How to Mount a Scuba BCD Jacket

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
When Scuba diving, many people struggle to fix the BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) or jacket on the scuba cylinder in a reliable way. They do not remember the position or the technique used. Here is a refresher on your Open Water diving course.

Steps

1. Pull the belt to move the buckle near the hard back plate. This way later you will have enough space to put the loose end of the belt on the Velcro. If you are right-handed the buckle should be on the right side, looking at it from the back.
2. Make sure you take the belt out of the last hole of the buckle, if not you cant pull the loose end to put the belt under tension.
3. Make the belt wet. Salt can make the belt stiff and a wet belt stretches better.
4. Put the belt over the tank. The jacket should be on the side of the opening of the valve. You should have two or three fingers of straight tank above the belt before the round part starts. This way you can tip your head back without hitting the valve.
5. Notice that many recreational BCDs have a nylon loop attached above the hard plate. It can be put over the tank valve before mounting the first stage. This way you have an extra security, assuring that a down slipping tank is still held by this nylon loop. This avoids the regulator being strapped out of your mouth and makes it easier for somebody else to put the tank back on place.
6. Now stand or sit on the side of BCD and put your right arm on the other side on the tank. Take the loose end of the belt and while you pull the belt, you lift the buckle so it stays under tension.
7. Put the loose end through the last hole and flip the buckle over to the other side.
8. Attach the loose end with the Velcro.

Video

Related wikiHows

• How to Put the Bcd Belt Through the Buckle

Sources and Citations

• DearDiveBuddy.com - Original source of article, shared by author.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Mount a Scuba BCD Jacket. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.