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Sundays sea dive brought home a question that I have been pondering a while. I have for a while wondered about the lead I am carrying, is it too much? During our first ascent I launched the smb, having wrapped my arm around the wreck to prevent being dragged up in error, dumped all the gas from the bcd and opened the auto valve. When I was reeling up I was definitely negatively buoyant so that I had to fin to keep ascending, I was in a vertical position. Ian on the other hand was nicely horizontal above me letting the line slip through his fingers. During the second ascent when Ian deployed I dumped the gas again and was positioned below him, sending my bubbles up into his face ocassionally, again having to fin to ascend, I also felt I was pulling at his kit as we were ascending (thanks Ian for letting me do that). So it seems to me on both occasions I was somewhat 'heavy'. I sink reasonably easily at the beginning of the dive.
I do find however when actually finning along a ledge at the end of the dive (say <10m) I have a tendency to go to the surface if I use less weight than my current set-up. When finning at the beginning of the dive I am negative unless I close the auto a few clicks and squirt some air in. I feel as if I could lose some at the beginning but need it at the end. The suit is membrane with a weezle, I dont feel I have floaty feet even though they are neoprene boots. So I am happy I dont have excess gas which makes me think I dont have excess lead.
Answers please as I would dearly like to be just right at the end of the dive as currently I feel if I loose grip of the smb I am going to sink, which of course makes a 6m stop in swell difficult to maintain.
Matt
Sundays sea dive brought home a question that I have been pondering a while. I have for a while wondered about the lead I am carrying, is it too much? During our first ascent I launched the smb, having wrapped my arm around the wreck to prevent being dragged up in error, dumped all the gas from the bcd and opened the auto valve. When I was reeling up I was definitely negatively buoyant so that I had to fin to keep ascending, I was in a vertical position. Ian on the other hand was nicely horizontal above me letting the line slip through his fingers. During the second ascent when Ian deployed I dumped the gas again and was positioned below him, sending my bubbles up into his face ocassionally, again having to fin to ascend, I also felt I was pulling at his kit as we were ascending (thanks Ian for letting me do that). So it seems to me on both occasions I was somewhat 'heavy'. I sink reasonably easily at the beginning of the dive.
I do find however when actually finning along a ledge at the end of the dive (say <10m) I have a tendency to go to the surface if I use less weight than my current set-up. When finning at the beginning of the dive I am negative unless I close the auto a few clicks and squirt some air in. I feel as if I could lose some at the beginning but need it at the end. The suit is membrane with a weezle, I dont feel I have floaty feet even though they are neoprene boots. So I am happy I dont have excess gas which makes me think I dont have excess lead.
Answers please as I would dearly like to be just right at the end of the dive as currently I feel if I loose grip of the smb I am going to sink, which of course makes a 6m stop in swell difficult to maintain.
Matt