Weighting/Trim Question

[RJP]

I recently took the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy class and improved my overall diving skills immensely. However, to achieve a horizontal position in the water, I moved my weight belt high up on my torso (think of old man/nerd pants).

View attachment 196896

Is there a BCD out there that will hold weights in the upper part of the jacket? FYI - I had 6 lbs in each BCD pocket, 10 lbs on my weight belt & 2 lbs on my tank strap. I was diving in warm salt water with a 3mm full wetsuit. I'm about 6'1" & 230 lbs, average build.

Or is there another solution?

The vast majority of back-inflate weight-integrated BCDs have trim pockets in the back, about midway up. Putting some weight up where your lungs are really helps with trim.

However, of course, I'll jump on the BP/W bandwagon with both feet.

A typical BCD is about 4lbs POSITIVE in and of itself. A BP/W with a steel plate is about 6lbs NEGATIVE. Right there you'll take 10lbs off your weightbelt. Then, as someone pointed out above, the weight of the plate is right where your lungs are. So in addition to ditching some lead, you'll improve your trim, since you've not only ditched lead, but also shifted the center of gravity of the lead that remains from your waist to your torso.

Then there's the streamlining benefit of something like this...

as compared to something like THIS...

I'm a NJ wreck diver... and even I don't carry enough crap on a dive to warrant all those clips and straps and buckles and d-rings and pockets!

 

[Kharon]

Save yourself a ton of money. Forget the BackPlate cropola. Just move weight from the belt (and scrap it) to tank strap pockets. Diddle around with the amount of weight in BC pockets and the tank strap pockets till you get the balance right. What I did and I can hang motionless, vertical, head down.

 

[TSandM]

It's not uncommon for new divers to have problems descending. Some of them might be weighting, but others are technique.

Did you do your weight check at the beginning, or at the end of the dive? At the beginning, you may have some air still trapped in the wetsuit.

You also need to be very sure that you are not moving your fins while you do a weight check -- crossing your ankles can help control that. If you are kicking at all, you are providing an upward force that needs to be countered by lead that you DON'T need underwater.

All of that said, I am a person who carries far more lead than anybody believes I need, but it is what it is. I have done careful, correct weight checks, and know that's how it comes out. I'd love it to be otherwise.

Once you know what your weight is, you can move it around. You can use trim pockets (for example, the SeaQuest Balance has some that are nicely up on the shoulders) or put weights on your cambands, or around your tank neck. As already stated, the steel plate is an elegant solution, which both moves your ballast and reduces it.

 

[RJP]

Diddle around... till you get the balance right. What I did and I can hang motionless, vertical, head down.

Hmm... can you post some pics? Sounds like you still need some work to "get the balance right."

:d

 

[TSandM]

Whether you can be motionless in ANY position depends on a lot of things. It's almost impossible to weight and trim out a dry suit diver to be able to do it, for example, because of the distance the bubble in the suit can travel. It's harder in cold water, because of the sheer amount of ballast.

In a light wetsuit, in warm water, with an aluminum 80, it can most definitely be done, and it's fun. You have to make sure the center of lift and center of gravity are right together in all positions.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Save yourself a ton of money. Forget the BackPlate cropola. Just move weight from the belt (and scrap it) to tank strap pockets. Diddle around with the amount of weight in BC pockets and the tank strap pockets till you get the balance right. What I did and I can hang motionless, vertical, head down.

My only question is when you scrap the belt - do you have issues when you doff your BC or drop your weights?
I did - I would float like a cork if I did not keep some weight on the belt (7mm semi dry). In the water I was fine but as soon as I started dropping my integrated weights I could not control my buoyancy at 25 feet - I now split my weight between the BC and my belt - seems to work better for me.

 

[RJP]

In the water I was fine but as soon as I started dropping my integrated weights I could not control my buoyancy at 25 feet

Why were you dropping your weights at 25ft?

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Why were you dropping your weights at 25ft?

Because the platform was at 25feet?

I was thinking I should be fairly stable at most depths - it was to the point I had to tuck my feet under the platform just so I would not go to the surface... That did not feel right to me. I agree that at deeper depths it is not an issue but I prefer distributing my weight so I am comfortable at almost any depth...

But I am open to new ideas...

Edit I use 24 lbs - FYI only.

 

[RJP]

Because the platform was at 25feet?

I was thinking I should be fairly stable at most depths - it was to the point I had to tuck my feet under the platform just so I would not go to the surface... That did not feel right to me. I agree that at deeper depths it is not an issue but I prefer distributing my weight so I am comfortable at almost any depth...

But I am open to new ideas...

Ohh Kayyyyy...

Why were you dropping your weights on the platform?

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Because I changed my rig and wanted to see what would happen.. lol

We were doing drills - I had my son drop his belt and he swam around like he was a fish... So I dropped half my load (integrated weights) and felt a little more than floaty and dropped the second half and there was no way I was going to stay stable so I thought - keep some on the belt and some in the pockets...