cyoung
Registered
Hope this might be of help.
Go to a swimming pool. If the LDS that you took your cert from has one, this would be the best place. Stop by and ask if it would be ok to use the pool for a bouyancy check.
Show up with the same gear that you dive with, i.e., wet/dry suit, BC, etc.
Assuming you are at the LDS, ask them for a tank (aluminum) that has about 1,000 to 1200 psi left in it. Steel is ok, but a little guy like me, zero wgts and stl tank and I sink like a rock.
Outside the LDS, rent a tank, slow bleed it to 1,000 to 1200 psi.
OVER WIEGHT yourself by 10#, this extra 10# needs to easily accessible for discarding.
Go to the deep end. Deflate, as you sink, lean a little to the right, this helps the air to migrate to the left top and out.
Settle on the bottom, face down, slow, normal breathing; you should be nose down on the concrete. BC completly empty. Avoid large deep breaths, relax -- slow and normal.
Take off 2#, slow normal breathing. Are you still nose down, or did you rise a little.
Continue reducing in 1 or 2# increments until you just hoover a few inches above the concrete.
Hoovering in this casel, or what we call a fin pivot, for bouyancy is not really hoovering.
Fin tips will remain in light contact with the concrete, as you reduce your weight you should strive to reach the optimum wieght that will allow you to just hoover above the bottom a few inches. Once you think you've achieved this, place your hands at your navel, relax, slow even breathing AVOID DEEP BREATHES, with each breath you should rise and fall slightly, but never (upper body) touch the bottom. Do this for a few minutes, to make sure you are consistant.
Almost done. A deep breath could cause you to rise, mm, to much at the wrong time.
Add about 2 or 3#, now settle on you knees, take a really deep breath. If you took a sudden rise, say more than a foot, add a 1 or 2#, less that a foot you should be ok.
Getting closer. BC tweeking, this is done with small amounts of air, and wait a minute or so for it to take affect. If you add, even small amounts, to rapidly, without delays, the accumalated effect may shoot you to the surface, and that's not what you want.
Don't forget to check your remaining gas available.
Start tweeking your bc with gas, small amounts added, until your knees lift off the bottom, add just a little more so that you (knees) will be up off the bottom. Now, your slightly off the bottom (about 2 feet), cross your legs (if you can, like sitting on the floor) hold em with your right hand, left hand on the inflator, you may have a tendency to sink, but NOT RISE and thats ok. Keep tweeking the inflator until, with normal breathing, you just hoover (total body now) about a foot or two above the bottom.
By now you should be getting LOW on air, maybe around 500 or 600#, your ok cause your in a pool.
Now for the finally. Sudden deep breaths will cause you to rise, sometimes uncontrollably. As soon as you feel yourself rise, exhale, followed by a shallower breath.
At this point your wgts should be pretty close to your neutral bouyancy wgt. You must be a little heavy at the end of your dive to make your safety stop.
Dump a small amount of air, you should sink a little, take a deep breath. If rose a lot, dump some more air, until you only rise a foot or so. Now, to achieve this; you may end up dumping all the gas from your BC, and having to add a small amount of wgt to counter a large rise problem (little lungs vs large lungs).
So now you are probably below 500# of gas. As you know, you don't want to end a dive with less that 800 - 1,000 psi (preferably 1,000). There will be a small amount of added wgt factor with your remaining gas at the end of your dive
The pool is fresh water, salt water you'll need to add 5# or more depending on your size.
I think by now you figured out this little process and how it works.
Most divers will be a little overwieght, better to be a little over than be light at the end of the dive. But we've learned, over time, what works best for us.
Overwieght, what works for one may not work for another. Overwieght can be just as dangerous as underweight.
Overweight, you could sink uncontrollably and no amount of inflation will check your descent, and you have to ditch wgts, and then the possible problem of a rapid uncontrolled ascent.
Underweight, best case is you can't get under the surface, worst case is your light at the end of the dive, and for some reason you suddenly start rising and can't stop it.
Bouyancy is important, take the time to work on it. And I hope this of help to you.
