Horizontal Obsession

[captain]

OK Boulderjohn I'll bite. What is with this obsession with being horizontal.

Scuba is a 3 dimensional world. In it I assume whatever position best suits what I am doing. If I am descending I swim mostly vertical head down. If I am ascending I swim mostly vertical head up. If I am swimming horizontal to the bottom I swim horizontally. If I need to look up I assume a position that allows me to do it comfortably.
Always horizontal is for dead people.

 

[tomboyy]

I think this horizontal thing started back in the old days when men were men and women cooked us dinner that we brought home from the ocean floor. See way back then men didn't need no stinkin BCD's... all they needed was a reg and a tank . By swimming perfectly horizontal and giving the old evil eye they were able to form a little pocket of air and didn't even need no stinkin mask and by staying level and slightly puffing out their chest they could perfectly balance the tank between their shoulders.

Then they started giving out cards to anyone with a wallet and the sport went and got sissyfied.

hope this explains things

 

[knowone]

I'm writing a regulatory guide for fish. Does any one speak fish?

 

[Peter Guy]

Captain -- do you dive dry or wet?

While it is very true that the ideal is to be in the position you WANT to be in, too many people are unable to achieve that. It seems clear to me that being able to maintain a position that is parallel to the direction of movement (which is most efficient from a drag perspective) should be the goal. If you can maintain that position, then you should be able to maintain any position you wish.

Of course, for most people, most of the time, a position that is parallel to the direction of movement would be horizontal (not 45 degrees or whatever).

BTW, as a dry suit diver, I do not want to be vertical when ascending so that I can keep my suit at the inflation I want -- likewise descending, I don't want air to balloon my feet. Horizontal is just fine for me. (Diving wet? -- different story!)

 

[TSandM]

I think the frequency with which we talk about trimming out horizontally is directly related to the frequency with which people complain about their buoyancy issues. It IS true that, when your fins are directed at the bottom, kicking pushes you up; and when your kicks push you up, you have to be negative to maintain the same depth. This results in wasted effort and high gas consumption. When you want to move forward, being horizontal is the most efficient position.

We can argue all day as to what the best position for ascents and descents is, but it is certainly true that being horizontal during those times makes it easier to keep track of your buddies and keep a pair or trio together.

Putting in an auger for a class line? I'm sitting on my haunches on the bottom. Swimming down a chute in a cave? My body conforms to the cave topography. Looking under something on the bottom? I'll approach a head down position. It's important to be able to function in three dimensions (and fun, too!) when diving.

But the frequent problem we see is divers who are carrying their weight in the wrong places and using poor posture, who are hanging in the water at a 45 degree angle to the bottom, kicking up silt and challenging their stability by the direction of the force of their kick. Since we see so much of that, we talk about it; thus the consistent discussion of horizontal trim.

 

[diver_doug]

@ OP

I completely agree. Obviously in certain environments (like caves) you need to be horizontal, but in open water you should be in whatever position works best relative to what you're wanting to do. Granted, fish are horizontal. But look at the octopus, squid etc.; they are in every position imaginable.

 

[Diver0001]

Captain -- do you dive dry or wet?

While it is very true that the ideal is to be in the position you WANT to be in, too many people are unable to achieve that. It seems clear to me that being able to maintain a position that is parallel to the direction of movement (which is most efficient from a drag perspective) should be the goal. If you can maintain that position, then you should be able to maintain any position you wish.

Of course, for most people, most of the time, a position that is parallel to the direction of movement would be horizontal (not 45 degrees or whatever).

BTW, as a dry suit diver, I do not want to be vertical when ascending so that I can keep my suit at the inflation I want -- likewise descending, I don't want air to balloon my feet. Horizontal is just fine for me. (Diving wet? -- different story!)

Those are good rationalisations, Peter, and some of them area even applicable in diving.

But the "obsession" with it started in about 1995, well after the advent of the drysuit, when the "basket and blimp" configuration hit the main stream because of DIR.

Death threats have been made over the need to be horizontal or not, especially during ascents and descents. Fortunately, people have calmed down since then but the obsession with being horizontal has become part of diving culture.

R..

 

[Blackwood]

Always horizontal is for dead people.

Why? What if I want to be mummified and stood erect in a museum? Or cut into pieces for the BODIES exhibit in some other pose.

Always horizontal is for divers.

:mooner:

Seriously, though. There are situations wherein I'll go horizontal - most of them environmental.

Generally speaking, if I'm underwater, I prefer to be horizontal as that puts my legs in the right spot to move me in the plane parallel to the surface, while I can ascend and descend (perpendicular to the surface) via buoyancy control.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm obsessed, however.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Those are good rationalisations, Peter, and some of them area even applicable in diving.

But the "obsession" with it started in about 1995, well after the advent of the drysuit, when the "basket and blimp" configuration hit the main stream because of DIR.

Death threats have been made over the need to be horizontal or not, especially during ascents and descents. Fortunately, people have calmed down since then but the obsession with being horizontal has become part of diving culture.

R..

Death threats? Wow ...

I'd heard that the Netherlands DIR crowd took itself too seriously ... but that is a bit over the top.

Worst we ever get here is the occasional arrogant young man who feels the need to snicker at people ... and those types don't usually last more than four or five years before they give up scuba altogether and wander off to be "the best" at some other recreational activity ...

Getting back to the horizontal thing ... unless you're actually moving through the water, it doesn't much matter. One of the most DIR people I know is Uncle Pug ... and he spends most of his dive inverted ... head down, fins up ... taking pictures. When we ascend, he'll often roll over on his back and watch the surface ... like he's laying on a waterbed. I swear, I've heard him snore a few times ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[elmer fudd]

BTW, as a dry suit diver, I do not want to be vertical when ascending so that I can keep my suit at the inflation I want -- likewise descending, I don't want air to balloon my feet. Horizontal is just fine for me. (Diving wet? -- different story!)

I also find horizontal to be more comfortable in a drysuit. When you're vertical the lowest parts of you are squeezed while the upper parts are ballooned.