SMB use

[willuns]

Hi Big T,

Totally agree, not everything works everywhere, but from the wording of kevin's post, he was surprised at only inflating from 10m so i thought that is what he was being told to do.

Inflating from the BCD can work, I have tried it and it because you can put more air in on the bottom before it shoots off, you get a more full buoy on the surface. Especially if you are not so deep so the air expands less on the way up.

Will

 

[WetDane]

Ah - you're Will - I follow you. In that case you are right.
For some reason we only use bags with over pressure valves on them - you do not need a lot of gas in there from 70 fsw...

Anyway - as usual - I'm going to go diving...

Big T

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for the replies, but perhaps my question was not clear.
We would only use a SMB if we were in mid water and wanting to ascend where there was a possibility of boat traffic. Therefore we would send up the SMB from about 10m.
My question was, if you then start to ascend with one hand on the dump button of the BCD and the other hand being used to monitor depth and ascent rate, which hand do you use to wind up the SMB line?

 

[Heads Up]

I don't use my BCD at all but use my dry suit for buoyancy. It has an auto dump so as I reel in the line and start ascending, the auto dump does just that, leaving my hands free for reeling in the line.

Regards

 

[WetDane]

Hey Kevin,

I'm cathing your drift now...
First - assuming that you are neutral at 10 m - you would not really need to hold the bc inflator in your hand - as you probably know - ascending slowly just means inhaling deeply - when you go up you just dump a little.
I have my computer on the right wrist and the compass on the left - so I have my hands free to work - I actually use both hands to reel in.

Generally - one team member manages the SMB and the other team memeber monitors the depth - that way - you can see when you are given the "deco stop" signal that you need to stop there and manage your spool - the buddy will also tell you when you are done at that stop and can move on up...

Be advised that thsi takes a lot of practise to master - but it is certainly a skill worth being able to do.

On a side note - I do NOT use my suit for buoyancy at all - I find that all the air floating around in my suit is far more of a hassle than being able to walk and chew gum at the same time (which is really what it all comes down to)...

Cheers,
Big T