Anybody have trouble kneeling?

[MikeFerrara]

The instructor's instructions were to have the top of the K valve about 1-2 inches below the lowest point of the BCD collar. Will I get penalised during the practical tests if I don't do it his way?

Two things determine tank positioning. 1, trim and 2, being able to reach the valve!

This should be taught before ever taking students into the pool otherwise they don't have any idea how to assemble their equipment.

 

[JustinW]

SB is a nice place to get tips for simple things, certainly not a source for technical information and I would strongly caution you against taking advice from here and putting it to use in your OW class. Contradictory information will not only confuse you, but will frustrate your instructor as he teaches you and the other students. Stick to what your instructor has to say and teach, ask your instructor for help and then after you are certified, you can modify your skills. It would be easy to pick up a bad habit here, and then do it in class, if other students see that and copy it, the entire class is screwed up. So for now, talk to your instructor, later you can change your habits.

 

[DimSumDiver]

That's what I intend to do for the moment. Stick with what the instructors taught me and get through the written and practical tests.

Once I have my C-Card, I'll experiment some more with the advice given here. Thanks.

 

[Damselfish]

SB is a nice place to get tips for simple things, certainly not a source for technical information and I would strongly caution you against taking advice from here and putting it to use in your OW class. Contradictory information will not only confuse you, but will frustrate your instructor as he teaches you and the other students. Stick to what your instructor has to say and teach, ask your instructor for help and then after you are certified, you can modify your skills. It would be easy to pick up a bad habit here, and then do it in class, if other students see that and copy it, the entire class is screwed up. So for now, talk to your instructor, later you can change your habits.

This is all true, but I think a suggestion to put the tank band at a certain place is more of a starting point and I don't think there would be harm in seeing if moving it some helped. (If someone had a different BC in class the advice might not even make sense.) I can't imagine being "graded" on this or an instructor minding unless you did something completely silly. Maybe mention to the instructor that you're going to try something and why. It's similar to a guess on how much weight to start with based on person's weight - you start someplace but then you adjust, you don't just follow the formula, it's the sort of stuff you want to be learning.

Not that adjusting your tank to make it easier to kneel is something you probably want to do on a permanent basis, pretty hard to swim while kneeling.

 

[H2Andy]

Damselfish, i was sort of thinking the same thing.

asking about how best to kneel in the pool is hardly technical advice