From Wobbly to Weightless: Fixing the Trim and Buoyancy Mistakes Most UK Divers Don’t Know They’re Making

Struggling with buoyancy or trim in your drysuit? Discover how UK divers are transforming their control underwater with Van Overbeek Technical’s expert coaching.

When Anonymous Diver 1 first met the Van Overbeek Technical team at Vobster Quay, he was a confident diver on paper.
A few dozen UK dives under his belt, Nitrox certified, and plenty of enthusiasm.
He could descend, maintain depth, and surface safely — all the basics were there.

But watching him in the water told a different story. His feet dropped slightly below his body line, his fins stirred silt into clouds, and every minor buoyancy correction came with a hand scull or a burst of gas. Not bad — just busy.

And “busy” is the enemy of control.

The Hidden Problem with ‘Good Enough’ Buoyancy

Most UK divers at the 50–150 dive mark have been told they’re doing fine.
They can hold stops, keep their buddy in sight, and get through a weekend at Capernwray without issue. But as the instructors at Van Overbeek Technical often say, “Good enough is only good enough until you see what good actually looks like.”

Divers often plateau because of three hidden issues:

1. Unbalanced rigs — cylinders, plates, and weights not working in harmony.
2. Overreliance on BCD gas instead of breath control — missing the fine-tuning.
3. Constant motion masking instability — a diver looks still but is always correcting.

These small cracks in the foundation become massive gaps when moving toward twinsets, sidemount, or decompression training.

A Balanced Rig and Good Posture: The Foundation of Trim

One of the most common discoveries during a Van Overbeek Technical coaching weekend is that a diver’s rig isn’t balanced.
In other words, their equipment configuration doesn’t allow them to rest naturally flat and neutral in the water.
If the centre of gravity sits too far back, the diver’s feet will drop; too far forward, and they’ll pitch down.

The solution lies in building what Oli van Overbeek calls a balanced rig — one that supports a flat, stable position without constant correction.
When that’s paired with good posture (hips straight, knees slightly bent, arms forward in a relaxed position), the result is solid trim, and from trim comes buoyancy control.

In short:

Balanced rig + good posture = good trim = good buoyancy.

Anonymous Diver 1 discovered this firsthand. Once his equipment and posture aligned, every part of his dive felt calmer. The constant sculling disappeared, and breathing became the only tool he needed to fine-tune depth.

The Physics Don’t Care How Experienced You Are

Cold-water diving exaggerates every imbalance.
Thicker undergarments shift buoyancy higher on the body, steel backplates add weight behind the lungs, and heavy fins can drag feet down even with perfect form.

For Anonymous Diver 1, that meant fighting his kit more than he realised. When he tried to hover, his body naturally rotated head-up. To compensate, he’d fin downward slightly — which worked, until it didn’t. Every photo showed his fins down, chest high, and a faint trail of motion.

The fix wasn’t a miracle gadget or new BCD — it was a systematic re-trim of his kit and habits.

The Trim Triangle: Balancing Weight, Gas, and Posture

At Van Overbeek Technical, divers are taught to think of trim as a triangle:

• Equipment setup (cylinder position, weighting, hose routing)
• Breathing discipline (controlling buoyancy from the lungs)
• Body posture (streamlined, neutral, efficient)

If one corner of that triangle fails, control collapses.
For Anonymous Diver 1, the first step was kit adjustment. His cylinder sat too low on his backplate, so every breath made his feet sink slightly. Raising it by just a few centimetres brought his balance point forward, and suddenly his breathing began to work for him rather than against him.

Then came the drysuit. By distributing a little more gas into the legs and focusing on long, calm inhalations, his buoyancy steadied. The frantic micro-corrections disappeared.

From “Finning to Stay Level” to “Stillness as Stability”

In a typical buoyancy clinic or intro to tech coaching session, Oli van Overbeek’s team uses neutral drills in shallow water to reset a diver’s habits.
The aim: no hands, no sculling, no fin movement — just stillness.

At first, this feels uncomfortable. Divers instinctively twitch or breathe harder, convinced they’re sinking or floating. But once the brain catches up, stillness feels effortless.
As Anonymous Diver 1 described it later:

“It’s like someone turned the noise down underwater. I wasn’t reacting anymore — I was actually diving.”

That’s the moment the switch flips — and why coaching beats repetition. Doing another 50 dives with the same habits only cements mediocrity. A focused weekend with structured feedback can fix years of inefficient control.

Video Feedback: The Mirror Every Diver Needs

One of Van Overbeek Technical’s most powerful tools is video debriefing.
Divers rarely see what they look like underwater — and when they do, it’s eye-opening.

Seeing yourself tilted or finning unknowingly is confronting, but it’s also incredibly motivating. You can see improvement from dive to dive.
Anonymous Diver 1 went from a 20° tilt on his first session to perfectly horizontal by the end of the weekend. He didn’t buy a single new piece of kit — just refined what he already had.

That’s the “weightless” feeling most divers chase, and it’s the true foundation for advanced training.

Why This Matters Before Going Technical

Before moving into twinsets, sidemount, or decompression procedures, mastering buoyancy and trim isn’t optional — it’s essential.

Poor control on a single tank becomes dangerous when you add extra cylinders, longer bottom times, and more complex stops.
Intro to Tech courses don’t just teach gas planning and deco theory — they rebuild how you move in the water so every new layer of complexity feels manageable.

As Oli often tells new students:

“You don’t rise to the level of your certification; you fall to the level of your control.”

Key Takeaways for Improving Your Own Buoyancy and Trim

If you’re diving in UK conditions and want to start improving now, here are a few actions you can take today:

1. Film yourself underwater. Even 30 seconds of footage can reveal your habits.
2. Build a balanced rig. Check that your cylinders, weights, and backplate work together to let you hover flat and neutral.
3. Check your weighting. If you need more than 1–2kg beyond what’s required for a safety stop at 30 bar, you’re probably overweighted.
4. Focus on stillness drills. Try to hover at 6 metres for 2 minutes without moving your hands or fins.
5. Experiment with cylinder position. A few centimetres up or down can transform balance.
6. Invest in coaching before gear. A good instructor will save you hundreds by teaching you how to use what you already have.

Anonymous Diver 1’s Result: Effortless Diving and a New Direction

By the end of his coaching weekend, Anonymous Diver 1 wasn’t just more balanced — he was more relaxed, more confident, and for the first time, curious about technical diving.
That’s what often happens: once divers feel in control, the idea of carrying extra cylinders or planning longer dives stops feeling intimidating and starts feeling exciting.

That’s the real purpose behind Van Overbeek Technical’s coaching approach — building divers who want to improve because they’ve tasted how good it can feel.

Next Step: Experience the Change Yourself

If any of this sounds familiar — if you’ve ever watched bubbles drift past your mask while fighting to stay still — it might be time to reset your foundation.

Join a TDI Intro to Tech or Coaching Weekend with Oli van Overbeek Dive Training and experience how small changes make huge differences underwater.