Signal tube deployment : going up with the device! scary...

[aquaregia]

A 6' SMB is going to be in the 30-40lb range of lift. Filling it at 30' will require you to put something like 15-20lb of air in it, which is a bunch to wrangle. If it isn't full, it's going to be less visible than a smaller bag.

Just things to think about.

 

[enhydralutris]

Thanks for posting this. I practice SMB deployment every chance I get, and my problem has always been that the water I'm in is usually so cold that my lips are numb and I can't get a good seal around the oral inflator tube. Today I tried the exhalation trick (like this: Stefan's unique way of SMB deployment.MOV - YouTube). It worked the first time, but the second time, the line got caught on my reg clip and dragged me a few feet (I use a big 6' SMB for Northeast diving). I was in 20' of water, so again, no biggie (this is why we practice!).

Another thing I noticed is that in the Caribbean, all the DMs just use their octo/regs to inflate. What's the drawback there, other than losing 2-3 breaths from your tank? I feel like the oral inflation thing might just be a macho thing...

 

[TSandM]

How you fill a bag depends on the design of the bag.

Some are designed with open bottoms -- these are easy to fill from a reg, but they have to be kept upright on the surface, or they spill their gas and sink.

Some have a duck-bill valve in the bottom. These are filled from a purged reg, but they will hold gas if they fall over. They can't be filled any other way, though, and sometimes (as in very cold water) you don't want to purge a reg for very long.

Some only have an oral inflate tube, and others (like my favorite, the Halcyon bag) have a connector that permits oral inflation OR attachment of an inflator hose.

The advantage of spools over reels is that a spool can't jam -- as long as you keep your fingers out of the hole in the middle, the worst thing that can happen is that you will drop the spool. And in that case, the bag goes up and the spool comes back down, so as long as there isn't a lot of current, you may even be able to recover it. If you are not shooting bags from major depths, a spool is absolutely great for the task.

 

[supergaijin]

Although sometimes a PITA it is easier to shoot the bag from deeper water- assuming that you know how to do it safely. Once you're already at the safety stop, you need a fair bit of air in the bag to make it stand proud- especially larger/taller bags.

Shooting the bag should be a part of you dive planning- visualising all the little steps required to get you back to the safety of a decompression beer at the end of the diving day. When and how.

If you're doing some deeper drift diving for example- putting the bag up early is probably a good thing because sometimes ascending and the safety stop is done in the blue with no visual reference and you can be travelling very fast away from the boat which may be picking up other groups at the same time. So when you do surface, you're a speck. Thus shooting the bag prior to ascent from depth may be best. From depth you only really need an exhalation for it to be inflated at the surface.

On a shallow reef in benighn conditions, you may wait and just put a couple farts of air from the octopus during the SS. If it isn't ramrod straight it doesn't really matter as your're not going anywhere.

Areas with significant boat traffic (I'm thinking of Sharm el Sheikh with many diving boats and liveaboard tenders with outbords) again shooting the bag before getting shallow may be the best idea.

Be aware that not all Youtube videos show the 'right' way to deploy SMBs. I agree that they should be mandatory for the PADI AOW Drift dive- I teach it. I also require divers wishing to be unguided, to demonstrate to me that they can deploy safely.

 

[Selchie in LB]

I hàd a situation while learning to deploy an smb. The line got wrapped around itself on the reel and I started going up with it. I just let it go. We stayed down because there were two other students. This reel comes floating by. The line had untangled itself and unwound. The instructor said that was the thing to do because it could have been bad for me to rocket to the surface.

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Splitlip]

If the reel bird nests, throw it away. If you get entangled SCREAM ****!! from a buddy of mine. Swim down while you're at.

Dump, lot of it has to do about history and locale I suppose. I hooked up with one of the engineers at work. Cave certed in the mid-west and Tri-mix certed with Larry Green at Peacock. He thought it would be a great idea to clip our flag to his Butt D-ring for an ocean dive.

And guys, I love the Manta no-spool reels. They have a tensioning devise that has never bird nested on me. My old Dive-rite reel required I keep a knuckle on the spool to slow it down.

 

[Bratface]

Good advice from TSandM (above). I once got taken up with my bag when I filled it too much. Fortunately, my buddy grabbed a hold of me and I was smart enough to let go of the bag.

 

[dwhthediver]

Use a finger spool, it will hang right in front of you as your bag goes up. I agree with Lynne, always be horizontal when deploying, bag and spool arms length in front of you, inflate it and watch(don't hold) spool as it unwinds.

 

[billmas]

1: Clip buddies real to the bottom of your reel. If your reel jams, let go, it isn't lost - you're now on your buddies reel instead of yours. If yours doesn't jam, buddy unclips (or not) and you continue.

2: Alternatively belay the reel off a suitable object where available (piece of wreck for example). The bungee loop which attaches the SMB to my reel is a perfect canditate for belaying.

3: I prefer a ratchet reel, some of my buddies prefer spools. It is a personal preference, both have their pro's and cons.

4: I've never seen a jam caused by a mechanical malfunction - it is the line jamming into itself (on the reel *or* spool). This is usually caused by winding it in under too much tension. Sometimes unwinding your entire spool or reel at the surface and rewinding it carefully is a sensible precaution particularly if you've hung on it or physically reeled up on it.

Hth
Bill

 

[D_B]

Thank you for posting

the advice to us from boat capitain if deploying SMB from safety stop depth and new/first times ... do it After your safety stop, if you go up a few feet when filling and a little slow on the letting go part ... I know this :blush:


Spool, compact and much easier than a reel for me , clipped to lower BC D ring, SMB bungeed to side of plate along wing, streamlined and always have it
I watch/use particulate matter in the water to hold depth while rigging mine out of the corner of my eye so to speak, only looking directly at it before filling/deployment ... the particulate gives me direct feedback of rising/dropping in the water column way faster than a gage can