How to Have Perfect Buoyancy in Scuba

The sport of scuba diving allows participants to reach new depths under water, as air supply from a tank to the person's mouth regulates fresh air. However, this weighted tank hinders the buoyancy that each person's body naturally has, therefore submerging needs to be balanced. Perfecting your buoyancy, or maintained position, in the water will ultimately affect how much air you use and how comfortable your dive will be. If you descend too quickly, your body will suffer from the water pressure and your dive will not be as enjoyable. If you do not descend quickly enough, you will struggle to reach your destination depth and air will be lost.

Things You'll Need

  • Dive gear
  • Dive weights
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Instructions

    • 1

      Dress yourself in all the gear that you will be wearing for this particular dive. Body weight and muscle greatly affect how buoyant you are in the water. Therefore, you must determine your setup before altering anything. You may choose to wear a full wetsuit or a normal bathing suit, as both types of swim wear are acceptable.

    • 2

      Sit on the edge of the boat or dock with your back to the water. Put your dive tank onto your shoulder, making sure your BC regulator, or breathing channel, is properly situated. Fix your mask and put your regulator into your mouth, slowly rolling backwards until you fall into the water.

    • 3

      Float in the water to get a better understanding of how buoyant your setup already is. Fresh water and salt water affect you differently. Therefore, each dive is different. Salt water is a bit more forgiving with buoyancy, while fresh water will cause you to sink faster. Inflate your BC and take note of how you are positioned in the water. While on the surface, you want to spend less energy and air when floating in the water, and a full BC regulator allows for this.

    • 4

      Add weight to your setup to even out buoyancy. Thicker wetsuits allow for optimum buoyancy, but weight belts create balanced flotation without the need for a larger outfit. Remove all of the air from your BC regulator, hopefully putting the water level near your mask. Add one or two pounds to a weight belt to allow you to descend more quickly.

    • 5

      Descend down the rope or line you are using to steady this dive. Add a small amount of air to your BC as you descend to maintain a controlled dive, optimizing the buoyancy in this particular activity. Likewise, let air out of your BC slowly as you ascend to the surface. Quick descents or ascents can lead to harsh pressures on the body, leading to illness.