Bouyancy

[lady - gadiver]

As I've been diving for just a year now, I'm still finding myself dealing with bouyancy control. The most embarrassing situation is when my legs start floating off by themselves!

Does anyone use ankle weights, and if so, how much weight would you recommend starting out with???

 

[herman]

Bouyancy is the art of diving and takes a while to master. To be more percise, what you are wanting to adjust is your trim, or what position you float in when you are neutral. There are several methods that can be used to affect the position you end up in. Ankle weights are an option but before trying them, try simply varying the position of your tank, moving it down tends to make your feet stay down. Also , some fins are more bouyant than others and if you have a pair that is fairly bouyant, that could be some of the problem. The best advise that I can give is to sign up for a n advanced bouyancy class where an experienced instructor can help you in a controlled enviroment, that's the route I took and my wife is going to soon. It's money well spent.

 

[King_Neptune]

gadiver,

Another thing to try out sometime, if you have a chance, is the "backside inflating, upside down 'U' looking BC's"...

They also tend to help you level out for a more comfortable "gliding position" while diving. I have tried them but they weren't for me, but I know Ladydiver uses one and loves it.

Also, does this happen all the time or only at the beginning of your dive especially in shallow waters?
Does the Bouyancy issue become less of a problem as the dive goes on or gets deeper?

I ask because being over-weighted can be as big of a bummer as under-weighted, and as the dive goes on or deeper more and more air gets squeezed out of your wet suit and can help. That air trapped in the wetsuit can make a rather large difference and can be the evil culprit causing bouyancy retardedness. For this reason and the obvious others (like warmth), I know many people that swear by bringing their own gallon jugs of rather warm water and filling their suits up with them before the dive. Gives you a nice little warm water cushion to soften the cold water blues and to also help start to waterlog their wetsuits before diving in (getting as much of that air out as possible).

 

[lady - gadiver]

It seems to be more of a problem towards the end of a dive, I guess when I have less air in the tank.

I have not tried wetting down the wetsuit, I think that is a good idea. As far as moving the tank lower, I'm pretty short 5'3", so I'm also dealing with the tank hitting my "back end" when it is riding low.

I'm def. interested in a peak performance bouyancy class (that and photography, and...and...and...)hehe

thanks for the info.

gadiver

 

[King_Neptune]

gadiver,

What size tank have you been using? An 80? 60? Aluminum? Steel?

If you havent tried one out yet you might want to look into a steel 60 and see how you like it. The Steel will give you more negative bouyancy but they are a lot shorter than the Aluminum 80's. So for those of you vertically challenged types, hehe, they wont Ride Your Tush and may give you that tiny bit of added weight you were looking for. You may be able to kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

[lady - gadiver]

The tanks I've been renting are aluminum 80's.

I did see some shorter, wider tanks at the shop for sale. May look into those.

gadiver

 

[Ladydiver]

Hi GaDiver,

I have the same problem when I dive with an aluminum 80. I have been seriously thinking about going to a steel 60 since I have been told they help with the bouyancy problem at the end of a dive.

I also have trouble with getting the tank positioned correctly without having it hit my rear or the backs of my legs. By the time I get it adjusted to help with bouyancy, I am unable to swim comfortably.

I know a couple of ladies who do dive with the 60's and love them. I am hoping to hook up with one of them the next time I go out and try one of the 60's before I make the purchase. I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully, it will have the effect I am hoping for.

Cheers,

 

[lady - gadiver]

Lady D:

Do the 60's come in aluminum or just steel? Just curious...

I would luv to get the smaller tanks, but then when I travel, have to get used to those 80's again, adjusting, etc.

gadiver

 

[King_Neptune]

Lady G,

I would look like Shaq with a half shirt on if I tried to wear a rig like that, hehe, so I honestly don't know but I will bring this post to the attention of our resident Equipment Guru, "rainreg", and ask him if he knows the answer for this question.

When you have equipment questions you might also wanna try posting them in the Equipment section of the forum as I don't think he makes it a regular practice to cruise the Women's section, although there have been some rather slinky rumors that he ..... LOL ... Ok, Im kidding but I will ask him and see if he can shed some light here.

 

[anne]

I use ankle weights. My fins are positively bouyant. Very embarrasing the first time I used them. Did flips going down. With ankle weights I feel great. I tried to weigh them on my scale but too light to register. Where I purchased them they had just one weight available. I think they are 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. each. I was concerned they would be too heavy, but nope. Just right.