Maximum Buoyancy Diving Skills

Scuba diving is the activity of using gear in order to spend a prolonged amount of time underwater. Buoyancy is the force that keeps a diver afloat. Knowing how to maximize your buoyancy is an important and possibly lifesaving diving skill. Maximize your ability to float by taking a deep breath before diving, inflating your buoyancy compensator (BC), decreasing the amount of weight you carry before diving and taking off weight while underwater.

  1. Take a Deep Breath Before Diving

    • Your buoyancy increases with the amount of air in your lungs. Overall buoyancy depends on a number of factors, including your weight, body fat, lung capacity and breathing volume. By inhaling deeply, your lungs expand a lot, displacing water and increasing your buoyancy.

    Inflating Your BC

    • A buoyancy compensator or buoyancy control device (BCD) is strapped on and allows you to control your buoyancy while underwater. Inflating it allows you to be more buoyant. The BC has a bladder that you can fill with air. There are power inflators and manual inflators. A power inflator puts air in your BC with the press of a button. With a manual inflator, you have to push a button to open up the hose that is connected to your BC and blow into a mouthpiece.

    Decrease Weight Before Diving

    • Most divers carry a weight belt that allows them to add or remove weight. A weight belt enables a diver to dive deeper, sink faster and remain underwater. A diver carrying too much weight has a hard time staying afloat and can sink too fast. Decrease the pounds you are carrying by taking off the lead pouches or unhooking the plastic clips on the belt.

    Remove Weight During the Dive

    • Remove your weight belt while underwater by putting both hands on your thighs. Move your hands up your legs and grab the first belt you touch. Use your left hand to secure the belt and your right hand to release the buckle. Hold the belt at full arm's length, using your left hand, and let it sink. This ensures that the belt does not get tangled in your other diving gear. If you use an integrated weighting system, follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to remove it while underwater.