PAGE 6INTRODUCTION
Intended Use & Function of Your BC
The main purpose for wearing a buoyancy compensator is to
achieve and maintain neutral buoyancy at all times while you are
underwater, regardless of changes in depth or cylinder pressure. This
allows you to be much more relaxed while you dive – and safer – since
you wonʼt need to struggle against the forces of positive and negative
buoyancy. Modern jacket and back ination style BCʼs provide the most
effective and streamlined buoyancy control, since they are specically
designed to support the diver in a comfortably balanced, face-down
position while swimming underwater. Stress and exertion can now be
minimized, if not eliminated altogether.
Since the introduction of the jacket style and back ination designs,
the modern BC has evolved into a consolidated harness and pack
system that carries the cylinder and serves as a xture point for second
stage regulators, instrumentation, and accessories. For even greater
convenience and comfort, many models are now available with
integrated weight systems that can supplement or replace the weight belt.
Your BC can also provide you with non-emergency otation to
help you rest on the surface, but you should never rely on it to function
as a life preserver or personal otation device (PFD). In order to meet
approval by U.S. Coast Guard regulations, a PFD must be designed so
that it automatically rights you to a face-up position and supports your
head out of the water on the surface to prevent drowning. The design
characteristics and intended function of a PFD are therefore very
different from those of a BC, since a PFD is specically designed to
function on the surface and a BC is primarily designed to function
underwater.
It is important to remember that your position in the water will also
be affected by other equipment you wear in addition to your BC,
including your cylinder, exposure suit, or weight system. An empty
cylinder, for instance, can create counter-buoyancy that could roll you
into a face down position if you were to lose consciousness.
For this reason, Sherwood Scuba recommends that you always dive
with a buddy, and remain close enough to them to be able to render
assistance to each other in the event of an emergency. Do not depend on
your BC, exposure suit, or any other equipment to hold your face above
the surface in the event that you are rendered unconscious in the water
while diving.
