Help needed to descend!

I've done about 20+ dives and still have a little problem descending during the initial part of the dive. I carry about 4 lbs of weight on me with a 3mm suit. I don't think I'm under-weighted as I feel very comfortable finning at the bottom. I don't start to float up even towards the end of the dive, when my tank is almost empty.

I really could use some tips on how to descend so that I can get underwater to even begin the dive! I seem to have trouble descending the first 3-5 feet or so. After I get past the first 3-5 ft, I'm home free! Help!

try this tip:
head down, and kick with fins .. it always works with me .. GOOD LUCK, and tell me if it works with u also

More lead. Not as much as me - I'll use 14-16# in saltwater wit a 3 mil, but you may not be as big and fat as me, but 4# is very little. Were you speaking of SW or FW?

Yes, you need less weight at you get down as the suit compresses, but (a) you need to get down, (b) you need to control ascent as the suit starts expanding - be able to stop for a safety, and (c) you may need to get down in a hurry sometime.

As you become more experienced and/or your suit gets older, you may well need weight but for now, use what you need.

2 more lbs should do it and shouldn't be a problem when your below 5 ft already. Try to relax and be still also and exhale deep, I always see new divers having this problem but its because they are unconsciously finning.

I agree with RSD, develop the technique to get down that first couple of meters, if you are OK at the end of the dive adding lead is not the right answer. I find that when I first enter the water I have air trapped everywhere, inside my suit and in the folds of my BC, and you may heve a similar situtation, and too at the beginning of the dive i am usually breathing a bit more than after I get in the groove and really relax.

Let us know what works.

hchen:

I've done about 20+ dives and still have a little problem descending during the initial part of the dive. I carry about 4 lbs of weight on me with a 3mm suit. I don't think I'm under-weighted as I feel very comfortable finning at the bottom. I don't start to float up even towards the end of the dive, when my tank is almost empty.

Click to expand...

You are either underweighted or your gear most notably your BCD takes time to get soaked an loose bouyanvy trapped in the padding or your are trapping air in the bladder of your BC.

You say that you can stay down with a near empty tank, does this include when you get shallower? at 15 feet? as you get into the shallows near shore? If you are staying down in the shallows with an empty tank then you have plenty of weight. 4 pounds is not a lot of weight. You don't say what you use for a cylinder but you'd need most of the 4 pounds just to keep an -AL-80 neutral near the end of a dive.

I know my wife's Seaquest Diva LX holds some air in the padding. When I have it underwater in the rinse barrel at home it looks like a bladder leak so much streams out of the stitching! It would be a shame to carry extra weight for this so a more aggressive duck dive and or a deeper than deep exhalation to start the process should help. Spending some surface time floating and relaxing with your snorkel can let some of the gear saturate as well. The relaxation will pay off in reduced conumption when you do go down as well.

If you still have air in the bladder stop and examiine what you are doing. If you use the inflator dump are you holding it high?, Try raising that shoulder. There is no pump involved it's all physics so pay atention. Same if you are dumping with the rear dump, raise that cheek.

Pete

hchen:

I really could use some tips on how to descend so that I can get underwater to even begin the dive! I seem to have trouble descending the first 3-5 feet or so. After I get past the first 3-5 ft, I'm home free! Help!

Click to expand...

You might be finning unconsciously while trying to decend. Next time, cross you legs at the ankles and with your inflator depressed, exhale all the air out of your lungs. As you start to decend turn more horizontal and continue to clear your ears as you decend.

As the others have said, you might need a couple of more pounds of weight to get the suit and you under at first.

hchen:

I've done about 20+ dives and still have a little problem descending during the initial part of the dive. I carry about 4 lbs of weight on me with a 3mm suit. I don't think I'm under-weighted as I feel very comfortable finning at the bottom. I don't start to float up even towards the end of the dive, when my tank is almost empty.

I really could use some tips on how to descend so that I can get underwater to even begin the dive! I seem to have trouble descending the first 3-5 feet or so. After I get past the first 3-5 ft, I'm home free! Help!

Click to expand...

Relax and exhaust all of the air from your lungs. I don't think you need any extra weight becuse you said your buoyancy is fine when your tank is empty. Just relax and you will slowy drop from the surface. Happy diving!

I have found that when I first get in the water my wetsuit holds some air. People can't believe I always do my entries with an empty bc but I always pop right back to the surface after a giant stride thanks to the air in the wetsuit and residual air in the bc. Once the water finally displaces the air in the wetsuit I can descend just fine. Like the others said if you can hover without moving at 15 feet with 500psi in your tank your weighting is fine and you just need to fin your way down if not you just need to add a couple of pounds. I'm 120 lbs and carry 8 lbs in a full 3mm with an AL80 in salt water.
Ber :lilbunny:

As you've noted, your tanks weighs more at the beginning of the dive than at the end, so since you are okay with your weights at the end, then you should have no problem at the beginning.

If you are using a vest BC, then try this: Float vertically, hold the BC deflator up high and press until all the air is out (some BC's only empty completely when you are vertical). Simultaneously you should exhale all the air out of your lungs, and either use you hand to push yourself under water while doing this, or kick yourself up so as to then fall down below the surface which will give you the initial momemtum to descend.