Issues with boyancey

Ok, this is the craziest thing, I think i've run into.

I am a novice just starting out in diving, (I acutally haven't
completed my course yet )

I have this crazy problem where I can't float like "normal" people.
This isn't a problem of me being so stupid that I just don't get how to
float, I do, the problem is my butt and feet sink like stones in the
water, no matter what I do. Dead man's same thing as the back float.

Anyone ever heard of anything like this, is it a center of gravity
problem, or I'm just stupid problem, I'm totally mistified by it, and
my wife keeps laughing at me cause if she isn't careful she'll float
away on me.

Any help or information regarding this would be appreciated, ANYTHING
would be fantastic.

Thanks

Gary

gamerate@gmail.com wrote:

> Ok, this is the craziest thing, I think i've run into.
>
> I am a novice just starting out in diving, (I acutally haven't
> completed my course yet )
>
> I have this crazy problem where I can't float like "normal" people.
> This isn't a problem of me being so stupid that I just don't get how to
> float, I do, the problem is my butt and feet sink like stones in the
> water, no matter what I do. Dead man's same thing as the back float.
>
> Anyone ever heard of anything like this, is it a center of gravity
> problem, or I'm just stupid problem, I'm totally mistified by it, and
> my wife keeps laughing at me cause if she isn't careful she'll float
> away on me.
>
> Any help or information regarding this would be appreciated, ANYTHING
> would be fantastic.
>
> Thanks
>
> Gary
>

No big deal. I cannot float at all. If I lay on my back, I will sink
feet first, but then my head goes beneath the water too.

I don't see where the problem is for you, however. You may need to
work a bit for the drills at the beginning of the course, but it just
means that you will need to adjust your weights differently.

I use a 1 lb ankle weight around the neck of the tank (with the tank
fairly high on my back)to trim myself to level.

Selection of fins will make a difference for you as well.

Chicka have more fat than guys, they generally float better.

They generally use less air too.



--
"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." - Proverbs 22:3

<gamerate@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1136774786.122576.62880@g43g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Ok, this is the craziest thing, I think i've run into.
>
> I am a novice just starting out in diving, (I acutally haven't
> completed my course yet )
>
> I have this crazy problem where I can't float like "normal" people.
> This isn't a problem of me being so stupid that I just don't get how to
> float, I do, the problem is my butt and feet sink like stones in the
> water, no matter what I do. Dead man's same thing as the back float.
>
> Anyone ever heard of anything like this, is it a center of gravity
> problem, or I'm just stupid problem, I'm totally mistified by it, and
> my wife keeps laughing at me cause if she isn't careful she'll float
> away on me.
>
> Any help or information regarding this would be appreciated, ANYTHING
> would be fantastic.

Oh, we've heard of it alright. Some of us have been there and done that. I
wish I was still in good enough shape to have the problem these days.

What's happening is that you don't have sufficient body fat (buoyant) to
offset your bone and muscle (not buoyant). So, you sink. If you tilt your
head all the way back and take the deepest of breaths, you may float with
just your face above water. When you absolutely have to breathe, you exhale
and inhale fully as quickly as possible. It's not easy and it's not
relaxing. That's what I had to do to pass my Water Safety Instructor course
many, many years ago. I don't have the problem any more.

If you have to float, for a test or something, and can't do it any other
way, see if you can get away with wearing a wetsuit. All wetsuits are at
least a little buoyant. The thicker they are, they more buoyant they are.

Lee

Its quite normal, I'm 57 and have never been able to float, feet go down and
I stabilize about 3 inches below the surface. My slightly overweight wife
thinks it funny, she folds her arms and just floats. When we did our OW and
had to float/tread water, she just stood there, upright without doing
anything. I was not happy, but I managed to get through it.
gary


<gamerate@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1136774786.122576.62880@g43g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> Ok, this is the craziest thing, I think i've run into.
>
> I am a novice just starting out in diving, (I acutally haven't
> completed my course yet )
>
> I have this crazy problem where I can't float like "normal" people.
> This isn't a problem of me being so stupid that I just don't get how to
> float, I do, the problem is my butt and feet sink like stones in the
> water, no matter what I do. Dead man's same thing as the back float.
>
> Anyone ever heard of anything like this, is it a center of gravity
> problem, or I'm just stupid problem, I'm totally mistified by it, and
> my wife keeps laughing at me cause if she isn't careful she'll float
> away on me.
>
> Any help or information regarding this would be appreciated, ANYTHING
> would be fantastic.
>
> Thanks
>
> Gary
>

"dazed and confuzzed" <dedmann@comcast_remove.net> wrote in message
news:qd2dndVfbcPjTlzenZ2dnUVZ_tOdnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> gamerate@gmail.com wrote:
>
> No big deal. I cannot float at all. If I lay on my back, I will sink
> feet first, but then my head goes beneath the water too.

You two are just a couple of lead foots, I guess.

;^)

I have the reverse problem I have been diving snorkel and scuba for
over 45 years an am not over weight.
Without a suit I require between 1 1/2 and 2 kilos of lead just to get
neutral bouyancy. I have always been able to compensate for over one
kilo of lead just by simple breath control.
Think about it your gear is going to be 2 kilos lighter than mine when
you are carrying it to the boat or dive site. Whats your problem.

Bob M

<gamerate@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1136774786.122576.62880@g43g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

> I have this crazy problem where I can't float like "normal" people.
> This isn't a problem of me being so stupid that I just don't get how to
> float, I do, the problem is my butt and feet sink like stones in the
> water, no matter what I do. Dead man's same thing as the back float.
>
> Anyone ever heard of anything like this, is it a center of gravity
> problem, or I'm just stupid problem, I'm totally mistified by it, and
> my wife keeps laughing at me cause if she isn't careful she'll float
> away on me.

Gary,
There are two types of body chemistry: floaters and sinkers. You're dealt
whatever you're dealt. If you're a sinker, you can fill your lungs and sink
slower - but you'll still sink. The condition is well known. There are
fewer sinkers than floaters from what I've seen.

"Gary Owens" wrote

> Its quite normal, I'm 57 and have never been able to float, feet go down
> and I stabilize about 3 inches below the surface.

Hmmm, there's something wrong with this statement. If you stabilize at all,
you are stable as soon as you are completely submersed. In fact, once you
are completely submersed, each movement to greater depth decreases your
buoyancy. The physics involved require this to be true. The gas in your
body is of constant mass, but decreases in displacement as you descend
(assumes you don't replace the volume by inhaling).

> My slightly overweight wife thinks it funny, she folds her arms and just
> floats. When we did our OW and had to float/tread water, she just stood
> there, upright without doing anything. I was not happy, but I managed to
> get
> through it.

She cheats. Women have an extra layer of fat that, even if everything else
were equal, makes them slightly more buoyant.

Lee