How much weight do I need in salt water if I weigh 205lbs. and wearing a spring suit (long sleaves/short legs 3mil?

On 30 Apr 2007 15:25:01 -0700, -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com>
wrote:
> I did something like that years ago.
>
> Only real difference is that I used typical groupings instead of
> individual pieces.

I can see a certain logic in that since one could argue that certain
combinations don't get used together very much... I think I would
still prefer it on a per equipment piece basis... That way, for the
dive where you end up with 2 AL80s for back gas and 2 AL80s for
stages, you just multiply the single AL80 extra weight by 4... Having
to substitute steel 72s at the last minute for a couple of the tanks
just ends up still being easy to handle even if you hadn't preplanned
for that particular gear configuration...

On the other hand, if you are needing to measure the negative buoyancy
of a particular item, a 2-liter soda bottle works pretty good... Or
perhaps multiple 2-liter bottles if the item is quite a bit negatively
buoyant... Tie a string from the item to the top of the bottle... The
bottle will be inverted in the water with the cap on it... Keep adding
water until the bottle is completely submerged just below the surface
of the water... Remove the bottle from the water and measure that
amount of water that you had to add... Figure on 1g per cc of water...
Fill the bottle all the way to the top and measure how many cc's that
it takes to fill it... Although they are quoted as 2-liter bottles,
they hold a bit more since there is an air space at the top of the
bottles when "full"... 1 cc = 1 ml, thus 2 liters = 2,000 cc's +
whatever headspace... The 2 liter PET bottles are so light that their
weight can basically be ignored... Especially since you are not going
to calculate the buoyancy of most of your gear in fractional pounds
anyway... Spend a little bit of time and make accurate measurements on
your gear and the only thing that might change over the years is your
own personal buoyancy and perhaps your wetsuit as it starts getting
worn out from neoprene compression over the years of deep dives...

"nitespark" <nitespark@cox.net> wrote in message
news:lPsZh.4539$ZD3.1557@newsfe01.lga...
> CB wrote:
>> "CB" <CB@PrayForMe.com> wrote in message
>> news:4633fa4a$0$9885$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>>
>>>How much weight do I need in salt water if I weigh 205lbs. and wearing a
>>>spring suit (long sleaves/short legs 3mil?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> I ended up with 17.3 lbs. and it was ok. I had to dump absolutely all gas
>> from my BC to get down passed 20 feet but after that sunk like a rock.
>>
>> I should say that most of my 205 lbs. is muscle and not from being 'big
>> boned'...(at the risk of getting homos all excited).
> This leads me to ask, and perhaps I am reading something into your
> message. Did you have to work at it to get to 20 ft, or did you drop
> immediately once you dumped your BC? If you had to struggle, then how was
> your buoyancy at the end of the dive? Could you easily maintain neutral
> buoyancy at 15-20 ft for you safety stop?

Max depth was 85ft, I started up at 500 lbs (EAN) and stopped at 20ft. for 3
minutes. It was easy to maintain depth with breathing...and the marker
and/or the anchor line. I must say that I had a speargun, knife and catch
ring, all added up to maybe 3lbs. in the wa'da.

There was no struggle getting down. I bailed, sank slowly, flipped and
headed straight down after completely submerged.

We did the USS Mindanao, off Daytona Beach. Saw some big Goliath Grouper,
3-400 lbs., a turtle, millions of fee'ish but only got a 17 lb. Yellow Jack
and a 7 lb. Amber Jack. One might say it was a 'hundred dollar Jack' with
all the gas we used.

Check it out at... alt.binaries.monster-movies in "Monster of the Sea"

Mikey sexually stimulated me with:

> I have to wonder if perhaps the dive shops don't really go much into
> proper weighting these days... Kaitlyn finished up her open water
> dives for her SSI certification this weekend and this was one of the
> things that I noticed...

so kaitlyn finished up her cert? well, for a reward, i'll let her butt
fuck me. i usually only let little boys do it, but for her, i'll make an
exception. maybe she can put her snorkel between her legs so that i can
pretend that she's a little boy?


uh oh, i creamed my keeeeyyyyybbboooaarrrd agggaaaiinnn.

