Ballast Finder

Ballast Finder estimates how much ballast to add or remove when a rigid, incompressible piece of dive gear are used in different water conditions. Enter the salinity, temperature and depth where the complete configured object was neutrally buoyant. Add its dry weight, then define the conditions for the new dive. Ballast Finder compares the calculated water densities and reports an estimated ballast change in grams to restore neutral buoyancy. Designed for objects whose external volume does not change appreciably with depth, including: - Underwater scooters - Sealed rigid camera housings - Rigid cargo containers Features: - Save reusable gear profiles with neutral conditions, dry weight and setup notes - Add up to three locally stored photos to each saved profile - Load a saved reference to plan a new dive - Compare previous neutral and target water conditions - Enter conditions manually or start from illustrative water presets - Calculate in-situ seawater density from salinity, temperature and pressure - Explore density changes across temperature, salinity and diving-depth pressure - Use light or dark appearance, Dynamic Type and VoiceOver - Work entirely offline with no accounts, analytics or advertising The density calculator uses the UNESCO 1983 EOS-80 equation of state and includes the pressure-dependent secant bulk modulus. Depth is converted using the approximation 1 metre ≈ 1 dbar. Results display to three decimal places. Important limitations Ballast Finder is intended only for complete rigid, incompressible objects. It is not suitable for neoprene, BCDs, suits, lift bags, flooded equipment or flexible trapped-gas spaces. Results are estimates. Verify the object in controlled water and follow normal diving procedures, training and manufacturer guidance. Do not rely solely on this app for safety-critical, navigation or dive-planning decisions. Ballast Finder does not collect or transmit personal information. Optional Saved Gear profiles, notes and selected photos remain in local app storage on the device.