Very comfortable Underwater - Very Uncomfortable at Surface

[htatton]

I've asked dumb questions before but here goes again. I have 11 OW dives and several pool practice sessions working on buoyancy, trim, controlling ascent etc. I'm starting to be very comfortable underwater. I feel in control and able to move as I want to. I still have a lot to learn but I'm getting better.

Here is my problem. Waiting on the surface is a major pain. I changed to an Sherwood Avid jacket style BCD and that helped some but I still feel very unbalanced and out of control on the surface. My feet float up in front, or they float up in back and I feel like I'm just flopping around. Surely there are some techniques to help me get this sorted out.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm 71 years old, 5'11" and 260 lb

 

[The Chairman]

Steel tanks work best for me, especially in the ocean. I'm never that comfortable with AL80s. FWIW, when I side mount them, I add 3 or 4 pounds to the tail end to keep the butt from being so floaty.

 

[Rooster59]

How thick exposure suit do you wear? What fins do you use? How much weight do you use, and is it on a belt on in BC pockets?

 

[tbone1004]

best solution is to drop some weight and move to a BP/W.

The best position for sitting at the surface is either pretend like you are sitting in a recliner where you bring your knees up and lean back a little bit, this will put you in a pretty stable position for hanging out. If you're moving around, go full vertical but keep your knees bent at 90* behind you which will help to pull you back a bit. This is good for moving around.

 

[lowviz]

Arms out, on your back, adjust buoyancy to just keep your face out of the water.

Add a bit of gas if too many waves are breaking over your face. This is a survival skill. Learn to trust your gear and relax.

 

[TSandM]

To be stable and quiet on the surface, you have to be in a position where the stuff that's buoying you up is balanced by the stuff that's trying to sink. A lot of the time, people have most of their lift on their backs, and their weights on the front of their body, which will tend to rotate you forward. Similarly, if you have thick neoprene on your legs and plastic fins, there is nothing acting as a keel to keep you from tilting. If your BC doesn't fit really well, it will tend to ride up on your shoulders at the surface, which compounds the problem.

If you can move some of your ballast to your back - either trim pockets, or further back on a weight belt, it may help. Making sure your BC is snug and doesn't ride up will help a lot. A negative tank, or negative fins, might help as well.

Try some of that, and let us know how it goes.

 

[htatton]

Rooster59:
Exposure suit 3mm shorty henderson or dive skin
Weight: 12 lbs in releasable integrated weights, 6lbs in trim pockets (fresh water)
Fins: Mares Volo Power - Slightly negative
Tank: AL80

I hope this gives a little more information

 

[Rooster59]

If you were using a full 7mm with floaty fins ... but you're not. All I can think of- If you are carrying more weight than you need, you then need more BC inflation at the surface to float. That won't help your stability on top of the water. Min weight + min inflation should be more comfortable. Do a weight check.

 

[tbone1004]

I bet it is more of a body positioning thing. Vast majority of people aren't taught how to comfortably hang out at the surface, try the body positioning first before you make any gear changes.

 

[diversteve]

I don't usually wear a wetsuit but when I was experiencing my feet wanting to surface behind me I moved some weight out of my weight integration and into the tank trim pockets in back. I dive a 60/40 split now but 70/30 is even better when I can get single lb. weights. I dive a back/inflate bc and about 12 lbs is typical. Similar weight as you but I'm 6'3".

Seemed to solve the problem, I now float pretty vertical. Last trip I dove an AL-100 all week and it worked also. I might've added 2 lbs. though after the 1st dive - can't remember if I did or just thought about doing it. If I did add weight it would've been in back, my default setup is always a 4lb weight in each front weight pocket and I fine tune from there.