Neutral Buoyancy

[Curtis Dawson]

Recently diving at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM. Was wearing a 7mm wetsuit, alum 80 tank and 17lbs on weight belt. To be able to submerge I had to pull myself hand over hand down an anchor line. Once I stopped and settled at 20' cleared my ears and rechecked all my gear I was able to make adjustments in BCD to get neutral. Does anyone else have this problem with submerging and what can I do to remedy the problem?

 

[AfterDark]

Steel tanks, or more weight. The AL80 is positive, it's not the best combo with a 7mm wet suit. I used to use 20+ lbs with a 7mm and AL80.

 

[Foxfish]

Like he said, more weight. A 7mm wetsuit adds a lot of buoyancy especially if it is two piece. Try spreading the weights around. I have a couple on my tank band, two integrated pockets carrying a total of 4 x 3 lb weights in total. I've also added one or two weights to a belt. I use 12 or 15 L steel tanks and usually carry a camera. I need about 9.5 to 10.9 kg (21 to 24 pounds) with a 6.5 mm semidry. I'm 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) and weigh about 95 kg (209 lb).

 

[boulderjohn]

The 7mm suit compresses significantly as a result of increased pressure as you descend. That is probably why you had trouble at the surface but were OK at depth. The problem with that approach is that you may end up being too buoyant at the end of the dive as your tank empties.

 

[Agility]

If you did not experience any problems staying down at your safety stop there might be some air trapped in your wetsuit if it does not fit perfectly.
You could try to flood your suit by letting water in at the neck while vertical or just lift up both arms to let the air escape at the wrists (this will obviously not work with tight sitting wrist seals)

 

[xyrandomyx]

If you did not experience any problems staying down at your safety stop there might be some air trapped in your wetsuit if it does not fit perfectly.
You could try to flood your suit by letting water in at the neck while vertical or just lift up both arms to let the air escape at the wrists (this will obviously not work with tight sitting wrist seals)

I used to have this problem my 2-piece 5+7mm wetsuit when it was very new. If I tried to descend directly after hopping off a boat, I'd have trouble. If I'd been in the water on the surface for a few minutes first, I'd get down just fine.

 

[mala]

it takes a while for a dry wetsuit to completely flood.
the thicker the suit the longer it takes.
nothing to do with lead.

 

[divin'dog]

Was wearing a 7mm wetsuit, alum 80 tank and 17lbs on weight belt... Does anyone else have this problem with submerging and what can I do to remedy the problem?

Do a proper weight check... Doesn't take too long. You will love yourself for it and wonder why you didn't do it the first time.

 

[raftingtigger]

Make sure you are not kicking or sculling at all on the surface. Try crossing your legs and arms. Plus all the very good advice above.

 

[Bob DBF]

If you have no problem at the safety stop on the way up, it is from all the air trapped in your rig (mostly) and wetsuit. You could add a bit of weight to help, no sense being annoyed at the start of a dive.




Bob
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