Good reading materials
- Thread starter samnewsom
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divemastercpas
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practice, practice, practice
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It's not just technique it also configuration, especially setting and placing weights. I have by far and without a doubt learned more in this crucible than in all the rest combined.
The search function is your tutor.
Pete
It's not just technique it also configuration, especially setting and placing weights. I have by far and without a doubt learned more in this crucible than in all the rest combined.
The search function is your tutor.
Pete
If we were inanimate objects, placement of weights would be as important as some folks believe it to be. We are not, placement of weights is not terribly important.
Buoyancy control is a simple concept. Any book written on the subject would be extremely short. With an empty or near empty tank, add weights until you float at eye level with full lungs. Every time you change anything with regard to gear (different exposure suit, different BC, different tank etc.) or if you gain or lose weight, you'll need to repeat this process.
With a full tank (AL 80) you'll be approximately 6 lbs overweighted. Compensate for this by adding air to your buoyancy compensator (BC). As you use air, your tank will get lighter and you will become more positively buoyant. Dump small amounts of air from your BC to compensate. As you descend, air spaces (BC and exposure suit) will be compressed, making you more negatively buoyant. Add air to your BC to compensate. Use the BC to get you close to neutrally buoyant. With every breath, your buoyancy will change. With every inhalation, you become more positively buoyant and every time you exhale, you become more negatively buoyant. Use this concept to fine tune your buoyancy. As you ascend, you'll become more positively buoyant because air spaces will expand. Dump air from your BC to compensate.
When you add air or dump air from your BC, there will be a slight delay before you feel the buoyancy change. Unless you are rising or sinking rapidly, be patient. Add and dump only small amounts of air, except in emercencies.
A diver trying to swim while negatively buoyant will be moving forward while his body is at an angle with his feet down. A positively buoyant diver will also be at an angle, but his feet will be up. This is regardless of weight placement. The angle of the body causes the diver to not only propel himself forward, but also keeps a nehatively buoyant diver from sinking and a positively buoyant diver from rising. These situations can easily be avoided with proper buoyancy control.
Practice.
Buoyancy control is a simple concept. Any book written on the subject would be extremely short. With an empty or near empty tank, add weights until you float at eye level with full lungs. Every time you change anything with regard to gear (different exposure suit, different BC, different tank etc.) or if you gain or lose weight, you'll need to repeat this process.
With a full tank (AL 80) you'll be approximately 6 lbs overweighted. Compensate for this by adding air to your buoyancy compensator (BC). As you use air, your tank will get lighter and you will become more positively buoyant. Dump small amounts of air from your BC to compensate. As you descend, air spaces (BC and exposure suit) will be compressed, making you more negatively buoyant. Add air to your BC to compensate. Use the BC to get you close to neutrally buoyant. With every breath, your buoyancy will change. With every inhalation, you become more positively buoyant and every time you exhale, you become more negatively buoyant. Use this concept to fine tune your buoyancy. As you ascend, you'll become more positively buoyant because air spaces will expand. Dump air from your BC to compensate.
When you add air or dump air from your BC, there will be a slight delay before you feel the buoyancy change. Unless you are rising or sinking rapidly, be patient. Add and dump only small amounts of air, except in emercencies.
A diver trying to swim while negatively buoyant will be moving forward while his body is at an angle with his feet down. A positively buoyant diver will also be at an angle, but his feet will be up. This is regardless of weight placement. The angle of the body causes the diver to not only propel himself forward, but also keeps a nehatively buoyant diver from sinking and a positively buoyant diver from rising. These situations can easily be avoided with proper buoyancy control.
Practice.
As has been said ... ScubaBoard and practice. Seriously. I took the Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty and it was a joke. From reading ScubaBoard I already knew everything they tried to teach me, and then some. I simply need more practice applying the concepts I already knew. Walter has done a good job of summarizing them. It just takes practice, practice and then more practice.
jpsexton
Contributor
Walter:
Thinking back on my limited experience this seems about right. I was taught that weight placement and tank position affected trim though. Can you elaborate a little to explain why the feet up or down positions?
There is a cracking book called Neutral Bouyancy by Tim Scott, which is also a darn good read.
However, I must agree with what all the above have said. Practice makes perfect and no book is going to replace this very simple tenant
However, I must agree with what all the above have said. Practice makes perfect and no book is going to replace this very simple tenant
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