Tec Diver Bouyancy

[Veritably337]

Im a relatively new Tec Diver (finished Tec 50 but only have a handful of Tec dives). I was taught to wear all my stages on the left side which I do. Curiously though I lean right. I do not feel stable. Always seem to be struggling to not lean right. My right knee seems to drop.

Any suggestions?

 

[Jack Hammer]

Sounds like you may need to balance your rig. Pocket contents, tank placement, weight position, etc are things to look at. Also make sure your tanks are matched.

 

[DevonDiver]

Much can be done by 'balancing the bubble' in your wing. i.e. positioning to hold more gas on one side of the wing to retain trim.

Underlying problems like this can arise when doing relatively fast-track entry into tech diving. It'll iron out with more experience.

Consider it a skills, not an equipment, problem.

What you shouldn't do is start trying to move weights or equipment in an attempt to resolve that trim issue.

Deco stages aren't part of your core weighting and trim - you wouldn't want to create follow-on issues if/when you removed or tethered them.

 

[Diver0001]

agree with the need to balance the rig. That, however is the "what".... I think your question is more about the "how". I don't have time to go into that right now but maybe I can get back to this question later.

In the meantime, anyone else want to address the "how"?

R..

 

[lermontov]

Are you in back mount or sidemount, cold water or warm, dry suit or wet, is the problem greater when full or empty?

 

[RainPilot]

What stage tanks are you using?

Is it also possible that in your mind you are expecting a roll to the left and are unconsciously overcompensating?

 

[Veritably337]

Thanks for the info. Keep it coming. I’m in BM double 95s with. AL 40 on my left. Cold water dry suit with heavy undergarments. The problem is most pronounced when I don’t have a lot of air in the wing.

It’s not unmanageable. Just annoying. There is definitely a pull down forward and right. That’s why I thought it My be the stage bottles getting light when half full or less.

 

[lermontov]

might be a process of elimination - a) check the tanks are the same tare weight b) shoulder straps equally tensioned c) try sticking your right arm and right leg out to get more air in the dry suit to see if it corrects then back to normal position d) put the stage on the right side and see what happens e) check you weights are even and equal g) check your weight pockets aren't moving around h)try with out your stage

 

[KenGordon]

Thanks for the info. Keep it coming. I’m in BM double 95s with. AL 40 on my left. Cold water dry suit with heavy undergarments. The problem is most pronounced when I don’t have a lot of air in the wing.

It’s not unmanageable. Just annoying. There is definitely a pull down forward and right. That’s why I thought it My be the stage bottles getting light when half full or less.

Have you got air trapped in the wing? I have watched divers struggle endlessly with buoyancy where they can’t actually dump the wing entirely. Stuff like inflator hoses pressing down on it and holding a bubble behind.

Have you done much twinset diving without a deco cylinder? Do you know what ‘normal’ is? If you’ve not already done a bunch of dives doing backgas deco I suggest trying that. A proper dive with all everything needing doing the same way except without the extra faff of a stage. You’ll end up with, say 15 minutes hanging about with nothing to do but think about buoyancy and how it feels.

 

[randy88k5]

The problem is most pronounced when I don’t have a lot of air in the wing.

Are you using your drysuit or wing as the main buoyancy compensation device?

If using the drysiut as main BC, I suggest try adding just enough air to the suit to eliminate squeeze, and use the wing as the main BC. See if that eliminates it.

If you are using the wing as intended, check as others have noted above.