Deploying DSMB

[johnnyblackau]

One cool thing i was taught is instead of holding the reel between fingers and letting it spool... clip the double ended snap bolt on the line so the line can run free through it and the weight of the snapbolt will hold the reel from flying off.... two things this technique does is by having the reel unspool in front of you it lowers the chances of entanglement and secondly and probably more importantly it looks cool as!

 

[tplyons]

If you have an open bottomed DSMB like ScubaPro or Dive Rite makes, I find it much easier to use the exhaust gas from my regulator. Once you get used to it (I know if I'm in a horizontal position with my head back a bit, my left hand needs to be touching just in front of my ear and my right hand is right on the bridge of my nose... and my exhaust gas goes right into the bottom of the DSMB). I hold my reel/spool in the right with my finger on it to control the ascent.

In my opinion, they're much easier to shoot from depth. Getting a full DSMB from 15' on a safety stop is hard, especially avoiding it pulling you up when you're the lightest on gas. Shooting one from 90' makes you feel good though!

---------- Post added November 3rd, 2013 at 01:36 AM ----------

Wow, learned something new on my last bag deploy..
Depth is not the only thing to take into consideration when deciding how much spool line you need.

Deploying from 60' on a drift with 100' of line... The surface current was so strong it pulled out all the extra 40' of line and started pulling me along!!

I learned that one the hard way too... since I always carry my reel (holds down the long hose) and a spool, I use the spool for stuff that's 40-50 feet or less in a current.

I've got 120' of line on that spool. My reel has somewhere around 180'. I have yet to find the end of that one.

 

[phoenix31tt]

clip the double ended snap bolt on the line so the line can run free through it and the weight of the snapbolt will hold the reel from flying off....

In our conditions we may end up loosing he entire setup as surface currents start pulling the spool forward

If you have an open bottomed DSMB like ScubaPro or Dive Rite makes, I find it much easier to use the exhaust gas from my regulator.

This is my go to method after trying the rest... Its easier, quicker and less room for entanglements imo...










Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920

 

[uncfnp]

Wow, learned something new on my last bag deploy..
Depth is not the only thing to take into consideration when deciding how much spool line you need.

Deploying from 60' on a drift with 100' of line... The surface current was so strong it pulled out all the extra 40' of line and started pulling me along!!

Sent from my Nokia Lumia using Tapatalk

I learned this lesson as well last fall on a drift dive in Florida. There wasn't much current at depth but when I deployed the bag at about 90 feet the surface current grabbed it and starting whipping the line off the reel. I have 230 feet on that reel. When it became obvious it wasn't going to stop, I started trying to slow/stop the line but then I would start to ascend too fast. As the line neared the end, I was concerned I might lose the whole rig. Fortunately, it only lifted me about 25 feet total then just started dragging me along at that depth with the current.

I asked the DM on the boat later the best way to deal with this since I did not want to be dragged toward the surface too quickly. He assured me that the surface current would only lift me a limited degree then just drag me along, exactly as I experienced. He also suggested a "skiers" position, fins forward with ankles slightly flexed up and knees slight bent. I got an excellent demonstration when he guided the next dive and had to carry the surface marker for the dive. It was quite the education watching him working to fight the surface current and keeping the drift dive at the pace of the bottom current for the other divers.

 

[down4fun]

Wow, learned something new on my last bag deploy..
Depth is not the only thing to take into consideration when deciding how much spool line you need.

Deploying from 60' on a drift with 100' of line... The surface current was so strong it pulled out all the extra 40' of line and started pulling me along!!

Sent from my Nokia Lumia using Tapatalk

Current can run out a lot more line than you realize. I try to have a reel with twice as much line as the depth I am shooting from. Here in Florida we can have some strong currents and do a lot of drifting deco which means shooting a bag from the wreck as you leave. A 200ft deep wreck can run out a 400ft reel in strong current. I've seen buddies have to ditch there reel and shot a back up or connect a second reel.