CB wrote:
> "nitespark" <nitespark@cox.net> wrote in message

>
> Max depth was 85ft, I started up at 500 lbs (EAN) and stopped at 20ft. for 3
> minutes. It was easy to maintain depth with breathing...and the marker
> and/or the anchor line. I must say that I had a speargun, knife and catch
> ring, all added up to maybe 3lbs. in the wa'da.
>
> There was no struggle getting down. I bailed, sank slowly, flipped and
> headed straight down after completely submerged.
>

Then it sounds like you were properly weighted.

Just be aware, on future dives, if you use a different wetsuit, such as
thicker suit, full length suit, farmer john style, or go with a drysuit,
it will change your buoyancy.

Also, you can probably drop 5-6 lbs if you dive the same configuration
in fresh water.

Also, you didn't mention to type tank you were using, but a typical Al80
will be 1-2lbs positive at the end of a dive. A steel tank (I use HP
100's) will be negative.

"Grumman-581" <grumman581@DIE-SPAMMER-SCUM-gmail.com> wrote in message
news:uaec33hugd7seq2gfe72qjhfntglhpusof@4ax.com...
<snip>

> It was kind of funny to watch the students trying to put on their
> jacket style BCs in the water for one of the skill tests... They would
> pump their BC completely full of air and then to wiggle around and get
> both arms in it... What with all the dangling hoses and straps and the
> fact that the BC was way up on the surface, this ended up looking like
> some sort of contortion contest...

I took two separate scuba classes: once when I was in college just for fun (not for certification
because I couldn't afford the check out dives at the time) and once a few years after college (for
certification). I learned my favorite "in-water" equipment don in the first class. Basically, it
involves filling the BC with just enough air to keep it floating. Then, I sit on it, find the arm
holes, and slide in.

On Tue, 01 May 2007 13:20:16 GMT, "Chris Guynn"
<chris.guynn@gmail.com> wrote:
> I took two separate scuba classes: once when I
> was in college just for fun (not for certification
> because I couldn't afford the check out dives at
> the time) and once a few years after college (for
> certification). I learned my favorite "in-water"
> equipment don in the first class. Basically, it
> involves filling the BC with just enough air to
> keep it floating. Then, I sit on it, find the arm
> holes, and slide in.

I'm kind of surprised that apparently they didn't teach them the
overhead water don of the tank... The one where you lay the BC out in
front of you with the valve pointing towards you and then dive under
it and flip it over you at the same time... Of course, it probably
works better when you have less air than I saw all of them with in
their BCs...

Another thing that I noticed is that they didn't put their reg in
their mouth until after they had the BC on and hooked up... The of
course results in them trying to keep their head above the water while
fighting with an overinflated BC...

Oh well... The end result is that they all get their C-cards and they
can now go about the process of learning how to *really* dive...

One thing that was a bit funny there was that Kaitlyn was wearing a
7mm FJ wetsuit... During the snorkeling 'dive', she was basically
floating with her chest out of the water since she hadn't worn her
weight belt... When it got time for her to flip and dive down, all
that happened was that she went inverted, tried to go under, and then
popped back to the surface... Oh well... Unlike a lot of the other
divers there, at least she was warm...

"Grumman-581" <grumman581@DIE-SPAMMER-SCUM-gmail.com> wrote in message
news:oc1f33p2gprbm5vcjlm79gvvqsitrjd2bh@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 01 May 2007 13:20:16 GMT, "Chris Guynn"
> <chris.guynn@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I took two separate scuba classes: once when I
> > was in college just for fun (not for certification
> > because I couldn't afford the check out dives at
> > the time) and once a few years after college (for
> > certification). I learned my favorite "in-water"
> > equipment don in the first class. Basically, it
> > involves filling the BC with just enough air to
> > keep it floating. Then, I sit on it, find the arm
> > holes, and slide in.
>
> I'm kind of surprised that apparently they didn't teach them the
> overhead water don of the tank... The one where you lay the BC out in
> front of you with the valve pointing towards you and then dive under
> it and flip it over you at the same time... Of course, it probably
> works better when you have less air than I saw all of them with in
> their BCs...

I never liked that one. It always took me two tries to be be able to get it so that the hoses were
all in the right place. I like my method because it allows me to use the bouyancy in the BC to keep
my head above water until I've got the BC on. It's pretty simple to do to and you don't have to
worry about the routing of the hoses. It's the easiest way I've tried to don my gear at the
surface. On the other hand, it doesn't really work that well at depth, so I'll do the overhead don
then.

