Dragging a flag

[John C. Ratliff]

Jsnorman,

Nobody has seen the Hammerhead Unit before; it is my own invention. But, it works.

SeaRat

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Wild story!

Salutations for the heads up; that peculiar wild story is an understatement. John Atlas must have been Scuba diving in a shipping lane.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Sir, with all due respect, your solution sucks.

That assertion belies contention if not ridicule for the following reason. As you have recently noted, my approach to a problem is surgical, clinical and unobtrusive. Which leads to the abstract concept that your personal disillusionment on the subject matter has no bearing, whatsoever, since you have failed to mention the last time you went diving and had to drag a float.

 

[tursiops]

That assertion belies contention if not ridicule for the following reason. As you have recently noted, my approach to a problem is surgical, clinical and unobtrusive. Which leads to the abstract concept that your personal disillusionment on the subject matter has no bearing, whatsoever, since you have failed to mention the last time you went diving and had to drag a float?

Right back at you, Dude. When was the last time YOU had to drag a flag? If that is essential information to make a suggestion credible, then please provide it to butress your suggestion.

 

[Gone for diving]

That assertion belies contention if not ridicule for the following reason. As you have recently noted, my approach to a problem is surgical, clinical and unobtrusive. Which leads to the abstract concept that your personal disillusionment on the subject matter has no bearing, whatsoever, since you have failed to mention the last time you went diving and had to drag a float?

How many lbs did it take to break that?
Was it a steady pull? Or a jerk?

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

How many lbs did it take to break that?

It needed some strength to pull apart. The OP can test different rated swivels to see what works best. If he is concerned about outboard legs and propellers then he should leave line spacing between the connection to accommodate the boat's draft. Could even use a few ball sinkers through the line to keep the float from drifting too far if the swivel should break.

 

[boat sju]

Yep, they have hardly changed in 40 years. That they are a little hard to unwind is a feature, not a flaw. Other reels may prove more convenient in currents or other situations, but these are really a good general purpose way to handle towing a flag. If you you need to let it go, just straighten your arm and it is gone. I’ve only let go once and the boater (an overloaded row boat of fishermen) did return it.

Sometimes the simple solution is the best.

I had to let one go once. It may still be floating around in Georgian Bay east of Tobermory.

I got pretty good at unraveling line from mine. Keep it tight and just kind of rotate my wrist.

 

[Nemrod]

I have found the best solution to be to hire a guide and let them carry it.

Any sort of breakaway fuse should probably be best located at or near the diver end rather than the float end because you never know exactly where along the line length the entanglement could occur or where a propeller might begin wrapping the line.

A bungee loop with a zip tie works fine. When tension is placed on the bungee it naturally thins down and slips through the zip tie.

But, I am back to hiring a guide .

James

 

[TMHeimer]

I've never used my flag shore diving in Nova Scotia and can find nowhere listing it as a legal requirement and a boat anywhere near you is an extreme rarity. In the NYC area (CT, NJ, etc.) when I shore dive in summer there I carry one for safety as well as legality. I rarely get it tangled in my gear by straight arm holding it out and downcurrent/downwind from my body. It is still a PITA. Mine is the cheapest kind with the styrophoam float.

 

[Ted Judah]

Planning a Lake Tahoe dive in a few weeks. Interestingly, a dive flag is required only on the Nevada side of the lake. We are planning a dive right on the line so we will be bringing a dive flag. I imaging we'll plant it on the bottom at the California boarder and infiltrate into Nevada water space before returning. There are some good ideas from this thread I'll use.