How do you know when your trim is on?

[gcarter]

Of course, you can have someone tell you. But is there a way for immedidiate feedback while diving so you can more quickly get used to the feel of how you are oriented? I have a hard time judging what my angle of attack is.

I am thinking in terms of something like a simple bubble level, would that survive at depth?

Or am I just being stupid again? I think that happens because I am spending my time thinking about diving instead of actually doing it :(

[supergaijin]

If you think you're horizontal, reach up and grab the tank valve and pull it down towards your head- there is usually a bit more 'give'. If you can find a pool or a flat spot in sand, you can lie down and see how it feels also.

Basically think 'skydiver' with an arched back and then adjust your body more like a bullet.

[elan]

If you dive that plane that you have on the avatar more often on Saturdays and Sundays you will often see weird people with double tanks in DUI suits, they will be able to check it and deliver the feedback pretty accurately :)

[g1138]

Besides descending flat onto the bottom and seeing what touches first, I suppose you could use a finger spool and doubler ender as a level pendulum.

Hold the fingerspool at the bottom of your sternum (the lowest center point of your rib cage) and let out some line, using the double ender as a weight. Have your thumb holding the line against the spool at 9'oclock (12o'clock being against your chest; 3o'clock being towards your head; center holes of the spool pointing towards your arms).

If the line feels like it's pushing against your thumb, you're trimmed feet down. If it feels like it's leaning away from your thumb, then your trimmed head down. If it feels dead even-going straight down, then you're trimmed fine.

Probably will have to do this w/o gloves

[Peter_C]

I found the video debriefing, shot of my diving, seriously embarrassing enough to improve my diving.

[evad]

You can drop your head and look beneath/behind you. You shouldn't see your legs.

[NWGratefulDiver]

You can drop your head and look beneath/behind you. You shouldn't see your legs.

... that works for me while standing up ... :shocked2:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[evad]

OMG:shocked2:, how do you ambulate?

[DivemasterDennis]

Body position awareness is what makes gymnasts and dancers great. Familiarity with being underwater should improve your awareness and therefor "trim" as you call it. So too will moving more slowly. Good buoyancy control is also key. In addition, I suggest you also "make yourself long," extend your legs, stretch out and avoid "bicycling" when you kick. Work on these things, and you will improve.
DivemasterDennis

[claymore]

I can usualy tell if I am in trim if My head is inline with my body and I look staight ahead I see straight down. If I can not see straight ahead on a level plane with out my head being tipped back quite a ways I know that I am feet down. If you have no visual reference it can get interesting.

After a while you usually feel when you body is in trim.

Once you get your weighting, trim weights and comfotable body position sorted out your body will stay in what ever attitude you put it in.

I can and do adjust my trim just by moving my arms up or down on my chest.

[boulderjohn]

When I have new OW students in the pool and we are just swimming around and getting the feel of buoyancy, I tell them to try to swim with their chests inches from the floor of the pool. They should then be able to tell where their legs are in relation to the chest. They can't swim at a 45° angle if their chests are near the floor.

Other than that, I have found video to be the most helpful. The thing to be careful about in that case is camera angle; if you are really trying to fine tune it, a poor angle can give a misleading picture.

[TSandM]

Looking between your legs is a good one -- if you look down that way, you shouldn't see much of your own body parts. I also use swimming slowly over things like pilings or boxes -- if my chest clears and my knees scrape, I need to get my knees up again :)

When I first tried to get into trim, I felt as though I was swimming about 30 degrees head down, and it drove me crazy. But eventually, you begin to learn how your gear feels when you're right, and how much gas in the feet, and where your bubbles go. Having a buddy give you feedback throughout the dive is very, very helpful, and I still do that.

[phork]

When I first got my bp/w, I kept feeling like I was going to go face first into a reef. After one dive my buddy asked when I kept using my arms to stop myself? Then he said that if I would just relax and let the wing do it's job I would realize that it was fine. After that, my trim and buoyancy have improved 300%. If you have a wing, it will help you get into position. The rest is up to you with your legs and arms.

[gcarter]

I can usualy tell if I am in trim if My head is inline with my body and I look staight ahead I see straight down. If I can not see straight ahead on a level plane with out my head being tipped back quite a ways I know that I am feet down. If you have no visual reference it can get interesting.

After a while you usually feel when you body is in trim.

Once you get your weighting, trim weights and comfotable body position sorted out your body will stay in what ever attitude you put it in.

I can and do adjust my trim just by moving my arms up or down on my chest.

As obvious as that now seems, it wasn't to me. Duh. Instant feedback.

---------- Post added May 1st, 2012 at 06:24 PM ----------


Looking between your legs is a good one -- if you look down that way, you shouldn't see much of your own body parts. I also use swimming slowly over things like pilings or boxes -- if my chest clears and my knees scrape, I need to get my knees up again :)

When I first tried to get into trim, I felt as though I was swimming about 30 degrees head down, and it drove me crazy. But eventually, you begin to learn how your gear feels when you're right, and how much gas in the feet, and where your bubbles go. Having a buddy give you feedback throughout the dive is very, very helpful, and I still do that.

That's exactly the issue, looking for the instant feedback so I can adjust on the fly and get to know what it feels like.