How many pennies I should duct tape to my swim snorkel to counter the buoyancy created by the air in the snorkel’s tube?
I was experimenting with using the snorkel today and found the upward pressure it placed on my forehead (where the snorkel strap meets my head) unpleasant. I wondered if somehow weighting the snorkel would help, and came up with the plan of taping pennies to it.
But how many? I have noticed that there are a number of physics-savvy people on the forums, and wondered if someone could figure this out.
It’s a Finis Freestyle snorkel. The volume of the tube varies—there’s about 22cm of tubing that is round, with a diameter of about 2cm, and an additional 32cm of tubing that is a rounded rectangular shape (around 3 x 1 cm). About 3 cm of the latter section is above the water when I swim.
So can anyone help me with this? My purple plaid duct tape is at the ready.
(And if anyone has any better ideas for fixes, involving either snorkel or swimming technique modifications, I’d love to hear them!)
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Former Member
i think taping the ends shut would result in negative buoyancy since part of the tubing is above the water surface. the part that is above the surface would not need to be displaced by the pennies and in fact already contributes negative bouyancy in the amount of its own weight(like if you verticle kick and raise your arms out of the water).
you could mark the tubing at the point where it exits the water, then tape the mouthpiece end shut and add pennies until it floats with the mark at the surface.
of course this will not help with the pressure created by moving through the water, especially off the walls.
i also have a finis snorkle and it felt weird at first. you could try just giving it a few sessions, you might get used to it.
i think taping the ends shut would result in negative buoyancy since part of the tubing is above the water surface. the part that is above the surface would not need to be displaced by the pennies and in fact already contributes negative bouyancy in the amount of its own weight(like if you verticle kick and raise your arms out of the water).
you could mark the tubing at the point where it exits the water, then tape the mouthpiece end shut and add pennies until it floats with the mark at the surface.
of course this will not help with the pressure created by moving through the water, especially off the walls.
i also have a finis snorkle and it felt weird at first. you could try just giving it a few sessions, you might get used to it.
