Does buoyancy and proper trim come easier with backmount as opposed to sidemount?

[Great White7]

I am doing the sidemount course now and am having a lot of trouble with my buoyancy and trim.

Often (even at the surface if I lay on my face) I will flip over (right side seems to take me).

During the first day I had problems with my legs taking me up, but now it just seems to be one side.

Any ideas (everything is in place as my instructor has checked)?

Is backmount similar to single tank rec diving (as I have zero problems doing single tank rec diving) for buoyancy and trim?

I thought SM would be better for my back in the long run, but honestly it seems likes more work (ie 2 to 3 trips to the water lugging gear instead of 1).

[cmint]

I am doing the sidemount course now and am having a lot of trouble with my buoyancy and trim.

Often (even at the surface if I lay on my face) I will flip over (right side seems to take me).

During the first day I had problems with my legs taking me up, but now it just seems to be one side.

Any ideas (everything is in place as my instructor has checked)?

Is backmount similar to single tank rec diving (as I have zero problems doing single tank rec diving) for buoyancy and trim?

I thought SM would be better for my back in the long run, but honestly it seems likes more work (ie 2 to 3 trips to the water lugging gear instead of 1).

You can clip everything on and make it a one trip walk. To me, its easier to carry the tanks separately without my wetsuit on, then dress up and just walk down. Getting out of the water, I don't do three trips. I just leave both tanks clipped on and walk back to the truck. Depending on the dive site, I have clipped both tanks on and walked them down to the water. It all depends on where I'm diving and how lazy I feel.

What rig are you diving? A really good one like the Hollis SMS 75 will pretty much throw you into good trim.

If you are using old school bungees, make sure that both bungees are the exact same length. a small difference will make a big difference.

If you're having to work to stay in trim SOMETHING is not adjusted properly.

[FW]

I am doing the sidemount course now and am having a lot of trouble with my buoyancy and trim.

Often (even at the surface if I lay on my face) I will flip over (right side seems to take me).

During the first day I had problems with my legs taking me up, but now it just seems to be one side.

Any ideas (everything is in place as my instructor has checked)?

Is backmount similar to single tank rec diving (as I have zero problems doing single tank rec diving) for buoyancy and trim?

I thought SM would be better for my back in the long run, but honestly it seems likes more work (ie 2 to 3 trips to the water lugging gear instead of 1).

I am probably not the best person to answer this, since I have been sidemounting for over 30 years. I used to switch between backmount, and sidemount, but broke down all my backmount tanks over 10 years ago.

Backmount is pretty easy to get trim with, but I have seen people that could never get it right, and did fine in sidemount. I have also seen the opposite to be true.

How experienced is your instructor? is he/she new to sidemount, or has he/she been diving sidemount a long time? Like cmint asked, what rig are you using? That can make a very big difference in the ability to get trim.

What fins are you using? Are you using aluminum, or steel tanks? Do you have any trim weights? Are you training in fresh, or salt water? It seems like I recall you have had some single tank experience, how much?

[tflaris]

Historically in my overhead teaching experience BM is easier for new cave students than SM. There are exceptions of course.

TF


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed that is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

[outofayr]

In my experience with training divers, some have no trouble with trim/buoyancy no matter the system, and others struggle regardless of SM or BM. By and large, however, it seems that students have fewer issues with SM than BM...

[BigTex1836]

I don't much care for the double trips to carry tanks either for sm, but I dislike carrying doubles even more. I haven't tried leaving them clipped on, but I have carried both back by hand and it's not that bad....a bit cumbersome though. I found buoyancy and trim to be easy in either bm/sm, probably a bit easier in sm. Like others said, would need more info on your specifics and at that point I'm deferring to those with much more experience than myself on the different rigs.

Also I question the instructor if they are their on site and can't sort you out.....sounds suspect to me. Maybe they are screwing with you (even unintentionally) and gave you mismatched tanks with a more negative tank on your right side. Something is out of whack for sure, if both sides are basically balanced in config and weight and you're still rolling right, something is being overlooked.

[Great White7]

What rig are you diving? A really good one like the Hollis SMS 75 will pretty much throw you into good trim.

make sure that both bungees are the exact same length.

If you're having to work to stay in trim SOMETHING is not adjusted properly.

Its a razor.

It only has one bungee.

Yep something seems to be out.

I have perfect trim doing rec diving with a single tank.

[Great White7]

How experienced is your instructor?

What fins are you using? Are you using aluminum, or steel tanks? Do you have any trim weights? Are you training in fresh, or salt water? It seems like I recall you have had some single tank experience, how much?

He seems very experienced and is not quick to anger like most, so I feel he is very good.

My fins are cressi reaction (rec fins) and these I always thought would be wrong for cave diving. Will check out some Jet fins today as they are neg buoyant.

Not sure, around 500 dives.

[Great White7]

Also I question the instructor if they are their on site and can't sort you out.....sounds suspect to me. Maybe they are screwing with you (even unintentionally) and gave you mismatched tanks with a more negative tank on your right side. Something is out of whack for sure, if both sides are basically balanced in config and weight and you're still rolling right, something is being overlooked.

From what I can tell, he is a very decent person. Yesterday I had had enough and in the middle of a drill I called the dive and we went out of the water.
A "normal" person would have been angry but he bit his lip and was fine about it.
The tanks look and feel exactly the same and we have talked about it.

I know I have been tired (run down) the last few days, but am not sure how this could make things worse, but it could be a factor.
It does seem to get worse the longer the day goes on.

[OFG-1]

Tired and run down, you say? Do you have sinus issues, trouble clearing your ears at times? You can have small issues with your ears, and you will never get trim with any type of rig.

ANd as far as carrying tanks, that is why God made wheels. Get at least a pair, like a hand truck or cart.