My venture into Sidemount.

[noreastDIVER84]

You may be right . . . is 1/2" enough? I don't know how it happened.

It may very well be enough to cause your list, but since I am no expert on this, we will have to wait until Rob checks back in with his input.

 

[Jax]

I'm feeling like all sorts of a loser!!

If the shoulder straps are even, the chest strap is off level; one side is 1/4" higher than the other. :w-t-f:

Am I losing my mind?

 

[noreastDIVER84]

I'm feeling like all sorts of a loser!!

If the shoulder straps are even, the chest strap is off level; one side is 1/4" higher than the other. :w-t-f:

Am I losing my mind?

Welcome to the madness that is fine tuning a sidemount rig.

 

[hudson]

Heh, don't worry about it too much.. I really have no idea if my shoulder straps are within 1/2"s or not. It's not guaranteed that you won't roll if everything is equal on both sides... I had the same issue actually and I just fixed it it by moving my weights off the one side on my belt, that should be enough.

Bigger issue is trimming your tanks.

 

[Jax]

Heh, don't worry about it too much.. I really have no idea if my shoulder straps are within 1/2"s or not. It's not guaranteed that you won't roll if everything is equal on both sides... I had the same issue actually and I just fixed it it by moving my weights off the one side on my belt, that should be enough.

Bigger issue is trimming your tanks.

Would I be a bad girl if I said I was going to let that be Rob's problem?

I just cannot understand how I can change the length of the straps, and suddenly I list or yaw left.

 

[shoredivr]

:shocked2: Rob's going to tie knots in my brand new bungees?
:joke:

Yep. He did the same to mine.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Jax, measure the distance of the dog houses from the harness. My guess is your left one is closer to the harness than your right one. Make them even and the tanks will even out as well. Also, the tank trim is an easy fix...once we get rid of those new bungees...

 

[Brian Kakuk]

Ugh. I'm still listing (yawing?) to the left. And I forgot the camera.

The ankle weights were wrapped tightly on the upper D-ring, so it wasn't them.

I took off the bungees, and it seemed I was straight . . . not sure I gave it enough time, though, because I didn't return to the deep end of the pool.

I took off everything and examined the bungees. They are equal length and seem equally strong. I switched them. I still list left.

I took off everything again. I checked all the straps, etc, to ensure everything is equal. It is. I took off everything extraneous. Back in, and I still list left.

BTW - I test the list by hanging 'dead' in the water.

Finally, I took the tanks off and switched them. I still list left.

The only thing left is I screwed something up with the rig. The only thing I've done lately is lengthen the shoulder straps. Grrrr-r-r-r-r-r-r.

Hi Jax,
If you are using a Nomad type system, more than likely the problem is air trapping on the right side of the wing. The Nomad is what I call a "captured" wing, meaning that the BCD is trapped between the diver and the harness. Most off the rack side mount systems are captured wings with the exception of the Armadillo. One thing that is common among the captured wing harnesses is that air can become trapped (usually on the right hand side) due to two reasons:
1. The BCD bladder becomes pinched within the codura cover right behind the neck, and it does not allow air to move easily back and forth between the right and left side. Have your dive buddy swim behind you and see if the right side of the wing is more inflated that the left. If this is the case, then you will need to open up the BCD codura cover (long zipper at the top), even out the urathane bladder and remove all creases or pinched areas behind the neck. Then re-close the codura cover once again. Ensure that the wing is pulled all the way up on the harness shoulder straps and is not caught on the belt slides at the shoulders...this can also cause the top of the BCD to bunch up and restrict air flow. I always make sure my buddies wings are pulled up just after they put on thier harnesses if they dive a Nomad or other captured wing system.
2. If the shoulder straps are too tight, then they may also restrict air flow between the two sides. If air trapping is in fact the issue, you might consider loosening the shoulder straps just a bit to allow air flow. Some explorers prefer their harness a little bit loose so they can move it around when snagged in tight places.

I hope this helps a little Jax. This is a common problem with captured wing harnesses.

Safe Diving,

Brian

 

[ucfdiver]

2. If the shoulder straps are too tight, then they may also restrict air flow between the two sides. If air trapping is in fact the issue, you might consider loosening the shoulder straps just a bit to allow air flow. Some explorers prefer their harness a little bit loose so they can move it around when snagged in tight places.

Dang, I never thought of that! Is there a better solution?

BTW, thank you for posting here. We have only one or two side mount guys giving quality advice, I look forward to seeing more from you!

 

[Jax]

Jax, measure the distance of the dog houses from the harness. My guess is your left one is closer to the harness than your right one. Make them even and the tanks will even out as well. Also, the tank trim is an easy fix...once we get rid of those new bungees...

:w-t-f: Sprechen Sie Englisch?

What's a doghouse?

Also, the left shoulder strap was a 1/2" longer than the right.

Last night, I wrestled again with the straps. Both are within 1/8" of each other. Here's the latest pic.

The uh, 'trim weights' are 1.4lbs apiece. I'm waiting for the video of the 'list' or ' yaw' to load.

:huh: What is the correct term, please? List? or yaw?