To me the key is proper weighting that compressed neoprene is going to help you on the way up as it un-compresses and at that point the safety stop is recommended not required. I can sit on the surface with no air in my wing with little effort in my 8/7 wetsuit.
Dropping a weight pocket on a line—dumb idea?
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JamesBon92007
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Coming from one of those "old pre BC guys"
For me the big question is: are you diving with a single tank or doubles? I have no issues with diving with no BC with a single tank. northernone started a post fairly recently about diving without a BC, but with doubles. I concluded that I would need about 5 pounds of lift from somewhere to be neutral, but he seems to have it figured out
Typically, in Southern California, I dive with a 1/4" (7mm) Farmer John with a single steel 72 and no BC. I weight myself so I am neutral at the end of the dive with a couple hundred psi left in my tank. One time, near the end of a dive, I found a very nice, rather large, Danforth anchor with about 10 feet of 1/4" chain attached. I began by walking towards shore in the old "hard hat" fashion. Unfortunately I was low on air but stayed down until I had sucked the last remaining breath from my tank. I swam up to the surface and swam with the anchor the last 200 yards or so using my snorkel. Since it was the end of the dive I was more buoyant than I would have been otherwise. None of this was particularly easy, but it was easier than carrying it up the hill along a trail known as "Cardiac Path" at the end of the day. I admit that I was a lot younger when I did it and I was the guy who could do more push-ups and pull-ups than everyone else so yes, I was in fairly exceptional physical condition. I also collected fishing weights while diving (on many other occasions) and often I would be carrying an extra four or five pounds of lead and it was never an issue.
Hole in the BC? In don't need no stinkin' BC!
The only time I ever carried rocks around was when some DM on a dive boat would give me less weight than I told them I needed. I am more buoyant (in my old age) than it looks like I should be. Just in case I find another anchor (or weight belt, etc) I sometimes carry a "lift bag" that is a "re-usable" grocery store shopping bag that they charge 10 cents for around here. They are fairly sturdy and have built-in handles and don't leak very much. I keep a heavy-duty snap hook with it so it can be possibly attached to some underwater treasure. I'm guessing it has about 10-12 pounds of lift.
As for dropping your weight and attaching a line to it for recovery, I think it could work if you have it planned in advance so you have a clip on your line and a place to attach it to the weight.
And to confirm what taiman said--no, I never did a 3-minutes safety stop until I got on a dive boat in Hawai'i, which was also the first time I'd ever used a BC.
For me the big question is: are you diving with a single tank or doubles? I have no issues with diving with no BC with a single tank. northernone started a post fairly recently about diving without a BC, but with doubles. I concluded that I would need about 5 pounds of lift from somewhere to be neutral, but he seems to have it figured out
Typically, in Southern California, I dive with a 1/4" (7mm) Farmer John with a single steel 72 and no BC. I weight myself so I am neutral at the end of the dive with a couple hundred psi left in my tank. One time, near the end of a dive, I found a very nice, rather large, Danforth anchor with about 10 feet of 1/4" chain attached. I began by walking towards shore in the old "hard hat" fashion. Unfortunately I was low on air but stayed down until I had sucked the last remaining breath from my tank. I swam up to the surface and swam with the anchor the last 200 yards or so using my snorkel. Since it was the end of the dive I was more buoyant than I would have been otherwise. None of this was particularly easy, but it was easier than carrying it up the hill along a trail known as "Cardiac Path" at the end of the day. I admit that I was a lot younger when I did it and I was the guy who could do more push-ups and pull-ups than everyone else so yes, I was in fairly exceptional physical condition. I also collected fishing weights while diving (on many other occasions) and often I would be carrying an extra four or five pounds of lead and it was never an issue.Hole in the BC? In don't need no stinkin' BC!
The only time I ever carried rocks around was when some DM on a dive boat would give me less weight than I told them I needed. I am more buoyant (in my old age) than it looks like I should be. Just in case I find another anchor (or weight belt, etc) I sometimes carry a "lift bag" that is a "re-usable" grocery store shopping bag that they charge 10 cents for around here. They are fairly sturdy and have built-in handles and don't leak very much. I keep a heavy-duty snap hook with it so it can be possibly attached to some underwater treasure. I'm guessing it has about 10-12 pounds of lift.
As for dropping your weight and attaching a line to it for recovery, I think it could work if you have it planned in advance so you have a clip on your line and a place to attach it to the weight.
And to confirm what taiman said--no, I never did a 3-minutes safety stop until I got on a dive boat in Hawai'i, which was also the first time I'd ever used a BC.
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aquacat8
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@JamesBon92007 you are just a stud ;-)
JamesBon92007
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Well, my point is that if a 20-year-old guy in excellent condition can swim that far being 20 pounds negative then someone who is in average condition could probably deal with being eight or so pounds negative. Judging from your "jet fins" thread you are in at least very good condition for diving so I'd think you could handle it. And, of course, if you carry a 10 cent grocery bag you could use it for buoyancy if needed and they take up less room than most SMBs.
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aquacat8
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You are right! Lesson to self: don’t ask a question on land that is better answered in water. I just got back from the lap pool where for the first time I brought weights. Swimming in Jet fins, booties, mask and bikini: Neutral with 2-4. Easy to swim 6-8 lbs around. Heavy but doable for several laps 10. If necessary for short distances can haul 14-16. So as PADI says “No Worries!” Whew that was fun!
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aquacat8
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Great “recycling” of bags @JamesBon92007
@boulderjohn looked at the reports once, they included a guy who climbed on the boat, sat down on the bench, and collapsed -- before taking off his weight belt. On the flip side, we found one full belt and at least a couple of loose weights on the bottom on our last trip (Guanacaste CR) so you gotta wonder how many live divers who lost/let go of their weighs there are for every body found with weights on.
You could carry a large(-er) DSMB. It should have enough lift to help you swim up without the weight, plus you'll have an SMB.
JamesBon92007
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+1 for the DSMB. Shoot it from the bottom. Then as you work your way up you can use it to rest with. Then think about dropping some weight once you are close to the surface if you are still overweighted for some reason. I have integrated weights. It is simple to take out the weights and drop a pound or two or three if I ever needed to for some reason. I have one of those 6ft tubes on a reel (not a finger spool). Just in practicing launching and using I have found it gives a lot of lift. While doing my safety stop on the bag I like to let out a bit of air from the BCD so that I am negative and the bag stands up taller from supporting my weight.
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