Know Your Kit: Weight Up!
Read on as we touch on how to master the art of getting your buoyancy spot on (Text by Marty McCafferty, EMT-P, DMT, and Patty Seery, MHS, DMT. Images by Stephen frink)
Mastering the art of getting your buoyancy spot on (Text by Marty McCafferty, EMT-P, DMT, and Patty Seery, MHS, DMT. Images by Stephen frink)
Early in dive training, students learn that there are three elements involved in buoyancy control: the buoyancy compensator (BC), weights and lung volume. Although most divers are familiar with the need to be properly weighted, many do not understand all that it entails. Students and experienced divers alike make two common errors when it comes to weighting: diving while overweighted, and failing to adjust the amount of weight used in response to changes in equipment and environment.
DON’T WORK TOO HARD
Improper weighting makes it harder to achieve neutral buoyancy. Many divers who wear too much weight do not even realise they are overweighted. The excess weight means that to achieve neutral buoyancy the diver has to put more air into the BC bladders, which can create a more upright profile in the water. The upright position increases drag when swimming, causing the diver to expend more effort and consume more air. Underweighted divers can also become significantly fatigued while trying to stay down. In addition to increasing breathing-gas consumption, extra exertion can elevate decompression stress.
GET IT RIGHT
You may have heard a diver say, “This is how much weight I always use.” While field testing and prior experience can be useful, this statement shouldn’t be the endpoint of a dialogue about weighting. Proper weighting requires thought and practice, and the amount of weight worn is not fixed. Over the course of our lives, we experience change in muscle mass, body fat and physical fitness. Equipment, including wetsuits, wears out and gets replaced. Dive environments differ. All these factors affect buoyancy and require adjustments to the amount of weight used.
To determine how much weight you need, consider your body weight, the exposure protection you will be wearing, the weight of your equipment and the environment in which you will be diving. Start with weight equivalent to 10 percent of your body weight, which is a good baseline for a 6mm full wetsuit. For a 3mm suit, use 5 percent of your body weight. Remember that these percentages are simply starting points.
Drysuits and thick neoprene necessitate more weight to counter the suits’ buoyancy than do thin neoprene or dive skins. Body composition (muscle density, for example) will influence whether more or less weight is needed. Diving with an aluminium tank requires more weight than diving with a steel tank.
Salt water is denser than fresh water, thus increasing the buoyancy of immersed objects and requiring more weight to descend. Dive training typically begins in freshwater environments such as pools, quarries or lakes, so new divers should consider that even if they are wearing the same exposure protection they will need to add weight for ocean diving. The exact amount of additional weight needed will vary from person to person. Performing a buoyancy check in each situation will help determine the correct amount of weight to add.
SECURE IT
There are several options available for how and where to secure your weights. A weight belt is the most common method of wearing weights; there are belts that accept slide-on weights as well as pocket belts that can accommodate either solid weights or soft weights (bags filled with lead shot). Weight belts are easy to ditch in an emergency as long as you keep other gear clear of the belt. A shoulder harness is sometimes used when the buoyancy of a thermal protective suit requires more weight than can comfortably be worn around the waist. Integrated weight pockets and harness systems offer a couple of advantages over belts: They can be considerably more comfortable, and they offer improved ability to adjust trim. But unlike belts, which have a single point of release, harnesses and integrated systems may have more than one release point. This is crucial information for the diver and dive buddy to discuss prior to diving – and to remember in the event of an emergency. A downside to using weight pockets is that it may be more difficult to add or remove weights if adjustments need to be made.
For the rest of this article (Scuba Diver Issue 7/2015, AA No. 84) and other stories, check out our past issues here or download digital copy here.