need what you need. The most important consideration is a controlled ascent to the surface from 15' with the ability to stop at any depth after you have used your tank (such as 500 psi remaining). As others have suggested you may also be descending with air in BC, finning a bit, etc.

--Matt

Wijbrandus · Jun 20, 2005

To stop unconsciously finning - cross your feet for descent.

surface descent

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pjdc1

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The Kraken

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String

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