Ultimate Buoyancy & Steely Determination

Published in AB Vol.42, No.67 (Jun. 00)

Does your inability to drop lead from your belt have you down? (Or, should I say, not down?) Are you tired of ending your dive at 35 minutes when your one-lunged buddy still has 1500 psi at the end of your dive? The answer to gaining ultimate buoyancy control is the same answer that Heifetz gave when a tourist happened to stop him on the streets of New York and asked “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice!” Every dive should start with a buoyancy check. Not necessarily the kind you did during your open water certification: you know, a 20 minute ordeal featuring an inner tube filled with a bathyscaph’s worth of ballast, with two instructors and a divemaster tying one and two pound weights to every D-ring available. But, how about a casual weight check?

Take a normal breath, hold it, and let all the air out of your BC (and dry-suit if you’re lucky enough to have one!). Do you bob hopelessly on the surface like a lobster pot buoy? Do you go down like a depth charge? Or, have you found buoyancy nirvana: you float at eye level? Eye Level! EYE, not chin, neck or collar-bone. No? Then do something about it! If you’re a lobster buoy or a depth charge, adjust your weight immediately! Don’t do the dive until you have dropped or added an appropriate amount. You will be so much happier, and so will your buddy. You will use less air, kick less hard, and more easily maintain neutral buoyancy throughout the dive. If its close – make a mental note – and adjust your weighting by a couple of pounds for the next dive, and check it again. And write it all down in your log! Write down what you wore, and how much lead you used. Write down where on your body you wore it!

Experiment with ankle weights, tank weights, moving the weight to the back or front of the belt. Review your notes and see if next time you can be even more comfortable! And, once you are in that habit, and you have dropped some lead – here’s another trick: Try steel tanks! Yeah, they cost a bit more than aluminum tanks, but so what? We’re talking about feeding our dive habit here, not feeding the family! A pickup truck costs a bit more than a bicycle, but I don’t see you pulling up to Back Beach on a Schwinn! You love diving and you want it to be as fun and easy as it can be? Go for the steel.

Here’s what will happen, right away: You will drop 5 – 8 pounds from your weight belt, immediately. You will have 25 to 50% more air with you on every dive. Your buoyancy will be more stable at the end of every dive. When I switched from my aluminum 80s to steel 120s in December, all of the above happened for me on my first dive! After 9 years of 45 minute dives, I’m getting 72 and 79 minute dives, with plenty of air to spare! Steel tanks do have a couple of downsides. They are heavier than aluminum, and my 120s are just enough taller than 80s, that carrying them by the valve is just a bit more uncomfortable. But, those long dives and no low back ache from a monstrous weight belt more than make up for the shortcomings.

So – consider a buoyancy tune up – on every dive. Can’t get around to it? Keep forgetting? You can get started by signing up for a PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Clinic. The critters on the bottom will thank you. Your buddy will thank you. And while you’re at it, rent or borrow a steel tank. You’ll thank me!

Rob Falk

	Ultimate Buoyancy & Steely Determination
Published in AB Vol.42, No.67 (Jun. 00) Does your inability to drop lead from your belt have you down? (Or, should I say, not down?) Are you tired of ending your dive at 35 minutes when your one-lunged buddy still has 1500 psi at the end of your dive? The answer to gaining ultimate buoyancy control is the same answer that Heifetz gave when a tourist happened to stop him on the streets of New York and asked “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice!” Every dive should start with a buoyancy check. Not necessarily the kind you did during your open water certification: you know, a 20 minute ordeal featuring an inner tube filled with a bathyscaph’s worth of ballast, with two instructors and a divemaster tying one and two pound weights to every D-ring available. But, how about a casual weight check? Take a normal breath, hold it, and let all the air out of your BC (and dry-suit if you’re lucky enough to have one!). Do you bob hopelessly on the surface like a lobster pot buoy? Do you go down like a depth charge? Or, have you found buoyancy nirvana: you float at eye level? Eye Level! EYE, not chin, neck or collar-bone. No? Then do something about it! If you’re a lobster buoy or a depth charge, adjust your weight immediately! Don’t do the dive until you have dropped or added an appropriate amount. You will be so much happier, and so will your buddy. You will use less air, kick less hard, and more easily maintain neutral buoyancy throughout the dive. If its close – make a mental note – and adjust your weighting by a couple of pounds for the next dive, and check it again. And write it all down in your log! Write down what you wore, and how much lead you used. Write down where on your body you wore it! Experiment with ankle weights, tank weights, moving the weight to the back or front of the belt. Review your notes and see if next time you can be even more comfortable! And, once you are in that habit, and you have dropped some lead – here’s another trick: Try steel tanks! Yeah, they cost a bit more than aluminum tanks, but so what? We’re talking about feeding our dive habit here, not feeding the family! A pickup truck costs a bit more than a bicycle, but I don’t see you pulling up to Back Beach on a Schwinn! You love diving and you want it to be as fun and easy as it can be? Go for the steel. Here’s what will happen, right away: You will drop 5 – 8 pounds from your weight belt, immediately. You will have 25 to 50% more air with you on every dive. Your buoyancy will be more stable at the end of every dive. When I switched from my aluminum 80s to steel 120s in December, all of the above happened for me on my first dive! After 9 years of 45 minute dives, I’m getting 72 and 79 minute dives, with plenty of air to spare! Steel tanks do have a couple of downsides. They are heavier than aluminum, and my 120s are just enough taller than 80s, that carrying them by the valve is just a bit more uncomfortable. But, those long dives and no low back ache from a monstrous weight belt more than make up for the shortcomings. So – consider a buoyancy tune up – on every dive. Can’t get around to it? Keep forgetting? You can get started by signing up for a PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Clinic. The critters on the bottom will thank you. Your buddy will thank you. And while you’re at it, rent or borrow a steel tank. You’ll thank me! Rob Falk