Scott L
Contributor
Great story! I am going to link on other boards in Florida if OK. With those calm waters the boat should have been able to follow your bubble trail at a safe distance...
Me and my GSB and my SMB.
- Thread starter Mike Boswell
- Start date
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fisheater
Contributor
Great job!!
We can talk about it Wednesday . . . 
kanonfodr
Contributor
You don't need any extra lead for shooting an SMB.
Get stable first, rig the SMB up to the point you are ready to inflate it, then STOP! Check your stability first; if necessary (ie big SMB, shooting from a shallow depth, or both) deflate your wing/drysuit a bit to compensate for the additional lift from the SMB, then inflate a small amount to get it standing up before you start giving it big breaths to inflate it. Once it's standing again check your stability (keep in mind, these instructions are for practice/non-emergency situations), deflate a bit more if you need to, then after an overhead check, start giving it the big breaths. Once you're happy with it's inflation, draw some line out from the spool and send 'er off.
Keep in mind Boyle's Law: depending on your launch depth you only have to inflate the bag so much, and the deeper you shoot the less you have to fill. With big bags I like to launch deeper (when possible) so I'm not changing my individual bouyancy much to compensate for the bag's lift.
Glad to hear your newly-acquired skill was useful, been in situations myself where the bag helped out. Just keep practicing as you can get rusty, and in an emergency you want to be fast, without hurrying (if that makes sense).
Peace,
Greg
Get stable first, rig the SMB up to the point you are ready to inflate it, then STOP! Check your stability first; if necessary (ie big SMB, shooting from a shallow depth, or both) deflate your wing/drysuit a bit to compensate for the additional lift from the SMB, then inflate a small amount to get it standing up before you start giving it big breaths to inflate it. Once it's standing again check your stability (keep in mind, these instructions are for practice/non-emergency situations), deflate a bit more if you need to, then after an overhead check, start giving it the big breaths. Once you're happy with it's inflation, draw some line out from the spool and send 'er off.
Keep in mind Boyle's Law: depending on your launch depth you only have to inflate the bag so much, and the deeper you shoot the less you have to fill. With big bags I like to launch deeper (when possible) so I'm not changing my individual bouyancy much to compensate for the bag's lift.
Glad to hear your newly-acquired skill was useful, been in situations myself where the bag helped out. Just keep practicing as you can get rusty, and in an emergency you want to be fast, without hurrying (if that makes sense).
Peace,
Greg
Good on you! It is so cool that you saved the sea bass! Congrats on figuring out the SMB! This is truly a case of when preparation meets opportunity and there is wonderful results.
OP
Mike Boswell
Contributor
Great story, the fishermen need to carry a venting needle kit.
You did a great job getting him back down.
N
You did a great job getting him back down.
N
OP
Mike Boswell
Contributor
Hi Greg,
I am new at this, and I need all the help I can get. It was my experience that no weight was needed to shoot the SMB, but if you want to do a 15' safety stop AND you want to pull the SMB cord so that the SMB stands upright, you need a certain amount of extra weight.
I don't know exactly how much weight that is for a 72" SMB, but I will measure it next time out.
firstdive2005
Contributor
Hi Mike, good to read another diver learning a safety skill we all need to have.
This is my take on SMB useage-
First when intial inflate is to occur, make sure line is down current from you, not loose but your facing down current before deploy so line wont unravel towards you if you let it loose by error.
2. I am usually at final 5 mins before 15fsw safety stop when I get ready to deploy, depth is between 45fsw and 15fsw.
3. After unraveling smb to length I only inflate 1/3 of the tube so it does not blow up at surface. I now have an smb with an over inflate valve.
4. Prior to inlfate I check bouyancy sense and I dont go neg, travel is not far enough to worry about. I have not added extra wieght to compensate for this.
5. I inlfate with my mouth not my reg. This way I dont overinflate. I use a finger reel and I've made sure my fingers are ready for the reel to spin. Important when I'm cold diving with gloves. As soon as the spool quits spinning I take my clip off and tie off the reel, it should be able to float freely with out unraveling should you let it go.
6. While holding, I have reel hanging loose in the water column to allow for wave action at surface.
The smb lays on the surface, a 6ft smb is usually easy to spot by a captain. Pulling on the line is not good because it may break due to high tension from surface wave action pulling up. Also your not relying on your bouyancy to keep you trim at 15ft for your safety stop.
Once on surface you can wave your flag around for attention if need be.
I often put my legs on it and float while waiting for the boat.
My 2cents worth, the best info I've read so far is practise. It's a skill that makes you look like you know what your doing as a diver cause the others dont know how to use it. hehehe. good diving to ya. kev
firstdive2005
Contributor
By the way I think the fish story is very cool. That was heroic in my books to help that fish. Real cool.
ps. I still dont feel bad about killing lionfish though.
ps. I still dont feel bad about killing lionfish though.
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