I can't sink!

[salmon_ella]

110 lbs is not much to personally weigh, I’m betting that farmer John is really buoyant... 14 mil on your core is a lot, and girls don’t usually need to double up in the thigh area, we usually have some natural insulation there. If you can try a 7mm full wetsuit with an integrated hood and 5 mil vest (if needed) or hooded vest.

Maybe your BC is really floaty too. Steel tanks, a steel backplate and wing, there are ways to drop lead...

I was warm as long as we were swimming, I froze my butt off as soon as we stopped >< I have a feeling that drysuit training is in my future.

 

[salmon_ella]

I jump in the pool at my sister's house. My brother-in-law can sit on the bottom by just exhaling. I need 2 lbs just to get off the surface. So yes, everybody is different and women are different than men - no comparison. And I agree with northernone, 10% doesn't work for me - 120 lbs, 3mm wetsuit and I dive with 10 lbs, although it's a bit more than I really need - I can get by with 8lbs.

And if you can't get down and stay down without help, you need more weight.

I can stay down just fine, it's those first maybe five feet that's the issue.

 

[salmon_ella]

My (inexperienced) instinct is that you only need enough lift to overcome the net negative buoyancy at your heaviest time. That's when you have 4.8 lbs. of air in your tank, at the beginning of the dive. Are you doing a weight check with a full breath of air at the surface?

We weight checked by exhaling to sink in about waist deep water while horizontal. Basically they pushed us under and if we floated back up, more weight. (Yes, we were breathing through the regulator at the time xD )

 

[aquacat8]

So it’s not kicking up then

 

[CathyE]

I float in fresh water without trying. What has helped me the most is time. I used to have trouble with the first 15 or so feet, so for a while I hooked my leg and my husband pulled me down until I started to sink. I don't need to do that anymore.
I held my breath more than I thought, my wetsuit was new and buoyant, I kicked to try and control my descent and only pushed myself back to the surface.
The wetsuit is old now, and I try to be more aware of my breathing.
In salt water, 3mm full wetsuit, and al80 tank I usually carry about 15 lbs. In fresh water and a new 7mm suit I have about 19 lbs. I am also wayyy larger at +/- 240 lbs.
Diving down south DMs kept stopping me and adding more and more lead, it was easier and faster for them. At one point I was up to about 27 lbs (in salt water).
I found a really good Peak Performance Buoyancy instructor and learned to look inward, it has made a world of difference.

 

[NorCalDM]

I can stay down just fine, it's those first maybe five feet that's the issue.

If you can stay down with no issues your weight is probably ok the first few feet in a thick wetsuit are the hardest until the suit starts to compress if you breathe out and you sink you’re overweighted. I have students all the time just breathe out and think they are going to sink but you have to do something to get yourself moving with a thick wetsuit. I push up with my hands to get myself going then roll over and kick down but you have to make sure all the air is out of your BC before you roll.

 

[Brian Khan18]

I had a similar problem, I would have to swim down because I wouldn’t sink. On one of my open water dives, I floated up to the surface and the instructor said to me very sharply, “You don’t need any more weight if you sank”. On my OW I also had to wear 28 lbs of weight in a farmer John 7mm hood wetsuit and boots.

Just keep diving, as you gain expirence and gain better control of your buoyancy and can adjust your weight accordingly.

 

[DanielRJones]

With a tank with 40bar go in the water and add weight till you are at eye level in the water with a full breath.

 

[dmaziuk]

My certified friend suggested "dolphin diving" headfirst from the surface but I have heard that isn't the ideal way to do it.

Why not? Dolphins do it all the time.

How well does you suit fit? Last time I wore a 7 mil I had an air bubble around my midsection and needed to pull on the neck seal to let it out before I could even dolphin-dive.

 

[Reelman1]

How well does you suit fit? Last time I wore a 7 mil I had an air bubble around my midsection and needed to pull on the neck seal to let it out before I could even dolphin-dive.

A LOT of air can be trapped in the suit at the beginning of a dive...as stated, try pulling on the neck seal to flood the suit... it can make a substantial difference!