Wow, that's a lot of weight!!!

[CenTexDivin]

:shakehead
I'm not a seafarmer so I don't see any point to plant my students . The only other reason to overweight (outside seafarm) is working on the bottom, and that's not what rec divers are supposed to do (Remember IRS):no
In my opinion UW photo- and videographers should avoid that too, anyway in most environments.

As much as I wish the people that are in an OW environment for the first time had proper bouyancy skills, it's just not going to happen unless I get a fish in the class. The students check their bouyancy at the surface, but at 15ft, they just need to be in front of me and kneeling on the platform, not flying around trying to descend and overworking themselves. If I was planting them in mud, then I'd be more concerned bout moonlighting underwater.

 

[Rainer]

Or unless you train them well in the pool. I don't remember having to do any skills on the bottom other than fin pivots.

 

[mandvm]

Interesting discussion.

I did my OW certification dives this weekend here in Juneau. I'm 6'0", 218 lbs, and with a full fleece undergarment and drysuit I needed 32 lbs of weight. I didn't feel overweighted, and in fact was a little light towards the end of the dives. Less weight and I would have been too buoyant. Vis was very limited, and the bottom very silty. The instructor initially had us kneel on the bottom in about 25 fsw just to decrease the silting from people trying to hover and stirring up the silt - the tide was running, so the silt would drift off after a few minutes. I had to concentrate on breath control to stay on the bottom with that amount of weight.

Michael

 

[spectrum]

Interesting discussion.

I did my OW certification dives this weekend here in Juneau. I'm 6'0", 218 lbs, and with a full fleece undergarment and drysuit I needed 32 lbs of weight. I didn't feel overweighted, and in fact was a little light towards the end of the dives. Less weight and I would have been too buoyant. Vis was very limited, and the bottom very silty. The instructor initially had us kneel on the bottom in about 25 fsw just to decrease the silting from people trying to hover and stirring up the silt - the tide was running, so the silt would drift off after a few minutes. I had to concentrate on breath control to stay on the bottom with that amount of weight.

Michael

Congratulations, you can count yourself as being in the "if you can dive here then you can dive anywhere" club. What was the water temperature?

That's great that you could sense the verge of being too light at the end of the dive. You might want to add 2 for margin but you're right there. As you relax and get better breathing control you will probably find you can drop a bit from 32 pounds.

Pete

 

[mandvm]

Thanks, Pete.

Water temp was 38 degrees at 40 fsw. Brrrrrr.....

Actually, I was fine except for cold feet (and the initial brain freeze/numb lips). A bit more insulation in the boots, and I'm good to go.

I asked the instructor about adding a couple of pounds, but he felt that I could manage at 32 lbs with a bit of practice.

Michael

 

[spectrum]

Thanks, Pete.

Water temp was 38 degrees at 40 fsw. Brrrrrr.....

Actually, I was fine except for cold feet (and the initial brain freeze/numb lips). A bit more insulation in the boots, and I'm good to go.

I asked the instructor about adding a couple of pounds, but he felt that I could manage at 32 lbs with a bit of practice.

Michael

Thats' about as cold as we got this winter here in Maine, we're just beginning to break 40F at the Buoys.

A hood with a face seal trimmed to overlap your mask skirt by 14/ and a beanie under the hood does wonders for the brain Freeze. Numb lips are the price of admission. After 5 minutes I don't notice it. I do drool when we go out to eat afterwards. :11:

If you managed with the 32 while the adrenaline of your first dives was pumping your instructor makes a good point. Just remember that you are on the edge. Be sure your dump is at the high point when ascending and if you add anything with more loft like heavier socks consider matching it with a little weight.

No doubt practice will broaden the margin and even let you drop some.

Pete

 

[mandvm]

Thanks for the advice, Pete. The beanie is a great idea. I find the lip freeze only affects the way I speak for a while - blbpt sllhlpt lk splrft

I'm really looking forward to some warm water diving - I'll be in Cabo for a couple of days this August, which should be a treat - like diving naked without all that extra insulation!

Michael

 

[Belmont]

I find the lip freeze only affects the way I speak for a while - blbpt sllhlpt lk splrft

That explains the way Sylvester Stallone speaks!!

 

[bikinibottom]

bikinbottom,

When I went through my OW in 02, I was near your exact height and weight w/ a 3/2 tropical full suit. I needed 10-14 pounds of weight depending on if I was in the pool or ocean and depending on my particular gear configuration.

As long as you do your personal bouyancy check and you're good with it, then don't fret. You're probably where you need to be.

BTW, Ben and Jerry's is NOT your friend! Trust me, Karmel Sutra has bitten me quite hard.

Yeah, I learned that Ben & Jerry were no good for me & broke off our torrid love affair after I found them both (THE HORROR!!) hiding in my friend's freezer!! Cheaters! :11: Guess it was a blessing in disguise though, as bikini season is upon us!

As for the weighting, I'm perfectly comfortable with the weight I carry. I can pretty much control my buoyancy with my breathing & didn't really add air to my BC at all. However, I did add air to my BC on one of my check out dives, and that's because I was a tad nervous (overhang environment & depth) & was not paying attention to my breathing. But once we reached depth & I realized I wasn't going to die, I chilled out and dumped the air in my BC before I started floating away.

However, all of the responses to this thread illustrate my initial point and confusion. After reading all of the responses, I'm learning that the configurations have the biggest impact on how much lead a diver carries, but I'm still surprised to find large variances in divers wearing similar set-ups.

 

[spectrum]

I'm learning that the configurations have the biggest impact on how much lead a diver carries, but I'm still surprised to find large variances in divers wearing similar set-ups.

Don't be surprised.

Body size; 1 diver wears a size small and the other an XL (you rarely hear what size here) one has a lot more rubber to sink.

Body mass index; Significant weight modifier once you look as fat, bone and muscle masses

Water; Half the time someone sounds off on what they wear for weight and they don't even cite salt or fresh. Physics says that's a 4-8 pound swing depending on the diver.

Lungs & Conditioning' Different people have different tidal lung volumes and in some cases the difference can be significant. Also the ability to control that volume is not something most people are accustomed to when they begin to dive. If their lungs are compromised from bad habits that will narrow their operating range as well.

It's a wide range of things that influence how much lead a diver needs and over how wide of a range they can control their buoyancy naturally.

Pete