Mike Hoversten
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What and where is the best way to attach your safety sausage and reel of cord to your BCD?
how to attach safety sausage to BCD
- Thread starter Mike Hoversten
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Scuba Client
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Check out a few Youtube videos. What type of reel and SMB do you propose buying?
Most people use a pocket or pouch attached to their BCD or Backplate or a thigh pocket on a wetsuit or drysuit. Some people use a boltsnap and attach them to a D ring but I find that to be an entanglement hazard. There are quite a few YouTube videos that will give you good information.
OTF
Coney Island Whitefish Biologist
Watch some videos on the GUE or tech diver method for tying and clipping off with a bolt snap.
Generally the DSMB is kept in a left side pocket, and in the same pocket for consistency. Places to keep it:
- BCD pocket
- Suit pocket (glued on or standard)
- "Tech shorts" pocket
- Clipped off to a butt or bottom-of-the-bcd area d-ring so it rides streamlined behind you under the tank.
- neatly bungeed to the bottom or side of the bcd/backplate
- bungeed to a shoulder strap if it's a small one
- in a tail pocket
Whatever pocket it's in, it should be clipped off to a d-ring so it can't fall out and get lost. Don't have it dangling off your body in a non-streamlined way.
Generally the DSMB is kept in a left side pocket, and in the same pocket for consistency. Places to keep it:
- BCD pocket
- Suit pocket (glued on or standard)
- "Tech shorts" pocket
- Clipped off to a butt or bottom-of-the-bcd area d-ring so it rides streamlined behind you under the tank.
- neatly bungeed to the bottom or side of the bcd/backplate
- bungeed to a shoulder strap if it's a small one
- in a tail pocket
Whatever pocket it's in, it should be clipped off to a d-ring so it can't fall out and get lost. Don't have it dangling off your body in a non-streamlined way.
Julius SCHMIDT
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hedonist222
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For a long time I had the DSMB and spool in my left pocket.
Now they they're in an ass pouch attached to my V crotch strap D rings.
Now they they're in an ass pouch attached to my V crotch strap D rings.
Depends upon:
- Spool or reel. If spool it'll fit in your pocket (if you have them, etc.).
- If reel, how big is it. If a baby reel, it'll fit in your pocket (if you have them, etc.)
- If a large reel it needs to be clipped to you. You need to ensure you've used bungee to tightly hold the SMB to the reel (so it cannot break free) and then you clip the reel to your waist D-ring (which should be placed as far back as possible to easily access - the reel will dangle to your side).
napDiver
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What bcd do you have?
I use a double ender. I keep it attached to my smb n spool. I like it in my butt pouch, drysuit pockets, or clipped to butt clip and the sausage held in place by bunges.
If you buy the plastic spools, you'll likely have to cut quite a bit of line off. Youtube videos will be helpful for that level of "setup smb and spool".
I use a double ender. I keep it attached to my smb n spool. I like it in my butt pouch, drysuit pockets, or clipped to butt clip and the sausage held in place by bunges.
If you buy the plastic spools, you'll likely have to cut quite a bit of line off. Youtube videos will be helpful for that level of "setup smb and spool".
Spools vs. Reels...
Spools are very simple things, but need special techniques to use, particularly in 'knitting' the double-ender to keep it (otherwise it will escape). Spools have one really irritating drawback: you drop them and they unwind all the way to the bottom. They're slightly fiddly on the surface to clip together (I use both the double-ender and the SMB's bolt snap). Spools need some practice.
Reels come in small and large. Small's nice to fit in your pocket, but they're fiddly to wind. Larger spools are nicer to wind, but won't fit in your pocket.
If a reel's kept outside of a pocket, you must ensure that the bag can't escape and unravel. Similarly with ensuring that the reel remains locked (I use bungees for that).
For single-cylinder recreational diving, 30m/100' to 40m/140' of string is plenty long enough. If you're doing deeper technical dives, longer string is very helpful especially if you release the SMB from the bottom in a current (so that the boat can see your SMB before you drift substantially downstream in the tide).
An excellent starter reel is something like these MDE reel and Beaver reels. Lightweight and 'large' with bungees to safely retain your SMB. Don't use the 'suicide' clip on the end of the string; just use a 40cm/15inch long loop (big enough to fit the spool through; pass loop through "hole" in SMB and back over the reel; instant knot).
I use two reels, my backup is kept in my drysuit pocket and is a mini pocket sized Custom Divers reel on a Halcyon SMB. This reel is basically spool sized, so fits easily in my pocket on a bungee loop -- hence the SMB is rolled "inside out" so to keep the size down (with the nozzle pointing down into the pocket so it doesn't catch when pulling it out).
My main reel is my primary Kent Tooling reel with 100m/330' of line on a CO2 cartridge inflated SMB, this is clipped off to my waist D-ring or on my rebreather. This is a much larger reel and a very substantial metal ratchet mechanism. Larger reels are much easier to wind in when on the fast ascent (10m/33' per minute) portion of the dive, before arriving at the decompression stops. The weight of the reel helps stabilise the string in waves/swell.
Spools are very simple things, but need special techniques to use, particularly in 'knitting' the double-ender to keep it (otherwise it will escape). Spools have one really irritating drawback: you drop them and they unwind all the way to the bottom. They're slightly fiddly on the surface to clip together (I use both the double-ender and the SMB's bolt snap). Spools need some practice.
Reels come in small and large. Small's nice to fit in your pocket, but they're fiddly to wind. Larger spools are nicer to wind, but won't fit in your pocket.
If a reel's kept outside of a pocket, you must ensure that the bag can't escape and unravel. Similarly with ensuring that the reel remains locked (I use bungees for that).
For single-cylinder recreational diving, 30m/100' to 40m/140' of string is plenty long enough. If you're doing deeper technical dives, longer string is very helpful especially if you release the SMB from the bottom in a current (so that the boat can see your SMB before you drift substantially downstream in the tide).
An excellent starter reel is something like these MDE reel and Beaver reels. Lightweight and 'large' with bungees to safely retain your SMB. Don't use the 'suicide' clip on the end of the string; just use a 40cm/15inch long loop (big enough to fit the spool through; pass loop through "hole" in SMB and back over the reel; instant knot).
I use two reels, my backup is kept in my drysuit pocket and is a mini pocket sized Custom Divers reel on a Halcyon SMB. This reel is basically spool sized, so fits easily in my pocket on a bungee loop -- hence the SMB is rolled "inside out" so to keep the size down (with the nozzle pointing down into the pocket so it doesn't catch when pulling it out).
My main reel is my primary Kent Tooling reel with 100m/330' of line on a CO2 cartridge inflated SMB, this is clipped off to my waist D-ring or on my rebreather. This is a much larger reel and a very substantial metal ratchet mechanism. Larger reels are much easier to wind in when on the fast ascent (10m/33' per minute) portion of the dive, before arriving at the decompression stops. The weight of the reel helps stabilise the string in waves/swell.
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