> Another thing that I noticed is that they didn't put their reg in
> their mouth until after they had the BC on and hooked up... The of
> course results in them trying to keep their head above the water while
> fighting with an overinflated BC...
>
> Oh well... The end result is that they all get their C-cards and they
> can now go about the process of learning how to *really* dive...

I'll be glad when I can start that process.

So far, my experience has been way more limited than I would prefer.

> One thing that was a bit funny there was that Kaitlyn was wearing a
> 7mm FJ wetsuit... During the snorkeling 'dive', she was basically
> floating with her chest out of the water since she hadn't worn her
> weight belt... When it got time for her to flip and dive down, all
> that happened was that she went inverted, tried to go under, and then
> popped back to the surface... Oh well... Unlike a lot of the other
> divers there, at least she was warm...

Janeen has had that problem before.

As a matter of fact, for her second dive (Negril, Jamaica) she was underweighted. At the time,
neither of us was certified (diving on "resort course" certs) so we really didn't have much of an
idea what was going on. Even with her BC completely empty, she spent the entire dive at 45 degrees
kicking to simultaneously keep up and stay down. The next day she told the people that she needed
more weight and they didn't believe her. We argued with them for about 15 minutes before they gave
her a weight belt with more weight. She enjoyed that third dive much better than the previous one.

"nitespark" <nitespark@cox.net> wrote in message
news:46EZh.24095$OT4.9198@newsfe19.lga...
> CB wrote:
>> "nitespark" <nitespark@cox.net> wrote in message
>
>>
>> Max depth was 85ft, I started up at 500 lbs (EAN) and stopped at 20ft.
>> for 3 minutes. It was easy to maintain depth with breathing...and the
>> marker and/or the anchor line. I must say that I had a speargun, knife
>> and catch ring, all added up to maybe 3lbs. in the wa'da.
>>
>> There was no struggle getting down. I bailed, sank slowly, flipped and
>> headed straight down after completely submerged.
>>
>
> Then it sounds like you were properly weighted.
>
> Just be aware, on future dives, if you use a different wetsuit, such as
> thicker suit, full length suit, farmer john style, or go with a drysuit,
> it will change your buoyancy.
>
> Also, you can probably drop 5-6 lbs if you dive the same configuration in
> fresh water.

The only time I ever dove fresh water was in Ponce or Blue Springs...I
ferget. I had to turn my flash light off to see where the entrance of the
spring was, dumb, dumb dumb.

>
> Also, you didn't mention to type tank you were using, but a typical Al80

AL80s NITROX 40%

> will be 1-2lbs positive at the end of a dive. A steel tank (I use HP
> 100's) will be negative.

It's probably a good thing the tank weighs a few pounds more on empty. It
helps to stabilize buoyancy if one is a bit light on the front end of the
dive.

"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> wrote in message
news:1178124086.960903.4390@y5g2000hsa.googlegroup s.com...
> On May 2, 9:08 am, "CB" <C...@PrayForMe.com> wrote:
>> "nitespark" <nitesp...@cox.net> wrote in message
>
>> It's probably a good thing the tank weighs a few pounds more on empty. It
>> helps to stabilize buoyancy if one is a bit light on the front end of the
>> dive.
>
> Huh?
>
> The steel tank doesn't weigh more when empty. It may still be
> negative, but it's less negative. All that air you breathe and exhale
> into the water weighs something.
>

Read my post again, you snipped the part were I said AL80s, not steel

"Also, you didn't mention to type tank you were using, but a typical Al80
will be 1-2lbs positive at the end of a dive. A steel tank (I use HP
100's) will be negative."
--nitespark

Greg Mossman wrote:
> On May 2, 9:08 am, "CB" <C...@PrayForMe.com> wrote:
>
>>"nitespark" <nitesp...@cox.net> wrote in message
>
>
>>It's probably a good thing the tank weighs a few pounds more on empty. It
>>helps to stabilize buoyancy if one is a bit light on the front end of the
>>dive.
>
>
> Huh?
>
> The steel tank doesn't weigh more when empty. It may still be
> negative, but it's less negative. All that air you breathe and exhale
> into the water weighs something.
>
An empty steel tank will weigh more than an empty aluminum tank of
comparable or near comparable capacities. Sorry I didn't put it in
"lawyerese".