I'm having trouble deploying DSMB...

[Stoo]

I was attaching it to a spool. But I can't hold it long enough to inflate to halfway.

As others have said, you can't possibly fully inflate a DSMB without risking life and limb. One or two big blows and let 'er go. Once it's on the surface, pull down on the line and that should get it standing up. I dump air in my suit/BCD and basically "hang" from the DSMB using my weight to keep it vertical. Alternately, I hang my camera from it. That system weighs about 6 pounds in the water, so that will also keep the marker upright.

Once I surface, I fully inftate it if I am waiting for the boat to come to me.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The primary purpose of the SMB is to indicate to people on the surface that you're underneath the bag. Blobs lay down on the surface. They're only vertical when you tug on them -- dangling below negatively buoyant. Girth is just as important as length -- ask any skipper looking around for a blob in any kind of sea. It goes without saying that it needs to be pretty much full on the surface too.

(Checks forum...) We're discussing Technical diving, not recreational stuff where there's a short time between putting up a bag and arriving at the surface; we're talking about people decompressing under them which may well be well over an hour under the SMB. You shouldn't be doing your decompression obligation under a tiny bag.

Other uses for SMBs are as lift bags; possibly resting that bag of scallops or the gold bars, or as emergency buoyancy should your wing & drysuit fail. These all require substantial amounts of buoyancy which a training blob won't provide.

Thus... what's the point of an itty bitty training SMB aside from training? Why would anyone dive with a small SMB?

In local lakes, quarries, and even on Lake Erie the conditions are such that a large DSMB is not needed. However, if you have 16-18 people on one down line waiting to surface, doing safety stops or doing deco and just want a reference line when the algae is blooming a small DSMB gives you that. It also lets the boat know that some people are doing their hang off of the line.

Training is where I use them the most, but sometimes I get away from the lines and for whatever reason decide to end the dive where I am. Shoot the small one and do a deco hang just floating and chilling. My spools and reels that are used for the DSMB are knotted at 20, 15, and 10 feet. 3 @ 20, 2 @ 15, and 1 @ 10. I don't need to look at my computer for depth.

 

[Stoo]

That thing is ridiculous. I've played with the ten footers, which suck. Can't imagine this thing. I suspect that your difficulties will diminish greatly if you get dsmb that is designed for the real world.

This is the big connundrum with DSMBs. The only time a giant marker makes sense, is if it's really rough. In order for it to be rough, it's going to be windy. If it's windy, any marker will be blown over. Certainly big is good, but I suspect a 6 or 8 footer tops would be best.

 

[Stoo]

So much information here... Perhaps a summary is in order.

1) Bigger isn't always better.
2) If you're having trouble getting it up, blow more, fondle it and tug it some.
3) Sometimes they get floppy, no matter what you do.
4) Cold water makes it harder to get it up
5) If you can't get it to stay up, don't despair. It happens to everyone at some point.

Sound about right?

 

[Miyaru]

Sound about right?

Almost.

Considering that the SMB is 16ft tall, it's also an issue with the impaired system.

 

[BlueTrin]

So much information here... Perhaps a summary is in order.

1) Bigger isn't always better.
2) If you're having trouble getting it up, blow more, fondle it and tug it some.
3) Sometimes they get floppy, no matter what you do.
4) Cold water makes it harder to get it up
5) If you can't get it to stay up, don't despair. It happens to everyone at some point.

Sound about right?

Don’t forget about the crack bottle, we all know how addictive it can be to rely on “external help”.

 

[Manatee Diver]

You won’t be laughing anymore when the 3m DSMB will stand proud … above the boat

I know a local that filled up a blow up pterodactyl with 10/70 and ran around Ginnie on Memorial Day Weekend with.

 

[drk5036]

Now, I’m pretty sure we are being trolled. But compared to posting “I think split fins are the best” or “I want to ride a turtle” this is has been far more entertaining.

 

[Wibble]

For goodness sake, big enough isn’t 5 metres/16ft — which nobody uses — it’s being big enough to be seen by surface traffic and your skipper.

Personally have never seen a massive 3m/10ft OMS and definitely not a ludicrous 5m/16ft one.

Itty bitty 3ft training blobs aren’t seen on boats either as the skipper would rightly bollock the user for being so inadequate.

 

[Pearlman]

This “thing” really needs a lil pony bottle with nitric-oxide to inflate it and make it do what it’s maker intended it to do.