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

[Stoo]

But it is also easier to deploy the deeper you are - less air required at depth to have it full at the surface.

While this is true, it also adds a potentially significant risk. As the SMB rises from depth, it can generate a significant amount of lift. If the diver manages to tangle themselves in the line, or if the spool /reel snags, the SMB is going to drag the diver up and will continue to do so until it reaches the surface.

As for actual use, most of my local diving doesn't require it, but when we dive in Belize we typically stray away from everyone else. I discuss this with our captain and he likes it if we "blow a bag" when we are doing our stops. It just makes it easier for him... he doesn't need to search for us while he's picking others. I use the 6' DAN SMB which requires some air to fill, so there's actually an advantage to sending it from 30' or so. In the off chance something snags, I'm only going to get dragged up to my stop, not the surface~

 

[Scuba J7]

I do hope I am misreading this, but coming from an instructor it seems to call for some more explanations? Like what do you actually do with it? I'm confused

Are you asking what I do with the spool back on land or the process of actually deploying the marker?

 

[Patoux01]

Are you asking what I do with the spool back on land or the process of actually deploying the marker?

Once it's unreeled.
It kind of read to me as "I don't spool it in and just let it live its life".

 

[Akimbo]

...A "surface marker buoy" is something like a dive flag that you are toting around during the whole dive to mark your position on the surface. It is deployed immediately and for the entire duration of the dive
a "delayed surface marker buoy" is one that has its deployment "delayed" until some point later in the dive

Maybe it is a West Coast thing but a towed buoy with a flag is virtually unknown and unusable here because of kelp. When a friend first told me about DSMBs he defined them a Deployable Surface Marker Buoys, which made sense because you could deploy them from depth. They can also serve the function of the CO2 inflated Marker Buoys from the 1950s and 60s -- the balloons that Mike Nelson used on Sea Hunt.

 

[Scuba J7]

Once it's unreeled.
It kind of read to me as "I don't spool it in and just let it live its life".

No, not at all. I spool it in, I just don’t worry about how cleanly my line is laying in the spool. Once The spool is clean and dried, I unspool however much I used and wrap it cleanly around the spool so it will not get tangled on my next deployment.

 

[boulderjohn]

No, not at all. I spool it in, I just don’t worry about how cleanly my line is laying in the spool. Once The spool is clean and dried, I unspool however much I used and wrap it cleanly around the spool so it will not get tangled on my next deployment.

That's a good practice to follow. I do it, too.

 

[boulderjohn]

That's a good practice to follow. I do it, too.

Just to add....

I took my cave sidemount class in the days immediately after a big weekend of diving at the site. The instructor had put in a line from the mouth of the cavern to the cave at the beginning of the weekend so that there would not be a rats nest of lines with all the people there. At the end of the weekend, one of the cave divers there did him a favor and reeled it in for him.

The next day, he led our class into the cave, and he used the same reel, which he had not had a chance to unreel and reel back up carefully. He got less than 20 feet before it snarled, and we had to wait and wait and wait while he got it untangled and could continue the class.

 

[yle]

The dive shop I'm diving with here in Coz wont allow divers to deploy one...only the DM?

I'm sure this depends on the situation. No shop in Coz wants everyone in a group deploying a bunch of SMBs, because there's usually no need. If you're near the guide/DM, his marker takes care of the entire group.

I would bet this is why, if you ask the shop "hey, can I send up my own SMB at the end of the dive?", they'll tell you "no!!" Unnecessary lines around a group of divers can cause more problems than they solve.

But if you get separated from the group, I would think every shop would want you to send up your own SMB near the end of the dive. It's a serious safety issue, considering the number of boats around, and helps the crew figure out how to reunite the group.

Simple solution: don't ask for permission, but only do it when necessary.

 

[Chavodel8en]

I got my OW & AOW 14 & 12 years ago with no training on DSMB. Most of my diving is local shore diving. Even when I traveled (Oahu, Key Largo, other non drifting locations), I never so much as saw a DMSB. So I went thru 14 years of diving, 100+ dives completely ignorant of the need or ability to shoot a DSMB.

Scubaboard is what informed me of what a DSMB even was. So when I was planning a trip to the Yucatan last year, I bought a DMSB & reel and practiced locally 2-3 times - with bad results. Could never manage to launch successfully, and once managed to get my fin straps tangled in line so badly, I had to cut the line.

I partially blame thick gloves & surgy shore conditions for my problems. In Cancun, I launched with no problems despite the medium current.

Since then I have launched successfully several times on local dives. It seems that I figured out the DSMB (main problem is that I need to ensure that the baffle is fully open on the bottom or else air will not enter). I try to practice on every local dive trip.

I hope that DSMB is now taught during OW, or at least AOW. IMO, its not an easy skill, and it benefits from practice.

 

[Akimbo]

I hope that DSMB is now taught during OW, or at least AOW. Its a skill that benefits from practice.

There might be some advantage to learning to use them on your own -- assuming you are told that they exist. You probably learn more about buoyancy control and managing your mouthpiece from mistakes than following instructions straight to success.