Easier SMB Deployment???

[Diver0001]

Palm Beach Scuba Diving with 12 yr old 2010 - YouTube

skip to 40 seconds... no need for a reel. Why take gear you don't need?

-

ooooyhhhhhh that made my toes curl.

He's lucky that he didn't get tangled up in the line and if you ask me it's only a matter of time before it happens.

A much cleaner approach to that is to simply use a spool but with a line of desired length so you can unclip it, let the spool fall, which will unwind itself as it drops, and presto. No complications with line floating all over the place during deployment.

And actually, I'm not sure I would recommend this technique at a site with a hard bottom just under the diver where the line could get bunched up, hooked on something, or start floating around.

R..

 

[dumpsterDiver]

ooooyhhhhhh that made my toes curl.

He's lucky that he didn't get tangled up in the line and if you ask me it's only a matter of time before it happens.

A much cleaner approach to that is to simply use a spool but with a line of desired length so you can unclip it, let the spool fall, which will unwind itself as it drops, and presto. No complications with line floating all over the place during deployment.

And actually, I'm not sure I would recommend this technique at a site with a hard bottom just under the diver where the line could get bunched up, hooked on something, or start floating around.

R..

If the water is too shallow to allow the weight to fall free, then it is impractical. A reel would be better. As for the kid getting tangled.. that was one of his earlier attempts at deployment. He lost concentration and sunk too deep and he definitely got a "talking to" about how he finned back up to me way too fast.

The video was showing a 12 yr old learning the skill. I probably should have said that he had issues with it. The second video, is me filming myself and I think it looks a little cleaner.

 

[Searcaigh]

For local diving here in UAE I used to carry a reel with 6M of line and used that with my SMB when I reached my safety stop, I never thought of dropping the reel to unwind it before shooting the SMB though, sounds like a good idea to me and will try it at some point next week. Recently I have been doing a lot of deeper diving and have only been carrying a 30M reel and only use it if not coming up an anchor or buoy line.

 

[rhwestfall]

For me, I am continually challenged by orally inflating the bag (DSS with the inflation tube), and not getting the line snagged on my bungied octo, my mask, or any other point just wanting to get involved in the exercise....

once its going, its no problem (spooling out line). Just the "launch" that is perplexing.

practice, practice, practice, but it still challenges me to wits end.

 

[TSandM]

rhwestfall, if you hold the spool and SMB in the same hand, with the SMB "hiding" the spool from your face, and no slack line at all, you won't get caught up in it.

I am reading through all these posts and thinking, "You know, with just a little practice, this is not that hard a skill." If I could learn it, anybody can, and I don't think there is any need for a deployment technique that involves allowing any significant amount of loose line or cord (admittedly a lower risk with thicker cord) in the water.

 

[Searcaigh]

I have three different types of SMBs, one of them is so easy to deploy using my exhaust gas, the problem is it is the biggest of all three, but does have a dump valve.

The next size down has an oral inflator added but the open end has some magnetic closure that makes inflation via exhaust gas more difficult

The smallest of my three has only an oral inflation valve and I actually have that attached to one of my strobe arms on my camera system as a back up, I occasionally use it on the surface only if I have not deployed my main SMB.

I did see an inflator system on an SMB using a Schraeder valve and filled via dry suit inflator hose, that looked easier to use than any other method I have seen or used.

 

[rhwestfall]

rhwestfall, if you hold the spool and SMB in the same hand, with the SMB "hiding" the spool from your face, and no slack line at all, you won't get caught up in it.

... and the lightbulb begins to glow.... how the heck didn't that become apparent to me?????? Aye carumba!

 

[Akimbo]

dumpsterDiver, what line is used in that video? It looks like a brass bolt snap on the end of the line. The small plastic spool in my experiment probably weights about the same. Allowing it to unroll by falling didn’t create any momentary floating loops that could accidently entangle an unwary diver.

Have you tried releasing the end of the line by holding the top-end of the rolled SMB vertically, and unwinding by gyrating (sort of a stirring motion at the wrist), allowing the line to fall straight down? I would probably stay with the spool rather than use the two-handed unwinding method in the video. I hate rewinding line onto a spool so wrapping it around the rolled SMB is attractive.

... Recently I have been doing a lot of deeper diving and have only been carrying a 30M reel and only use it if not coming up an anchor or buoy line.

Not sure I understand. Are you using the 30M reel for decompression stops deeper than 20'/6M?

… "You know, with just a little practice, this is not that hard a skill." ...

Agreed, but there’s the rub. The objective is to find a low/no-skill low-risk solution for new and infrequent recreational divers. Unfortunately, these are the divers that can actually justify shooting a bag for a safety stop due to under-developed buoyancy control.

Even for skilled divers, is there really a need to carry 100'/30 M plus line? I must admit to a deeply entrenched prejudice against divers handling string. Commercial tenders have been run off (fired) for sending line to a diver smaller than 1/8", for good reason! Quarter inch is the preferred minimum for handling offshore.

It has only happened twice, but what I really hate is dropping the spool with 100'+ of line before getting it snapped off. Then I have to pull all that string back up letting the excess loop down, grab the empty dangling spool, and wind it all back on the spool. Definitely not fun in kelp. Winding 20' is annoying enough!

---------- Post added December 19th, 2012 at 09:42 AM ----------

…

---------- Post added December 18th, 2012 at 11:01 PM ----------

or.. skip to 8:25 filmed myself

Helldiver SB2C Plane Wreck Off Jupiter Florida - YouTube

That tells the story better. Have you tried larger line?

 

[TSandM]

What kind of spool are you using, akimbo? The Delrin ones are very close to neutral -- they don't fall very fast. I have dropped them, and either I or one of my teammates has been able to recover them before they unspooled very much.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the set of circumstances that would require a very occasional and unskilled diver to deploy a bag underwater, and from a shallow enough depth to use the described technique. To me, shooting a bag is something you do to mark your position to a boat, or to make a no-reference ascent easier. I don't think a diver who can't learn to shoot a bag belongs in a situation where he's trying to do a direct ascent without reference -- and if he's in that situation, he doesn't need the additional task-loading of managing a bag. If the diver has been blown off a wreck, for example, it's not likely he's shallow enough to use this approach, and if he's terribly worried about the boat losing him, he's probably better off omitting the safety stop and immediately inflating a bag on the surface.

I really don't want to sound any more dismissive than I am, but in my world, we have a saying, "an equipment solution to a technique problem," with the implication that, rather than change your gear, you should improve your skills. People who can't shoot a bag really should avoid situations where doing so is a safety requirement -- stay with the guide with the float, or the guide who is going to shoot the bag, or stay on the anchor line on ascent.

 

[Akimbo]

… And actually, I'm not sure I would recommend this technique at a site with a hard bottom just under the diver where the line could get bunched up, hooked on something, or start floating around…

Dropping 20' of line form 15-20' works over a 40' bottom. Why would anyone bother with a safety stop from a 40' dive? Maybe on a pinnacle dive???

Let’s face it, for the vast majority of divers, is there any reason to carry more than 15' (safety stop) of line?