New diver with questions on one of the certification tasks

[TMHeimer]

Agree. I've gone on many times about how it has always been my worst skill.

 

[Steve_C]

That a skill might be rarely needed does not mean it should not be learned. I have been in pools hundreds if not thousands of times and I have yet to see a lifeguard do CPR. That does not mean they do not need to know how to do CPR. On those rare times when needed it can be life saving.

Integrated weights are no problem. Mine are in pockets. I just take out the weight pocket and put in my wetsuit and then put back.

 

[Darya3018]

I don't disagree with your or Divad, I was not meaning to make the point that a diver, especially a recreation diver, will have a reason to frequently remove their BC, I was just trying to give credence to why the skill of doffing/donning a BC underwater is taught in response to the OP's comment "I know the chances of actually needing to perform this skill in real life are slim" which to me came across as this is not a really important skill because it is unlikely to be used with any regularity.

-Z

I don't find the skill unimportant or anything of that nature. I want to be a responsible and collected diver, so that's why I was concerned in the first place, even though I didn't think it had a very high chance of happening. I apologize if my first post was unclear in any way.

 

[Diver0001]

During my OW class we had to remove the bcd while in mid water and not sitting on the floor of the pool. The key I believe is keeping the bcd close to your body if you hold it out away from you this is where problems will arise.

I myself use a weight belt so I could ditch my whole rig and be neutrally or negatively buoyant. Actually come to think of it I never have done this with my weight belt and will have to ditch my rig one day in the pool to see how my buoyancy is.

I teach this skill while hovering in the OW course as well. It's not really necessary to keep the BCD close to your body if everything is truly neutral to start with. In my case I show the students that they can hold the set out in front of them -- bottom of the tank pointed away from them -- and swim horizontally like that without losing buoyancy control.

The complication is when there is weight in the set. Integrated weights form a major complication for this skill.

R..

 

[Rred]

My first reaction would be "But your BCD has positive buoyancy, when you remove it why would you shoot up?" but that's only because I'm a fossil that still uses a weight BELT not pockets in the BCD. Of course that means juggling the belt the belt off to get the BCD off, because the BCD crotch strap is trapped under the weight belt. Right.

Either way...if you've dropped your tank, BCD, and weight, in whatever assemblage...try to remember that as you ascend you should be able to exhale, spreadeagle, and control your ascent rate to a large extent. I know some shops will teach that, or at least go over the concept, in an AOW class. You might drop by a local shop and ask them, can you join a group class, or have someone (a safety diver) go over that procedure with you.

Anticipating the possible situations, and knowing you will have x, y, z different ways to deal with them, helps ensure that when something goes wrong, you can just "follow the process" and not panic or get in trouble. Not unrational at all.

 

[TMHeimer]

I believe the majority of wetsuit divers around here use both integrated weights and weight belt. I can see how there can be a fair bit of variation per student if doing this skill neutrally. Is this perhaps a reason to do it on the bottom? I'm not just stirring up an old topic, but I didn't see that skill ever done neutrally in my 4 years assisting, though I've read on SB from expert instructors that it is no harder than on the bottom. I am referring to returner saying that integrated weights form a major complication.
I'm certainly no expert, as I have mentioned it's always been my least favourite skill. And unless I'm in my shorty, I always have BC weights and belt.

 

[mmerriman]

Hi everyone! I recently got my AOW certification in the winter, and though I love diving, I always feel cautious towards every dive. I don't have as many dives under my belt as some other experienced divers, but I want to make sure that I would know how to react if a problem arose during a dive and be responsible and calm. One thing I've been confused about is one of the skills that they teach new divers when first getting certified, specifically removing the BCD while underwater. I know the chances of actually needing to perform this skill in real life are slim, but I think it would be a good thing to know still. I feel silly for asking, but wouldn't removing the BCD underwater (while still breathing from the regulator) make a diver shoot up to the surface? The thought of this happening freaks me out, but what if I was entangled in something, and my buddy wasn't able to help me, and I had no other options? I'm sure that doing this skill on the bottom of a pool would be different than in the ocean, or possibly being in mid-water with no surface to sit on.

the trick is to not let go if it...

 

[60plus]

See my posts under the topic "The relief of success"

 

[jgttrey]

The gear removal and replacement skill also teaches/reinforces being able to manage your gear by feel and shows that so long as you hold onto and control your BC, your buoyancy will not change just because it is no longer on your back - so long as you control your breathing. If you can get comfortable with this skill, you will have learned a good lesson about controlling breathing in stressful situations and gained some confidence.

Plus, I have seen folks on real dives remove BCDs to fix cylinder slippage, look at first stage bubbles, or whatever. Personally, I think that it's better practice to have your buddy do this for you, but they were so comfortable with the skill that they didn't think twice about it.

 

[Snoweman]

I would hope that no one would let go of their BCD, whether weight integrated or not. As the tank is attached to the BCD and the second stage is in your mouth, becoming separated would create an instant challenge.