Have you ever deployed a delayed surface marker buoy or been taught how to?

[Flotsam]

Somehow my AOW class skipped this skill. So before my first trip down to Jupiter, I watched YouTube videos and practiced in the springs.

I had a plastic reel at first and hated it - too big for a pocket, so it flapped along the bottom of my BCD. Within a year the tensioner broke, junk. I love my finger spools for shooting smbs.

 

[Storker]

I always carry a dSMB rigged with a spool in my right DS pocket. Never considered a reel, they're too bulky for me, and a spool works great. Now if I were shooting from the bottom and using the sausage to hang from during deco, I might consider a reel; winding 30m of line back on a spool seems a bit... tedious.

As quite a few of my dives are from my own boat in less than perfect vis, I don't always manage to surface right beside the boat, and shooting a sausage from my safety stop makes it a lot easier for the boat tender to spot us. And it gives me something to do during my safety stop. In the rare occasion that I'm about to surface a place where there may be other boats, it also lessens the chance that I'll get a new haircut as I surface.

I learned how to rig and shoot it from watching a few YouTube videos, and then practicing a little. It's not rocket science.

 

[joe10540]

I think that everyone should be taught this skill, maybe not in OW as there is already a lot going on but definitely in AOW. It’s not a hard skill at all but it’s not hard to end up with line everywhere and end up with a tangled mess heading to the surface. The first time you set your DSMB free shouldn’t be when you’ve been separated from your group or blown off a wreck and now need to be picked up because there isn’t room to get it wrong that time. I was shown once and did it once during my AOW class it didn’t really take away from any of the other material and it wasn’t a huge task loading since I was already comfortable with holding a hover.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I’m really lucky my OW instructor emphasized how important it was that I deployed from depth and maintained it as we continued the dive for a few minutes. Though the standard does not require it, I think having the hands on experience and being taught this was great. Anyone can surface and wave around a SMB but deploying from depth requires a little bit more instruction and skill that is of significant value.

I carry one regularly and have only had to deploy it once for an oops moment and that was when my buddy and I got separated from our group. Per the liveaboard instructions, due to how remote we were, they still wanted us to do our safety stops instead of surfacing immediately to reunite with our group. Surfacing immediately was only recommended for lost busy. We did our safety stop for 3 minutes before surfacing and during the safety stop, we had my DSMV deployed so that our group knew where we were and so that the liveaboard lookout and dinghy drivers knew where we were.

I’ve had the opportunity to use it regularly but usually vacation dive where the DM beats me to it so I don’t bother. I still carry it no matter what and practice when I can.

 

[Dogbowl]

I was never taught in OW, and had a horrible time the first time I tried to do it on my own. I will be taking AOW in Coz in 2 days and will ask the instructor to incorporate it into every dive if possible. I think Coz is the perfect place to learn and use this skill. I'll also be doing a liveaboard in the spring, and I want to know how to do it by then.

 

[Storker]

I was never taught in OW, and had a horrible time the first time I tried to do it on my own.

There's a bunch of different ways to mess it up, so don't be too embarrassed. You should have seen me the first time I tried

As I said, there are quite a few pretty good videos on YouTube (and perhaps even more showing how not to do it ). Like this:

or this:

Note how the first guy clips the double-ender to the line before shooting the sausage. That's a pretty neat trick that keeps just enough tension on the line that if it gets a little loose, it won't be able to float around and wrap you up. Lines underwater are evil and will use any opportunity to entangle you.

But I'd never stick my finger in the spool hole like the first guy does. Imagine a boat snagging the sausage before you get your finger out of the hole. What may well happen then? I just hold the spool using my thumb and forefinger at the outside of the center hole. That works equally well without gloves, with thick neoprene three-fingers and drygloves. The second guy's spool doesn't even seem to have a hole, just two indentations for his fingertips. Works just as well, but isn't necessary for holding the spool correctly.

 

[prncinghrse]

This InnerSpace vid is very precise. I've not yet done it yet.

 

[rivers]

Every sea dive, with a bit of practice in the quarry in between. I have 2 x 4.5ft halcyon dsmbs, each with a 45m spool attached. My main one is in my left pocket, back up in my right. Anything 30m or shallower, I deploy from the bottom. Anything deeper gets deployed from 21m, or first deco stop. The boat needs to find me somehow....

The shop I DM for teaches students to deploy from underwater, as it's a necessary skill in the UK

 

[RayfromTX]

We asked to be shown at the end of our OW dives. Our first time doing it ourselves was when our DM in Cozumel taught us how and after that we took turns deploying. I prefer to use the exhaust from my second stage to inflate the DSMB. Just before AOW I changed the location of the bolt snap on my second stage to the method that uses a small piece of bungee to semi-secure it to the side of the reg opposite the hose. In my AOW we were required to shoot a bag on every dive. On one of the dives the line snagged on the bolt snap. DOH!! I was pulled up 5 feet before getting it unhooked and I was already visualizing my line cutter. It all happened very fast. I always think about my line cutter in the back of my head when I or anyone else is deploying a bag now. Practice practice practice. It's not a gimme imho.

 

[Dan]

I like to see how these instructors/ DMs do it quickly in ripping current where the DSMB line almost horizontal like in Peleliu Express, Palau. Soon enough for the dingy to spot it before we are lost at sea, miles away from the boat to see. This is when DSMB is needed the most.