This is probably a silly question, but i just dunno how much weight is supposed to be on my weight belt.......
when we were cape schank the other week, i realised at around 6 m, i'd sink like a sack full of lead!!! I'm a novice, and not sure what weight i should be slugging around.
Any help here? rule of thumb?

cheers, byong

Hey mate i believe that in general you are only meant to become negatively bouyant around 10 meters or beyond, so that on deeper dives if shallow water blackout occurs you will float to the surface. It will all depend on your weight and the thickness of your wettie. However if you are only diving shallow water like most of the shore diving around here 5mtrs? i add an extra weight to help stay down.
Obviously you will need to experiment a little and make small adjustments, just make sure your with a dive buddy.
Hope that helps a bit!

That's a good starting point, you want to be able to sit on the bottom (usually) so a neutral weight at 6m will be perfect if you are diving 6m water often. However if you decide to move to shallower water such as the bay, ~4m, add another one. There is nothing more frustrating than floating when u want to stalk something. If you are diving deeper; say 10m, i would take a weight off and figure out where your buoyancy is. It is dependant on where you are diving, how you wish to be in the water, and the gear you're wearing.

yeah that helps heaps.
but how much should i add/take away at a time?
1kg weights are too much?
so i should go out and get smaller weights?
there's been times when ive been on the surface and had to kick like a mo-fo to keep afloat! im guessing thats too heavy? it was easy to dive down though, and when i hit the bottom, i'd reach it at speed! (3mm wettie, diving 5-6m inside the bay)

If you send me a pm with your weight, the type of suit you're wearing, the depth you wish to dive i can give you a suggestion of weights.

shit its not that hard! If you're battling to stay afloat - you're weighted too heavy. If you are struggling staying down - you're too light. i think i've said this about this topic before - its common sense!!

I worked it out when i was 11 swimming around the bay in a steamer lacing flatties with my trusty sling.

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based on a person who is around 70Kg.
(gloves, boots, vests will change buoyancy characteristics)
-3mm surf suit one piece diving in water 2-9m 3-4.5kg
-3mm open cell 2 piece 4.5-6kg
-5mm open cell 2 piece 7.5-9kg.

As every one above has said you need to experiment and be safe! If your struggling to stay afloat at the surface loose 3-4kg.


rules of thumb:
with a 5mm 2 piece suit try 10% of your body weight minus 1 kg
shallower diving use more led. deeper diving use less led.
if you hold a normal breath at he surface you should sit with your head fully clear of the water.
start light and go heaver.
good luck and safe diving.
oZ

Fill weight belt up with as much lead as it will hold.
Anchor boat in 20 metres of water.
Jump in.
Once the sea bed has been reached swim like buggery toward surface.
If it is difficult to stay up, discard one weight.
Descend again and repeat procedure as often as required until neutral bouyancy or death is achieved.

or you could do that!

Yeah, that's how I did it..

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