Trying for vertical

[George Price]

Hey Ya'll,
I dive a Zeagle Ranger BCD and have a specific problem I hope one of you have already solved. I'm in a PADI Rescue Diver course which requires my delivering rescue breaths on the surface through a face mask to a purported victim. Every time I get into the PADI approved configuration to do this my back inflate wing tries to push me onto my face. This, of course, wrecks my approach to the victim. Do any of you know how to distribute weight, or any tricks at all, that will get me through this training problem? Thanks

 

[w3dge]

Try not putting so much gas in your BCD. If its not quite so full, you will set easier on the surface.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Hey Ya'll,
I dive a Zeagle Ranger BCD and have a specific problem I hope one of you have already solved. I'm in a PADI Rescue Diver course which requires my delivering rescue breaths on the surface through a face mask to a purported victim. Every time I get into the PADI approved configuration to do this my back inflate wing tries to push me onto my face. This, of course, wrecks my approach to the victim. Do any of you know how to distribute weight, or any tricks at all, that will get me through this training problem? Thanks

I have a back inflate as well and had a similar issue when I first started diving it. My instructor told me to put less air in it and to relax like you are in a big comfy lounge recliner. Arms out like they are resting on armrests and with the right amount of air in the BCD, you will float in a very relaxed position.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to the amount of air you put in it to "sit" comfortably.

 

[CT Sean]

Just to add a bit to what's already stated. If you find you need to put so much air in the BC that you pitch forward, then you are probably carrying too much lead.

 

[boulderjohn]

I owned a Zeagle Ranger for years before I heard someone say that the problem with back inflate BCDs was that they pushed you forward on your face on the surface. That was news to me--I had never noticed it. I first heard it, interestingly enough, when I was taking my Rescue Diver course with it, and I was very decidedly not having that problem. I therefore propose that the problem is not with the BCD, and I believe you have already gotten some good suggestions.

First, you may well be overweighted. If you have a lot of weight in those front pockets, it will pull you forward. When I owned that BCD, I was about 6-0, 200 pounds, and I used about 8 pounds of lead in salt water with a 3mm suit. I needed close to nothing in a pool. How much are you using? Do you have any weight in the trim pockets? (My Ranger did not have trim pockets, so I put lead on the tank cam band. The new Rangers have very, very poorly designed trim pockets that put the lead at about the same height as the front pockets, but at least they are not in front of you.

Next, you should not need to inflate that wing fully unless you are packing a lot of weight. I use a back plate and wing today, and I never had a falling-face-first moment until not long ago. I had been doing some skills in a pool that required me to have some weight belts with lots of weight on them sitting on the bottom. At the end of the class, I had to bring them up, and I did what you are advised not to do--I inflated my wing to give me the extra lift I needed. I got to the surface at pool side and filled my wing to the max so I could stay there while I put the weight belts up on the pool deck. As soon as I pushed away from the edge of the pool, I flopped over on my face.

 

[George Price]

I owned a Zeagle Ranger for years before I heard someone say that the problem with back inflate BCDs was that they pushed you forward on your face on the surface. That was news to me--I had never noticed it. I first heard it, interestingly enough, when I was taking my Rescue Diver course with it, and I was very decidedly not having that problem. I therefore propose that the problem is not with the BCD, and I believe you have already gotten some good suggestions.

First, you may well be overweighted. If you have a lot of weight in those front pockets, it will pull you forward. When I owned that BCD, I was about 6-0, 200 pounds, and I used about 8 pounds of lead in salt water with a 3mm suit. I needed close to nothing in a pool. How much are you using? Do you have any weight in the trim pockets? (My Ranger did not have trim pockets, so I put lead on the tank cam band. The new Rangers have very, very poorly designed trim pockets that put the lead at about the same height as the front pockets, but at least they are not in front of you.

Next, you should not need to inflate that wing fully unless you are packing a lot of weight. I use a back plate and wing today, and I never had a falling-face-first moment until not long ago. I had been doing some skills in a pool that required me to have some weight belts with lots of weight on them sitting on the bottom. At the end of the class, I had to bring them up, and I did what you are advised not to do--I inflated my wing to give me the extra lift I needed. I got to the surface at pool side and filled my wing to the max so I could stay there while I put the weight belts up on the pool deck. As soon as I pushed away from the edge of the pool, I flopped over on my face.

Thank you. I'll practise w/ a lot less weight.

 

[dmaziuk]

Asking out of ignorance, as I never even seen a rescue course up close: do you need to get higher up in the water for the kiss of life? And would that be why you're pumping more air in the wing? -- 'cause I can sort of see that working with a jacket.

 

[boulderjohn]

Asking out of ignorance, as I never even seen a rescue course up close: do you need to get higher up in the water for the kiss of life? And would that be why you're pumping more air in the wing? -- 'cause I can sort of see that working with a jacket.

You begin mouth to mouth with your BCD, but take your equipment (and the victim's equipment) off as you work, and you end up doing most of it with no BCD at all.

 

[dmaziuk]

You begin mouth to mouth with your BCD, but take your equipment (and the victim's equipment) off as you work, and you end up doing most of it with no BCD at all.

I am missing something:

... my delivering rescue breaths on the surface through a face mask to a purported victim. Every time I get into the PADI approved configuration to do this my back inflate wing tries to push me onto my face. This, of course, wrecks my approach to the victim...

I assume this means it is done floating in the water? "With no BCD at all"?

 

[boulderjohn]

I am missing something:


I assume this means it is done floating in the water? "With no BCD at all"?

Are you asking if the diver does rescue breathing on a drowning victim in the water while not wearing any BCD in the rescue class? If so, then, yes, that is what happens. The diver is expected to begin rescue breaths and then tow the victim toward the exit point while removing both the victim's gear and his or her own gear. This is to be done while providing a breath every 5 seconds and never having the victim's airway blocked by a poor head angle. By the time they reach the exit, the only gear the victim and the rescuer are wearing are the exposure suit and their fins.