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WWD, moving fins depends on 2 things; whether you are perfectly neutral, and whether you are balanced fore an aft.
However, it sounds like you are being to hard on yourself! Diving is supposed to be fun!
As long as you stay safe, all the subtle nuances will come to you, including bouyancy control.
While it may be called DIR is it really doing it right for you? Im only a casual observer ive never done any DIR course but i dont see it as being the be all end all way to dive. If your size makes the 5' hose to short and the 7' to long why cant you opt for a 6'? The main reason for length is to get through restrictions head to toe with your buddy. Why 7' if your only 4' tall? 5 or 6' would be more than enough. As for the necklaced occy even if everything is tucked in and very streamlined things can still get caught. The first time you need to use it and it has been pulled away might be the last time you wear the necklace. I run mine hard clipped off to a chest D-ring with enough length to get it into my mouth without having to unclip it and with minimal assistance. It is essentially my reg in an emergency so why have the need to pass it off? Then onto the SPG. Why not clip it to the chest D-ring as well? Mine sits just in the line of sight so can been seen hands free. When the task loading is going through the roof the one thing that counts is how much air youve got. If your hands are full how do you check your gauge? We mount computer/BTs compasses and other things on our arms why not the SPG too? It also keeps it closer to the safety triangle on your chest.
Then the whole ball game changes when you switch from backmounted tanks to sidemounts. The whole DIR principles are shot. A standardised practice could be written for it but still some circumstances would require different methods. Would you rig both tanks identical so either could be passed off or keep them the same as the current DIR configuration with only a few modifacations?(2nd SPG)
If you want to work on your bouyancy try this out.
Take the wing off and leave it aside. Throw a weightbelt full of 1 pound weights to the bottom of the pool . Get in with your B/plate and tank setup and just float around. If you need weights add them if you dont then dont. try to control your bouyancy with just your breathing. Add one at a time to get it right. After doing this for a while try adding your wing back onto the B/plate. It is there to compensate not to hold you fully bouyant. Do it all again now and try not to touch the inflator. Even if you just start with fin pivots it all adds to getting you right.
These are just my opinions on the subject. Im in no way a professional and i dont do big team dives. Things may change if i was. The main thing for me is to keep an open mind about all diving practices.
Matt
How do you sit in the water? Head up fins down? Fins up head down? Horizontal? Vertical? What are you comfortable with?
The point of my previous post was that you shouldnt be afraid of modifying the DIR principles to suit your needs. Use your Smart Com by all means. Nothing says its illegal. Adapt other things to suit you.
Another thing to try might be just adding one bit of gear at a time and getting it right before you add the next bit. Get your harness right first. Thats the main one. Even if you use your old normal set of regs while you do it. If you are confident underwater it will make you more comfortable and you wont get so bothered with the gear if its slightly out.
Just dont be so hard on yourself. You dont fail if you dont pass a course you fail if you didnt learn anything.
Matt
One thing that really helped me at first was to add a tank weight near the bottom of the tanks. I actually poured a chunk of lead with a triangle profile that fits between my double tanks, and it attaches from the bottom wingnut of the retaining bands down to the bottom of the tanks. I found that made a world of difference in my trim and that feeling of rolling all the time. Maybe you could rig something nice and low on your single tank.
You mentioned that your tank was rolling on your back. How snug is the harness? Your trim may all be a function of a loose harness. As far as weight is concered, Only have the weight neccessay to maintain neutral with tank(s) at 500 psi. The other thing is move the straps for the tank up and down to help you find the center of gravity for you and the tank(s). The fact that you have a pool to work in is a great place to "fiddle" with the gear issues. What does your body do when static in the water column? If you go head down, slide tank back in the straps, if on the other hand you go feet down, move the tank up with straps near the crown of the neck. The only other thing is RELAX!!!!!, your breathing will slow down and your bouyancy will not be the yo-yo it sounds to be. If you have a friend who can take video or stills that will be extremely helpful in analyzing your positioning in the water column. Keep up the work, and compare what you have learned to what was toally unknown prior to the class. Keep up the work, your bottom times and gas consumption will increase proportionately. Your physical fitness will aid in this as well.
Just dive your ass off with your new rig, And it will all come together.
I think it's only like a 1% pass ratio for DIRF for the first time around, I could be wrong. So, beings that you've been diving less than a year, I wouldn't worry about it.
You definitely sound determined to get this, So I'm sure you will.
BTW, How does it work if you fail? Do you have to pay for the whole deal and start from scratch again, Or do you just have to do the skills?
I strongly encourage you to dive with Mark M. It is in those times that he will be able to observe you and offer suggestions as to your continued improvement.
As for the "re-do", each instructor may be different, but the apparent norm is this. If a provisional is given, then one attempt is a "free be", after that each attempt will cost the student. If an outright failure is given then the student must pay all class fees when re-taking the class.
