An "Ah Ha!" moment

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tstormdiver

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
6,193
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1,140
Location
Kentucky
# of dives
2500 - 4999
Dove on my Prism2 this past weekend. I was finally able to fine tune my buoyancy & Trim (with an AL40 bailout- open water). I was able to hover perfectly with absolutely no effort. It was an exhilarating & amazing experience.:blinking: Hopefully more to come, as the weather warms back up!
 
I've been more or less satisfied with buoyancy and trim in mine, but it's only been with a wet suit so far--transitioning to my dry suit this summer will be entertaining, I'm sure.
 
I've dove mine with a 5mm, a 7mm+hooded vest, and most recently a 7mm semi-dry with a hood. Some ocean diving and some fresh water diving.

Getting in the water too light just sucks. I hate to get back on the boat to get more weight. I'm embarrassed to do it. It happened once during training, from then on I was heavy.

Since then I've been working towards dialing in my proper weight and weight distribution. Too many cancelled dives this month, I'm hitting the quarry this weekend to work on it. My goal is to get totally dialed in if possible. There's absolutely nothing in the world like being totally neutral on a rebreather in my opinion!!

Then I'm heading to Bonaire in May to get wet with just shorts & a t-shirt...a week of that and I should be perfect on my weighting there.
 
Then I'm heading to Bonaire in May to get wet with just shorts & a t-shirt...a week of that and I should be perfect on my weighting there.

I will be heading to Bonaire with mine in late July. My instructor has said he will do my Air Diluent Deco Mod, While there, where it is relatively warm, compared to the local quarry.
 
I did my air dil deco mod in Florida. Will be returning to do trimix to 200' after Bonaire.

Can't wait!!
 
I think I have found a weight system that works very well. It is a Tres Pres Backplate pocket. It is designed to be attached to the backplate, but instead, I attached mine to my H- frame of my Prism2, to get it up a little higher. I can put the weights up high or low, depending on my needs. I use simple cable ties to hold the weights in place along the weight pocket. It can hold at least three- 4lb weights on each side. It is hidden tucked behind the wing & is very neat & clean. The pockets look something like this:
Weight system.jpg
 
How much weight did you have to add for dry suit? I started out pretty well in a wetsuit with just a SS back plate, but when I used my dry suit, couldn't even get down. I had thick undies, but was shocked at the difference. My wetsuit was a 4+3 farmer John and shorty, so 7mm through the torso. Wish there was an alternative source, I've ordered from Golem before. They take forever to ship, and don't respond at all to emails.
 
Bonaire was a big "Ah Hah!!" week. In training and off the NC coast it has been mostly square profiles, jump in swim down kind of stuff. Bonaire was more interesting, lots of depth changes, lots of playing with buoyancy & PO2.

Wish I could just stay!!
 
How much weight did you have to add for dry suit? I started out pretty well in a wetsuit with just a SS back plate, but when I used my dry suit, couldn't even get down. I had thick undies, but was shocked at the difference. My wetsuit was a 4+3 farmer John and shorty, so 7mm through the torso. Wish there was an alternative source, I've ordered from Golem before. They take forever to ship, and don't respond at all to emails.

I use a Hollis SS plate & a total of 16 lbs of lead (four 4 lbs of weight). Seems adequate & I have it all up top to counter weight against the bottom heaviness of the unit & full AL 80 Bailouts (weighted for empty AL 80's). I also dive thick undergarments (DUI Arctic 2 Pc) The weight system is bolted to my H frame of the unit.

I had no problems with Golem Gear & got my weight system within a week (I was in no hurry).

---------- Post added May 22nd, 2014 at 06:01 PM ----------

Bonaire was a big "Ah Hah!!" week. In training and off the NC coast it has been mostly square profiles, jump in swim down kind of stuff. Bonaire was more interesting, lots of depth changes, lots of playing with buoyancy & PO2.

Wish I could just stay!!

The quarry I dive has some level changes, so not entirely a square profile. Plenty of depth changes to be had if I want. I'm just looking forward to depth & long dives without the bitter cold.

---------- Post added May 22nd, 2014 at 06:06 PM ----------

This weekend (Sat.- Mon.) I will be diving the quarry again with some recent graduates of my instructors rebreather course. Should prove fun & more experience.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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