BP/W keeps flipping me on my back- help

[cool_hardware52]

I observed a diver who was very overweighted, and was having to almost fill his BC to keep buoyant (scary). I noticed he seemed highly unstable, and rolled a lot hence my comment.

Sounds like the diver you observed had lots of problems, I think it unwise to draw any conclusions from one such example.

Tobin

 

[limeyx]

I observed a diver who was very overweighted, and was having to almost fill his BC to keep buoyant (scary). I noticed he seemed highly unstable, and rolled a lot hence my comment.

Her weighting seems reasonable to me (6 for the plate + 8 = 14), which is exactly what most of my buddies and I use in a 7MM.

I bet it's just about comfort and like tobin said, getting the back arched.
If I "relax" my body, I will go in all kinds of positions.

I think probably in a "relaxed" pose, a regular BC (seems to me from observations) makes people go head up, feet down, but a wing might tend to tip someone over a bit more.

 

[Charlie99]

Having a some gas in your wing can reduce the tendency to turtle.

Very true. With a 3/2 wetsuit and 6# plate, I had a tendency to turtle, but only when shallow and near empty tank which meant little air in the wing. Adding 4 pounds of lead to the front of the weightbelt overweighted me a bit and therefore had me add a bit of air to the wing. Instant stability.


My suggestion to the original poster is to replace the SS plate with an aluminum one, and then put the resulting increase of lead to the front of the weightbelt.

Lots of mass on the back (above you when horizontal), such that the center of mass is above the center of buoyancy, is an unstable equilibrium. Any slight roll to one side or the other results in turtling. Changing to an aluminum plate on the back and more lead on the front moves the center of mass closer to the center of buoyancy by moving the center of mass down. Descending a ways so that the wetsuit compresses, and then adding air to the wing for buoyancy moves a bunch of buoyancy up high. The center of mass doesn't change, but the buoyancy moves upward, thereby making it a more stable configuration.

Charlie Allen

 

[scubamikey]

Thanks everyone, we're taking all your ideas and heading down to the lake to try again.


Someone suggested she try a 63+- ci aluminum tank, what do you think?

Also, the weight belt tends to get hung up on the butt d-ring, so I took the d-ring off. It also gets in the way of the knife- any suggestions? How does your weightbelt fit in these areas?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[cool_hardware52]

Thanks everyone, we're taking all your ideas and heading down to the lake to try again.


Someone suggested she try a 63+- ci aluminum tank, what do you think?

Also, the weight belt tends to get hung up on the butt d-ring, so I took the d-ring off. It also gets in the way of the knife- any suggestions? How does your weightbelt fit in these areas?

Thanks,

Mike

I wear my weight belt under my harness, and it does not interfer with either the knife or butt dring. If she does not yet need the butt dring removing it should be no problem. You need to keep the knife.

I would not recommend a short tank, like a AL63 or HP80. Short tanks can be hard to trim out, and short tanks are a good way to damage your wing, the bottom of the wing will get trapped under the end of the tank when you sit down.

A lighter tank, or lighter plate will simply require more lead on the weight belt, and this can be a problem for petite people, s they don't have the "real estate" required to mount a lot of lead.

Tobin

 

[scubamikey]

Can I have more details about the weight belt, how you put it on and how you remove it if you need to ditch weights?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Can I have more details about the weight belt, how you put it on and how you remove it if you need to ditch weights?

I put it on first, then the harness. Should I ever need to drop the belt I first open the waist strap, then the belt.

Tobin

 

[scubamikey]

Do you mean that you unbuckle the BP/W to get some slack, then unbuckle the weight belt to drop it?


BTW, thanks for the help. DSS has the best customer service I've ever found, and the products are absolutely top-notch. I'm very happy with both our BP/Ws.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Do you mean that you unbuckle the BP/W to get some slack, then unbuckle the weight belt to drop it?


BTW, thanks for the help. DSS has the best customer service I've ever found, and the products are absolutely top-notch. I'm very happy with both our BP/Ws.

Thanks for the kind words, I do appreciate them.

I put my weight belt on before I put on my back plate and wing and harness. That leaves the weight belt under the harness. If you just unbuckle the weight belt when it is under the harness the belt will end up hanging from the crotch strap.

If I need to drop the weight belt, at the end of the dive for example if I want to hand up the belt, I will first open the waist strap on the harness. That will also cause the crotch strap to slip off the end of the harness waist strap. Now when I open the buckle on the weight belt it is free to drop off without hanging up on the crotch strap.

If you prefer to wear your weight belt over the harness I can describe technique for donning the belt first, and snaking the crotch strap under the belt. I've found having the belt under the harness to be easier and more secure.

Tobin

 

[rongoodman]

There's another discussion going on about the XS Scuba weight pockets. With only 8 lbs to carry, she could ditch the weight belt and put a couple of these on her waist belt. They have the advantage of being able to drop only part of the weight instead of all of it, if that's what you need to do.