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weighting.
Again I write on this matter.
Weighting and getting it right first time.
No matter how you try to inform many instructors not to over weight their OWD or even in many cased i have seen. Divers who have not dived for a long time and get back in the water, and are put of or panic from being over weighted. Or simply are concerned when briefed. that they consume or guzzle air. If this is you Read this now! your over weighted. OK!
My god, Put your self in the students place. Struggling to compensate and become Neutral or even struggling to ascend to equalize. A comfortable student is a happy student who will come back for more.
Students. You must be truthful to your self and your instructor, or Dive assistant
The weight belt is there just to get you under water, To off put the floatation of the wet suit and any other body buoyant matter you may have. Just because a person is big. This does NOT mean they are positive Buoyant. In most cases in Asia its more then often the opposite!
So student . Its OK to be over weight in the pool for confined training as long as you can get under. You may be deliberately over weighted to be negative on the bottom of the pool for training. Remember your more Buoyant in salt water then in fresh. So be warned. But in open water, Its a NO NO.
So remember this. When you enter the water with your BC or BCD fully inflated, you should have your chin out of the water. and be floating up right OK. When you deflate. Do so until you head is just under the water. At this point you should ex hale and sink really slowly to about a 1/2 mtr and breath normally Relax. DO NOT CICK! Let your legs hang. If you in hale to soon you will float back up. if you kick you will float back up. Remember to equalize. as soon as your head enters the water, and keep doing so. If you have a problem remember to just fin slightly up and re equalize By rights you should have practically no air in your BC or BCD. and when you Descend to 5 Mts or more. Then then you ad. I stress ! small amounts of air to slower the ascent. To become stable in the water. . OK you got this problem Keep floating . You have an equalization problem. Do NOT take a breath to blow gently to equalize. This will just make you float back up. And you should never hold your breath!
If you are sinking to fast and having to fin to keep your self from sinking and keep compensating your BC BCD , then your over weighted. If you feel this when fist entering or descending . And you cannot fin up. then Yes ad a little air. to help your self fin. Get to the surface, re check your weight belt.
REMEMBER ! AT ANY TIME WHEN YOUR ON THE SURFACE AND YOU CANNOT STAY AFLOAT. DUMP YOUR WEIGHTS. Better that then lose your life .
If your having to drag your self along the bottom and you BC BCS feels like its pulling up You are way to much over weighted.
As from the beginning you just need enough weight to get your self and your scuba under water. with no or very little air in your BC BCD. If you cannot descend from the surface with no air in your BC and no air in your lungs. then you need to ad weight accordingly.
The same when your having trouble toward the end of the dive, And in some cases. during a dive.
If you keep floating up and you have done the above. Then Stop Think. Become vertical in the water. Lift that deflator hose as high as possible and let out the required air. remember to wait about 3 seconds for things like sinking back down to happen. What not to do :Trying to deflate and kicking down will only make you float back up! Why?
Because you using energy that makes your lungs work more. And your inflator hose is not up right , The hose may have a kink not letting the air out. Some BC BCDs you may have to shake your self to free the air . Or water that entered the deflator inflator hose from the exercise may have trapped the air.
Your lungs often act as a bladder in a fish. If you breath heavy . then your breathing in the upper part of the lugs. Relaxed and you breath in the lower part. Not the deeper. part.
You may also find your self floating when mask clearing. If you have trouble , sign to your buddy for assistance. to hold you steady. But remember mask clearing should be done smoothly if you were breathing normally out through the nose. Your mask should never be tight.
Remember to do everything slow softly and relaxed. Remember the mind works the body not the body working the mind.
Do these things and it will all come together . Your diving adventure will be a fun happy adventure.
Last edited by diveactive; July 6th, 2009 at 07:56 AM..
Reason: wanted to ad to title.
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