Help! Need quick advice for wet wife in new 30/30!

[jimthediver]

We are diving in Ambon. My wife is breaking in her brand new 30/30. It's her first experience with a dry suit (other than Demo Day at Gilboa Quarry). So far it's not going too well. She is doing great with the suit as far as being comfortable with control and her bouyancy but she is coming up soaked on every dive (5 out of 5 so far). She seems to be leaking at both wrists and both ankles but not at the neck. i am sure we have the seals cut correctly by our dealer to what was worked out at Demo Days. I have experience with a DUI dry suit so I am familiar with how they should fit. I am wondering if maybe it has something to do with the amount of air she has in the suit. We are currently diving pretty shallow averaging about 35-40 feet. Water temp is 81-82 F so she is only wearing one of her old wetskins cut down to stay clear of the seals. She is 5' 2.5" and 117 lbs. She is currently diving with 18 lbs of weight distributed on her Zuma BCD. In the water her bubble is around her upper chest and shoulders. She has virtually no air in her arms and legs. She looks shrink wrapped to me but she says she is comfortable. I am sure it's something basic and we will eventually find the answer but she is getting discouraged. Next week we will be heading out on the Damaii towards the South of the Banda Sea where the water is going to be much colder so we need to get this sorted out quick. Would appreciate any advice.

Jim

 

[spectrum]

Gee it usually comes back to the the 2 things you say are under control, Cut of the seals and garments under the seals. Are you seeing 3-4 rings worth of seal laying flat against her skin where it seals?

Diving dry in 80+ water with a wet skin (just Lycra, poly-pro or thin neoprene?) are you sure it's not perspiration? I know you said soaked but..... A LOT of finesse goes into the undergarment design and that may be the culprit.

Other ideas:
1) Being a DUI does it have Zip Seals and are they fully mated to the suit. Never seen ankle Zip Seals though... such a thing?
2) Does she have extreme tendons? They can break the seal when flexed.
3) Not to slam your wife but is she a flapper when she dives? If she flailing, especially in a light suit she could be making the seals catch water and breach.

DUI watches the board and should follow with more.

Pete

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Barring her tendons causing the wrists to leak, in those temps with just a skin that does not really wick moisture away I'd suspect she is sweating a lot. Make sure she stays hydrated.

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[Katch]

I third the sweating theory. A wetskin is the last thing you should wear under a drysuit. You need something that breathes. For those warm temperatures, maybe a cotton t-shirt and long johns.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

No cotton. It does not wick away moisture. Just traps it against the skin. fleece is a better choice. Will wick away moisture and keep you warm and dry. It does not need to be heavy fleece. Underarmour cold gear or heat gear also works.

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[KathyIGH]

Hi Jimthediver and wife.

First off congratulations on your new 30/30. I got a fantastic email yesterday from a guy who did a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Galapagos. Bought a new 30/30 and he said it was absolutely fabulous. Made the entire trip for him. Others were doing all sorts of things to stay warm but he was a happy camper. Let's get your wife to that point .

When you say 'soaked' I am assuming that you mean you can literally wring water out of her undergarment? Can you confirm that?

The air in the drysuit that you mentioned would not cause soaking. It sounds like she has the right amount of air in the suit.

My experience... when people are getting soaked is two things. One - the drysuit zipper has not been closed all the way. I cringe when saying that because I know it seems obvious but it really can cause an issue. Zippers seem to have their own temperament. One is easy to close and another can take just that extra effort to get it closed completely. Make sure she has the butt of the zipper right up against the rubber. Really important stuff. If it's just the smallest bit opened she will get very wet. (We get drysuits back that have punctures in them. People are surprised to know this. Punctures won't leak like an open zipper or seals).

Second thing that causes soaking are the seals. One way to check... have her dress out, make sure the zipper is closed, seals are set and enter the water. Don't have her other equipment on. Just stand in the water for a while. See if she stays dry.

The neck seal can really cause issues. As people age our necks tend to thin out and this can cause channeling. Have your wife turn her head slowly side to side and see if her neck creates channels as she turns her head. For me this happens every time I turn my heard too far to one side. Even with a properly trimmed seal I can get leaks here. The trick is to learn to move your whole body when you want to look at something...not just crank the head. And make sure you get the hair out of the neck seal. Easy for people with longer hair to have this issue.

Wrist seals. Tendons can be an issue. If so you need to move the seal up further on the arm. Same goes for the neck...try placing it higher or lower on the neck depending on the neck/hair/channels.

If your wife puts on the suit, gets in the water, and comes out dry that's good news. You might take and have her get in the water, move around some and see if she gets wet. See if you can tell where the water is coming in from. It can be hard to tell.

Are you surface swimming out to the dive site? If so make sure the exhaust valve is in the closed position on the surface.

Phew!

Can you please keep us posted?

Thank you,

Kathy

 

[Allison Finch]

Sorry, but I can't even IMAGINE diving dry in Ambon. I suspect sweat, too.

 

[jimthediver]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. We are confident that we have figured out that the suit is not leaking. It appears she is getting wet by her own sweat. We agree with the comment that she doesn't need the drysuit in Ambon. The water temp was a little cooler here than we expected, so we thought this would be a good time to try using her new 30/30 before we board the Damai for the southern Banda Sea. We thought she could get away with using the wetskin she usually wears under her wetsuit. However, as some of you have pointed out, it is a totally inappropriate drysuit undergarment. Jan now has the mechanics of using the drysuit, buoyancy control & trim, down pat, so we have put the drysuit away until we arrive in the cooler water. She is back to comfortably using her wetsuit in the delightfully warm waters of Ambon. Thanks again to you all for your quick responses. Jim & Jan

 

[KathyIGH]

Thanks for the follow-up. Keep us posted on your next adventure. Pictures .

Kathy

 

[BoltSnap]

Kathy,

What do you recommend to wear in warmer waters while diving with the 30/30 suit from the DUI product line (water temps around 79 - 84)?