"Don't worry, we'll get your weight down"

[Giggi]

I agree. 22# seems like alot of weight for a 3mm. I have no doubt that the weight will come down as you get comfortable.

I'm also naturally buoyant and I used 22# with a new 3mm on my last trip. It seemed to work pretty well for me, but my goal for my next trip (next month, YAY) is to learn better breathing and buoyancy control and increase my bottom time. These, along with lots of other tips I've been reading about will be extremely helpful.

THANKS!

 

[MikeFerrara]

I tried this during one of my classes after the instructor gave the thumbs up and he grabbed the inflator out of my hand and and wagged his finger at me. I had already filled my lungs and felt I needed a touch more air in my bc, after all we were standing on bottom doing our drills. He then did the swim up sign with his fingers. We were kinda shallow so I guess it's all academic anyways.

Your instructor didn't wamt you using the inflator for an elevator button...but of course he did have you plastered to the bottom negative so what would he expect?

Anyway, assuming you're neutral and horizontal, all you need to do in order to begine an ascent is to arch your back and pull your shoulders back a bit and maybe take a bit of a breath. As you're lungs rise a bit you'll become slightly buoyant and start up. Control your speed with body position and breathing and dump air from the bc as needed to stay close to neutral.

Also the guys mention exhaling completely during descent. As someone who has to equalize by holding my nose and blowing thats kinda hard with no air. Even though it dosen't take much air to do this I have to do it early and often.Also if this finesse is needed to descend properly what is one to do (other than jack knifing and swimming down) if he needs to duck down quickly to avoid a boat or something??:06:

You don't need to exhale all the way to descend. If you start your descent being neutral at the surface with some air in your lungs, you'll only need to exhale a bit (nat all the way) to start down. This gives you enough control that you can easily slow or halt your descent with breath control. Of course add air to the bc on the way down so as to stay close to neutral (not too negative).

I actually start equalizing before I start my descent to get ahead of it some.

Ascents and descents along with correct weighting and trim are some of the things that are usually taught poorly. then folks find out it isn't working so well for them and they make up their own stuff that's almost as strange. While an experienced diver may want to descne very fast you still need the ability to be able to halt the descent at will. A new diver is probably far better off trying to do everything being very close to neutral and going slow. That'll result in the most control.

 

[pasley]

7mm wetsuit with vest and hood and an AL 80 tank. I wear, 20 pounds of lead, but I can do the dive with 16 pounds, or 18 pounds, I just find 20 less effort. In short, you are wearing a lot of lead.

With experience you will learn to not constantly keep you lungs filled to their maximum volum of air and to quit moving your hands and feet so much. In short, I started diving with 26-28 pounds of lead, but with experience I now dive with 20 pounds and feel heavy at that.

 

[pasley]

As you learn to relax and breathe slower with nice easy deep breaths you will find you are less buoyant. Likewise most new divers tend to move their hands a lot and move their fins even when they think they are keeping them still such as during checking your weighting on the surface, while trying to descend and on a safety stops all of which messes up your buoyancy and tends to make you add more weight as you think you cannot get under the water. Try crossing your arms and legs when trying to descend and at your safety stop and see if you don't sink more than you did before. Also just try to relax and breathe normally. Often new divers breathe off the top of their lungs so they never really exhale and that added air in your lungs also adds to your bouyancy, just as air in your BC would. Also, I agree, when doing a weight check at the surface, if you do it with a full tank you need to compensate for the fact that at your safety stop you will no longer have a full tank. Always better to recheck it with a low tank at the end of the dive to see if your weighting is good with 500psi.

DING DING DING, we have a winner here. Excellent explanation.

 

[Mr. Fix]

I am used to diving with 3mm suits in the Red Sea. In the beginning I used 12 pounds (6Kgs) but one day when I was diving with one of my friends, an experienced diver and he just insisted that I go down to 8 pounds NOW. I did, of course I had some difficulties at the begining, but it was doable. 2 weeks later, I was using only 6 Pounds. I have set a rule to use 2 pounds for every 1 mm and it works.
It was all about relaxing and breathing in the right rythm.

 

[ghostdiver1957]

First, if you're wearing 22 lbs with a 3mm suit, I'll assume you weigh at least 250 lbs yourself. You've got to be a very big person to need anywhere close to 22 lbs in a 3mm suit. If you're a big man, and wearing 22 lbs is right for you, then I might suggest ditching the aluminum tanks and diving with steel tanks. They will make you and keep you more negatively bouyant from beggining to end of your dive. LP 95's are my favorite. Mine start out about 7 lbs negative and are still 2 lbs negative at the end of the dive... thus adding 2 - 7 lbs without adding any additional weight elsewhere.

If you are not 250+ lbs... you have other issues. Air in your BCD (even if you think there isn't,) you are finning (kicking your feet) while trying to descend, you are anxious (not fully relaxed,) or you're holding air in your lungs (not exhaling completely) while trying to descend.

As an Instructor, the things I see most often... are any of the above or even some combination of them. Students eventually get comfortable in the pool... but those first trips to open water checkout ... and again the first time they junp into the middle of the ocean... tend to cause the above things to kick in.

Relax, Breath Out, Lean far right while holding the inflator over your left shoulder to dump air and ensure that your legs are not moving at all. My guess is that with 22 lbs you'll sink like a rock once all of these things are settled...

Good Luck

 

[vkalia]

As everyone sez, 22lb *appears* to be a a bit too much. By way of comparison, in rec gear, I wear 5lb with a 3mm suit and standard Al80 bottles. However, it is quite possible your body type does indeed require you to wear a lot of weight (depends on how big you are, what your body fat ratio is and general bone density).

I just finished a class with a 68-yr old, and given his body type (quite fit - long distance cyclist, and not too much fat on him), I'd have pegged him as needing 6-8 pounds tops - but he just wouldnt stay down with less than 14lb on him (this is in a shorty). Proper weighting is one of the things I'm anal about, and I spent a lot of time watching his breathing, checking his BCD, etc. Nope. Guy was relaxed, guy was breathing deeply, not finning... hollow bones, I guess.

 

[ghostdiver1957]

Here is a baseline from an Instructor for most adult students, using AL 80 Cylinders in Salt Water. Keep in mind, many other factors may cause need for adjustment in weighting up or down.

1mm Suit - Beginning Diver 4 - 10 lbs
3mm Suit - Beginning Diver 10 - 16 lbs
5mm Suit - Beginning Diver 16 - 20 lbs
7mm Suit (1 Pc) - Beginning Diver 20 - 26 lbs
6/7mm (2 pc) - Beginning Diver 26 -30 lbs

Experienced Divers generally can cut the above weights in half or maybe even less. Diving with steel tanks should also decrease your weights elsewhere. Stronge surge, saltier water and other factors may cause a need to increase weighting slightly. Fresh water causes a need to decrease weighting.

 

[Shadow]

Interesting guidelines. What about diving in a drysuit with sufficient protection for 45 to 50 degree water? Any guidelines for weight needed?

 

[jeckyll]

ghostdiver: the original poster stated he weight 260 lbs.

Shadow: What kind of drysuit (i.e. material)? How much do you weigh? What setup for BD/D or wing? What type of tank?