Instructor Manual
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Ocean Diver
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Adapting to the underwater world
Copyright © BSAC 2017
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• Service to manufacturer recommendations
Regulators should be professionally serviced at least once a year according to
the manufacturer’s recommendations. Remember they are a diver’s ‘life line’.
Problems with the gas supply, or a lack of it, are not conducive to happy diving.
Weights
The weights that divers need to take with them to
maintain control of buoyancy can be of several types/
configurations.
Types
• Weight belts
A simple belt with quick release buckle onto which cast weights are threaded.
Weight blocks come in various sizes and can be plastic coated. Straightforward
to release and drop/dump in an emergency
• Weight harness
Where a diver has a problem with a simple weight belt; perhaps due to
it slipping from the waist past the hips or where the weight on the hips is
uncomfortable a harness system may be used instead. This harness is usually
donned first so is harder to jettison in an emergency unless the weights are
secured in pockets/sleeves that can be removed from the harness.
• Integrated weights
Some BCs have weight pockets integrated into the harness/sides of the device.
These can be removed for emergency jettison. Integrated-weight BCs often do
not have sufficient capacity to take the amount of lead needed for drysuit diving.
Quick-release mechanisms
All weight systems must have a way to easily jettison weights in an emergency.
However, it is also important that weight is not lost unintentionally as this would
create a dangerous positive-buoyancy situation. Release mechanisms vary
between a simple fold-over buckle, through Velcro sealed pockets to release clips.
Trim
Weight can be placed at different places on a diver to help improve their trim in the
water. For example, weights may be stowed in small pockets towards the top of a
BC or threaded on the cam-band attaching the BC to the cylinder.
