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Diving either under weighted or over weighted is inefficient and potentially danger-
ous. Correct weighting is critical to mastery of buoyancy control and trim allowing
easier more comfortable diving.
Both the correct amount of ballast weight required and its ideal position on the
diver need to be established.
Enter the water wearing all of your equipment including your normal exposure pro-
tection and full tanks.
Dump all of the air from both the Primary and Backup BAT Wing and your Drysuit
if you are using one.
Add any weight required until you are neutrally buoyant while holding a normal
breath just below the surface.
This is the amount of weight you will need to add to the T Weight System plus a
small amount extra to compensate for the weight of the gas in the tanks.
It is recommended to redo the weighting check at the end of the dive with the gas
in your SM tanks at 500psi
Now you will need to establish the correct positioning of the weight to improve trim,
swimming efficiency and your stability in the water.
Trim has 2 components horizontal (head to toe) and lateral (side to side).
Horizontal trim can be optimized by moving the weight higher or lower as required.
Lateral trim can be optimized by positioning weights as close to the center line of
the body as possible to minimize turning moments.
Having weights positioned as close as possible to both the center line of the body
and the middle of the body will give greater stability and therefore greater control
while diving in all orientations.
2 Rigging the Razor Harness 2
Step 9: Weighting and Trim
