Perfect Your Buoyancy (Scuba Skills to Master Neutral Buoyancy Control!)

I only have 4 dives under my belt as an OW diver and a refresher course but I definitely must say watching all of these makes me way more confident. I am heading to Cancun to dive this weekend and now I really can't wait.

Thanks, very helpful

I am finshing my Advanced Open Water Cert tonight. My neutral buoyancy is fine horizontal. While doing a vertical, my body tends yo fall backwards and I struggle to nlbring it back without 1 kick.

This was a great video and you explained really well how we can improve our buoyancy. My only issue is with the hovering. I always dive with full body 5mm suit and I cannot stay in an horizontal position because my fins stay at the bottom. Is it possible that i should change my suit or fins or i should just practice my breathing more?

Learned way more than I did than in some portions of my paid classes. You are a very thorough and knowledgeable teacher. I wish PADI courses covered some of these topics. Thank you so much for helping educate and keep us safe

they tell you Never hold your breath while diving, but when I'm doing precise, fine buoyancy control sometimes I'm holding my breath or keeping my lungs partially inflated without completely exhaling. And when you're holding it you're obviously going to ascend. That's why you're holding it, to go up. I always knew that was a contradiction. Instead of adding and dumping tiny amounts of air with the bcd, you're using your lungs.. It feels like flying a balloon and you're the balloon. I guess if you're good at it you don't over expand your lungs. even just controlled slow breathing is holding it before exhale. I always think about that while I'm diving.

It is interesting to watch the videos of Jacques Cousteau , he managed to dive not using BCD.

This is my favorite scuba channel, your explanations are excellent.

What happened to next video about propulsion. Has been 8 months.

Lyle, where can I purchase that articulated, wooden scuba diver (with cylinder and fins, etc.) that's in the background of this video? It'd be a useful tool for instructing my students! THANKS for all your great videos!

Thanks a lot... It's great explained... love to learn from expierienced divers.... looking forward to the next dives so much.... 🙂

Being properly weighted is first. Before practicing buoyancy, which I didn't hear you talk about. Everything else I can agee with. Thank you.

You are so good at explaining scuba terms and I can finally say that now I understand buoyancy :)

Amazing video! It's so great that you share your love for the ocean. Scuba diving is such an amazing water activity and it's lovely to see you enjoy it, keep going with these great videos. If it doesn't bother you, I'd like to give you a suggestion, a tip for the next videos: Basically, you could try inserting some comic and funny stuff... to give everyone a pinch of humor that, in the world of diving, can never be missing. Now, I don't think much of it, but the first thing I could think of in your sport might be peeing in the water. Once, my uncle, who is a scuba diver, peed in his wetsuit during a long diving session and that moment was absolutely funny, he even wrote "I’m peeing" on a waterproof notebook during the session. He has always been telling me that there are 2 types of divers and swimmers: those who pee in the water and those who lie. I know it may sound strange as a request but, in my opinion, these are moments of happiness and carefree that always make everyone smile. I hope you like the idea and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Amazing tips !

Buoyancy should be done from the top down.

such a great resource.
i find it very hard to control buoyancy in the top 10m due to the percentage of volume change.
will definitely have to try these exercises when i can access some water(has been 3 years).
very much appreciate these videos.
keep up the great work.

Wow. As a recently qualified open water diver (12 months ) I thought I was reasonably competent. This is the back to basics that every diver ,new or old should learn . I think that knowing the "why" is just as important as knowing the "how"" . like many people watching this serious of video by you I wish that this was part of my training.

Well done explaining this. Very useful for newbies and oldies 😂👍

I find that I'm having problems with fine tune control. I feel like I must take big deep breaths, otherwise I'm 'suffocating' - I know I am not, but if I take few shallow breaths, I feel I MUST take a deep breath. It's messing with my buoyancy. Any advice, suggestions?

You are a brilliant teacher. Clear and calm. I wish you’d taught me! I’ve learnt so much from your videos and am looking forward to putting it all into practice on my next dive holiday. Thanks 😁

I have a question:
I am new diver, when I am diving I feel dry mouth, Its so bad that I have to come up immediate Do you think if I add a scuba tank heater will help?
Atomic Aquatics sells it.
Please advise .

I feel like my buoyancy and my trim is right and I can maintain my 15’ deco stop but I have trouble at the deco stop standing vertical. It seems like I loose my balance. Any tips?

This comment is not going to be received well by the vast majority of divers and I do apologize for that in advance. This is not a good video for perfect buoyancy. First, fin pivots are not perfected neutrally buoyant. They are performed slightly negatively buoyant and foot heavy. One of the problems of how buoyancy/diving is taught today is that center of mass and center of volume (or displacement) results in a diver going vertical. Weight distribution is critically important to ensure that a diver can hover effortlessly without hand or fin sculling. Unfortunately, the rebreather diver shown here is foot heavy as shown by the sculling. Center of mass and center of volume/displacement are critical concepts that need to be understood by new divers. When it comes to starting CW1 neutrally buoyant and trimmed, a better approach is to have students lay face down at the surface. Slowly hand them weights until they sink sufficiently to rise and fall with their breath in the water column. As weights are added, distribute weight appropriately to maintain the horizontal position effortlessly. Trim pockets on the cylinder straps are an ideal location. As people tend to be naturally foot heavy which is exacerbated by shorty wetsuits, it may even be necessary to add trim pockets in a cylinder strap not attached to the BCD but at the top of the cylinder to address this. This method is sometimes needed for less expensive BCDs that only have one cylinder strap.

Weight distribution is key for buoyancy.

Love your videos!! Always informative.

Everything changed when I started to frog-kick.

Love your introduction on buoyancy

I need some advice. Imo I've got good buoyancy control and trim. I've never felt a need to use my arms and I hover fine in any position - vert, horizontal, head down, on my back or side. I keep my back slightly arched, arms relaxed in front of me, and my knees bent when I don't kick. Everything feels great - as long as I'm moving. If I stop finning and just relax my legs will slowly but surely sink and I'll find myself in a semi vertical position no matter my body position. I've tried putting a weight on my tank strap and it helped somewhat but I still find myself fluttering and not quite fully relaxed. It should be noted I've only used jacket style BCDs and not tried a bpw setup yet. Still, I don't want to have to rely on a piece of equipment to maintain a good relaxed position in the water.

All advice appreciated!

Love the videos Lyell. I have a question, however. You mention using the BC or Drysuit as your source of buoyancy. There is an argument that you should never put more air in dry suit than necessary to stop suit squeeze. Others teach you to use the suit as your buoyancy compensation only put air in the bc to keep you on the surface. What are the arguments both ways?

👍😎

very helpfull for me as a newly certified owd with 8 dives and two try dives in total.

excellent video. showing buoyancy in a swallow pool is incredibly hard for the drastic change in water pressure in first few feet of water
just one small thing on part 6, as we go deeper, the downward force ie gravity does not change a lot. Instead the water pressure causes air in BCD become smaller and we compensate the decreased volume back into the volume we need to balance out gravity by adding air into BCD.

but the execution is the same

Great video. Thanks. I am a recreational diver. Very few warm water dives a year. I went to a pool to focus on buoyancy and found that I was too distracted because I was always moving. I could not stop myself from drifting. I tried focusing on not moving at all. It did not work. Is this something that also takes time and practice?

Great video Lyell! Thanks for inviting me to help out on this one. :-) It's always a great time diving with you.