You would do well to seek out other DIR divers to dive with, because they will be your best source of information and input. It is in this enviroment, that you will start to see and appreciate the DIR philosophy and their adherence to a specific gear configuration. Stick with it!!!! The end result will be well worth the effort.
Wow man, congrats for gulping the koolaid. First things first, buck it up soldier, you were demoralized by the first day, and you are carrying it with you.
When I took fundies, I had 150 dives and thought myself competent, I wasnt, you arent. I got punished to the point that I quit diving the Saturday night after the OW flogging.
I am now preparing for DIR tech 1 in doubles, you will be competent.
First: distill what your instructor told you to work on. Know that it will take you 90 days from today to get it down. Write down what you learned about yourself because 90 days from now, you wont remember.
Switch back to your DIR hose configuration, dont water down the koolaid, take it full strength. The SPG hose that is 22" is not too short, you need to get accoustomed to it.
This stuff has been thought thru, and the REASON is because of deco bottle configuration as you build upon your rig.
On the hose: take your wing off of your bp and zip tie your first stage to your BP, now walk around the house in your BP clipping and unclipping until you have muscle memory.
On your buoyancy and trim: first are you COMPLETELY dialed in on your weighting, down to the ounce? If so. Park your butt on the bottom and add air to your wing until you hover and move only with your inspiration and expiration. Now you are neutral. . . and horizontal.
The fin movements. NOPE they are your stabilizer muscles trying to right you in the water. Hovering motionless is the zen of DIR it took me 6 months of consistent practice. . . something you can try, take your mask off. That usually calms me down.
One step at a time, the koolaid is strong, and you will be a safer, team oriented, situationally aware, competent team mate diver. It takes time.
Finally, dive with other DIR divers any chance that you can. We are a family, the tech 1 mentor the rec triox, who mentor the DIR- F pass, who mentor the DIR F provisionals, who mentor the DIR curious.
You didnt fail, the race is long, and in the end, it is only with yourself.
Hoo rah my DIR brother,
Tevis
My mentor taught me to never try and fix a lack of skill with equipment. Fix your trim with back arched, head up, and legs used as a lever as you learned in fundies. Leave the training wheels alone.Quote:
Originally Posted by WarmWaterdiver
So as to not tick anybody off, twinned doubles are a different story, you use tank weights to counterbalance the steel bus on your back.
For a single tank, ESPECIALLY AN Al 80, leave the gimmicks alone.
Tevis
I was wondering this too. It is an exception to pass fundies the first time thru, it is usually tech divers with a ridiculous amount of rockstar experience that want to do DIR tech 1 and must pass thru fundies to get there.Quote:
Originally Posted by grim reefer
I got provisional.
Provisional means that you are a cluster on some things but not all. Go get yourself sorted out, and then come back for a re-check (at no charge with MHK out here in beautiful So Cal), as long as you dont waste his time. Dont practice, you get charged.
An out and out fail you must work at. That means you are an absolute cluster and a danger to yourself and the team.
Are you SURE you FAILED?
T
I deleted most of the post since it was a bit long winded and not needed to be repeated.Quote:
Originally Posted by WarmWaterdiver
You did not fail DIRF .. your instructors failed to help you succeed.
There is only ONE practice for diving.............. Diving.
Put your **** on, put the face thing on, put the feet things on, put the breathing thing in your mouth and get in the water. Go do 20-30 dives in your rig and make minor adjustments on each dive. You can dive in ANY gear and achieve good form.
Guess what -- with only diving since last June you cannot be perfect. Nor should you. Go dive and have some fun. It sounds like you are not having fun yet.
Get a nice mess of Ettoufe' then night before. Then pack a muffuletta and go do some dives. leave the puke-green Kool-Aide home.
The more you dissect what you are doing the harder it will be.
I would like to add to what JS1scuba said and Travis,
what calms me and is also good practice, the hovering, get in the pool, find a spot/light/broken tile on the wall and just look at it, stay eyelevel with it, adjust you BC accordingly, just sit there, in the waterbody and breath, calm, i personall like this, close your eyes, breath as if almost asleep, listen to your brathing,Ears and sinuses. they will tell you if you are level,going up or down.
i do this every time i want to relax.
oh, i fully agree with JS1scuba
Ok... so I'm a little late to the party...
If you receive a Provisional, you have 6 months to work on what you need to, and return for a re-evaluation at no charge IIRC.
Also, one can qualify for a Recreational Pass or a Technical Pass. If you have received a Recreational Pass, there is no limit as to when you can upgrade to the Tech Pass, but there is a small fee for the instructor's time.
Actually your instructors before you took the DIRF failed to prepare you properly for the level of diving your trying to take on now. Most people do not fail DIRF but are sent off to practice skills to ensure a pass in alloted time frame.Quote:
Originally Posted by JS1scuba