Cave and wreck line

[Vayu]

What is the correct way to tie off to a line with cave line. Does it require a reel or will a spool do? Alot of florida boat diving involves current and descent/ascent lines. Is it a common practice to tie off to this line if visibility is low? Thanks,

-V

 

[OneBrightGator]

Either will work, since you're hooking into a line that's already there I would say a spool would be a better choice.

Typically visibility is not that low that you need to tie off. Drift diving there is nothing to tie off to and in all my boat diving, wreck or otherwise, I have never tied into a descent line, but others may have different experiences.

 

[BabyDuck]

we did once, after hurricane ophelia mucked up the vis offshore. my bud tied into the anchor line at the wreck. man, that was a braille dive... anyway, vayu, i dunno about 'correct', but the way i've seen is to put the reel/spool around the boat's line and through the loop at the end of the cave line & go.

 

[Mambo Dave]

Is there a correct size for the loop at the end of a reel's cave line? MY DR reel came with white cave line that has a smallish loop - I wouldn't be able to put the reel through it to secure it to an anchor line. The last time we reeled from an anchor line we used a double-sided staineless snap from the loop to the line.

OK, ok, not critical, but i'm wondering if there's a standard sized loop, and while we're at it, a standard loop knot expected to be at the end of reels?

 

[scubamanny]

The loop at the end of the line should be large enough to allow the reel to pass through easily. Try tying a large plastic bead into the loop to give it a little weight. This will make the loop easier to locate and manage in the water. I recomend one of those plastic balls from a hair tie, the kind little girls use for their pony tails. I don't have a picture of it. Sorry I know this sounds a bit confussing. Perhaps someone out there has a picure of this.

 

[captndale]

You should NEVER tie off to the same line that your boat is tied to. It is not uncommon to have the boat break its mooring if the weather picks up. I have seen 1" lines break quite easily. When they do break, they frequently break at the bottom end. If this happens, and you have your penetration line tied to it it will get pulled along with the mooring line and eventually break also, leaving you with no "breadcrums." A better technique is to tie off to something on the wreck "near" the ascent/descent line.

 

[Mambo Dave]

Thanks for that. My reel came with a smallish loop and a black (Delrin?) plastic thing tied into the loop already (northeastscubasupply.com set it up). Apparently I'll have to tie a larger loop in though.

 

[Manta]

we did once, after hurricane ophelia mucked up the vis offshore. my bud tied into the anchor line at the wreck. man, that was a braille dive... anyway, vayu, i dunno about 'correct', but the way i've seen is to put the reel/spool around the boat's line and through the loop at the end of the cave line & go.

Just as an FYI...You should not tie off into the anchor. If the anchor breaks loose, it is either going to take you with it on one hell of a ride or it will snap your line. Most likely it will be the ride.

The recommended protocol (NJ wreck diving DIR ) is to tie within sight of the anchor. If it's a braille dive, drop a strobe too.

Regarding the loop, big enought to get your reel thru or use a single ended snap at the end of the line

 

[PfcAJ]

As for DIR, don't put a plastic ball on it. Potential to snag stuff at inoppertune times (happened to me). Tie a small loop (1 inch) at the end of your big loop. This give you something to hold on to when you are taking the reel/spool off and something to clip into (when you're stowing it) if you are using a spool. Its an extremely handy and simple modification I learned.

 

[Vayu]

Thanks for the replies. Essentially that is the same way of tieing off to a DSMB before deploying it (wrap the line around it put the spool through it). I didn't know if there was some voodoo to tieing off to a line.

In any case I have a 100' (now 95' or so) spool to use if necessary. I've got a yosemite bowline big enough for the spool and a little "jasper" knot at the end for the double ender. I don't know the formal name of the last knot.

-V