What, you want to doff/don my weight belt and BC?!

[Nilzlofgren]

Well, last night was our last class.:depressed: But, I got an 88 on the final exam. In the pool, we did all of our skills, and when it was time to take the weight belt off, I thought "this oughta be fun". So, I thought about everybody's posts, and took my time. I laid the belt out on the pool floor, and slowly rotated around and worked the loose end of the belt through the buckle. It did take two tries, but the instructor motioned me to relax, breath, and take as much time as I needed. Than, when I finished, the instructor shook my hand. Next, I removed the BCD. This was actually the first time I attempted this skill. It wasn't to bad, except that when I went to put my left hand through the opening, I kept getting tangled up in all the straps and things. I finally got it on and received the OK signal, and happily returned the same. I just want to give a big THANKS to everyone for their help.
John

 

[siikik]

Congrats on completing the skills!



Ken

 

[Nilzlofgren]

Congrats on completing the skills!



Ken

Thank you

 

[dwhthediver]

I've posted here about my adventures in scuba class. My issue last night was unexpected. I posted in another forum, about hating my weight belt. So last night in class, the skill was that we doff/don our weight belt, than the same with our BC. Both at the surface, and at depth. When it was my turn, I took the belt off, laid it out and checked that it wasn't twisted, and attempted to put it back on. Well, it kept slipping from my hand. And, when I would roll to face down, it was always inside out, I couldn't thread it through the buckle etc. It took about 5 min and an instructors help to finally get it back on. When it was time to remove my BC, I took it off fine, than couldnt get it back on. I had to leave the group, and collect myself. So now I have to try to complete this skill next week.

With the weight belt, tag end in right hand, place on hip and roll, so you are tummy down, and the belt is supported by your back, not arms, slide it under the tank and buckle it, works like a charm. The BC at depth, straps all the way open, rt arm in first, then grab the bottom of the tank and push it so you can get your left arm in, tighten everything and show hoses, BC at surface, inflate the BC, sit on it, straddling the tank, put your arms in, and slide down, it is now in position, tighten everything and show hoses. Just remember,it is not a race, take your time and you will do fine, and don't be afraid to have the instuctor demonstrate it for you again, it is his job to teach you, and make sure you learn these important skills.

 

[cvrle1]

This was by far the most difficult thing I had to do in my OW dive. Cold water, 5mm gloves and doing it on surface made for very interesting times to say the least. BCD was the easy of the 2. Putting the belt back on was hard. I rolled and had it in the right place and all but because it was cold water and thick gloves, I had heck of a time putting the belt into the buckle. Took me like 10 minutes to do it properly. If I didn't have gloves, it would have been a lot easier!

Glad that was over with. haha

 

[Thalassamania]

With a wire buckle it is really easy to fasten it, even in thick gloves.

 

[cvrle1]

Yeah, we weren't using wire buckle unfortunately. It was looking like the airplane buckle where you have to thread one side through it and then clip it shut. It was pain to say the least

 

[Thalassamania]

You are right, they are a pain, especially when you've never practiced with them while wearing gloves.

You are responsible for the gear that dive with. Ultimately the gear that you use is your choice, not someone else's.

 

[cvrle1]

Well this was during the OW cert so I used gear they gave me. We didn't really have a choice in what we used, other then the mask, snorkel and fins.

Thanks

 

[Diver0001]

I'm not really a big fan of telling people to change their gear in response to a skills problem.

Frankly, a standard buckle isn't hard to deal with. Thal, I know you're trying to tell them that you find a wire buckle easier but step back. They're really not having a gear issue.

R..