Carl
Go to a swimming pool. If the LDS that you took your cert from has one, this would be the best place. Stop by and ask if it would be ok to use the pool for a bouyancy check.
Show up with the same gear that you dive with, i.e., wet/dry suit, BC, etc.
Assuming you are at the LDS, ask them for a tank (aluminum) that has about 1,000 to 1200 psi left in it. Steel is ok, but a little guy like me, zero wgts and stl tank and I sink like a rock.
Outside the LDS, rent a tank, slow bleed it to 1,000 to 1200 psi.
OVER WIEGHT yourself by 10#, this extra 10# needs to easily accessible for discarding.
Go to the deep end. Deflate, as you sink, lean a little to the right, this helps the air to migrate to the left top and out.
Settle on the bottom, face down, slow, normal breathing; you should be nose down on the concrete. BC completly empty. Avoid large deep breaths, relax -- slow and normal.
Take off 2#, slow normal breathing. Are you still nose down, or did you rise a little.
Continue reducing in 1 or 2# increments until you just hoover a few inches above the concrete.
Hoovering in this casel, or what we call a fin pivot, for bouyancy is not really hoovering.
Fin tips will remain in light contact with the concrete, as you reduce your weight you should strive to reach the optimum wieght that will allow you to just hoover above the bottom a few inches. Once you think you've achieved this, place your hands at your navel, relax, slow even breathing AVOID DEEP BREATHES, with each breath you should rise and fall slightly, but never (upper body) touch the bottom. Do this for a few minutes, to make sure you are consistant.
Almost done. A deep breath could cause you to rise, mm, to much at the wrong time.
Add about 2 or 3#, now settle on you knees, take a really deep breath. If you took a sudden rise, say more than a foot, add a 1 or 2#, less that a foot you should be ok.
Getting closer. BC tweeking, this is done with small amounts of air, and wait a minute or so for it to take affect. If you add, even small amounts, to rapidly, without delays, the accumalated effect may shoot you to the surface, and that's not what you want.
Don't forget to check your remaining gas available.
Start tweeking your bc with gas, small amounts added, until your knees lift off the bottom, add just a little more so that you (knees) will be up off the bottom. Now, your slightly off the bottom (about 2 feet), cross your legs (if you can, like sitting on the floor) hold em with your right hand, left hand on the inflator, you may have a tendency to sink, but NOT RISE and thats ok. Keep tweeking the inflator until, with normal breathing, you just hoover (total body now) about a foot or two above the bottom.
By now you should be getting LOW on air, maybe around 500 or 600#, your ok cause your in a pool.
Now for the finally. Sudden deep breaths will cause you to rise, sometimes uncontrollably. As soon as you feel yourself rise, exhale, followed by a shallower breath.
At this point your wgts should be pretty close to your neutral bouyancy wgt. You must be a little heavy at the end of your dive to make your safety stop.
Dump a small amount of air, you should sink a little, take a deep breath. If rose a lot, dump some more air, until you only rise a foot or so. Now, to achieve this; you may end up dumping all the gas from your BC, and having to add a small amount of wgt to counter a large rise problem (little lungs vs large lungs).
So now you are probably below 500# of gas. As you know, you don't want to end a dive with less that 800 - 1,000 psi (preferably 1,000). There will be a small amount of added wgt factor with your remaining gas at the end of your dive
The pool is fresh water, salt water you'll need to add 5# or more depending on your size.
I think by now you figured out this little process and how it works.
Most divers will be a little overwieght, better to be a little over than be light at the end of the dive. But we've learned, over time, what works best for us.
Overwieght, what works for one may not work for another. Overwieght can be just as dangerous as underweight.
Overweight, you could sink uncontrollably and no amount of inflation will check your descent, and you have to ditch wgts, and then the possible problem of a rapid uncontrolled ascent.
Underweight, best case is you can't get under the surface, worst case is your light at the end of the dive, and for some reason you suddenly start rising and can't stop it.
Bouyancy is important, take the time to work on it. And I hope this of help to you.
Carl
