I'm having trouble deploying DSMB...

[admikar]

 

[Wibble]

If your dive team is uncoordinated then I’m not surprised that you are lost at sea. You would think the skipper would know the direction of the current. At sea level the curvature of the earth limits the range of vision to 2.9 miles. The formula for determining how many miles an individual can see at higher levels is the square root of his altitude times 1.225.

There is a distinct difference in missing all your staged decompression stops to just missing the last one if there were no other means to stop being dragged by your SMB to the surface. The likelihood of death would be instant. You must be the only diver in the UK who relies on a self-inflating SMB—expensive to lose. And you have the propensity to lecture me when by your own admission you don’t use conventional SMBs.

I was unaware that in your BSAC SMB course they stipulated the SMB must be at a certain height above the waterline.

Unfortunately, your self-inflating SMB cannot be taken on a plane.

Team? What’s one of those?

I and most other divers I meet book on individuals diving boats. The skipper is a taxi driver to the wreck. The max dive time is agreed — normally 2 hours, more by agreement. Skipper shots the wreck (drops a grapnel on a buoyed line). Skipper insists on one SMB per diver as they’re counted up before the shot is pulled out, although often it’s left until all divers are recovered.

We all drop in at slack water individually or in twos or threes. There’s an element of putting longer runtime divers in first.

The skipper will monitor the SMBs as the pop up over the wreck and will wait for the final SMB before drifting downstream with the field of bags, all in a line. Early risers are picked up as they surface.

Decompression times vary according to the wreck depth, up to an hour or longer. As a rule of thumb, half your decompression time is spent at 6m/20ft. Tides in the English Channel are up to two knots or more so the divers surface a long way downstream.

Divers who don’t put a bag up from the wreck are loudly shouted at by the skipper.

In other more busy parts of the Channel — or in fog — it’s common to ascend on the shot line, obviously with shorter runtimes as you hang on the line like a flag in the current.

You assume the sea is flat. Pathetically inadequate tiny SMBs are very hard to see in waves. Big SMBs — especially thick SMBs — are needed as they’re visible when laying on their side.

Orange is the correct colour.

On a rebreather you don’t have gas to waste thus CO2 or ‘crack bottle' inflation systems are used. Backup SMBs use drysuit inflators. Open bottom SMBs are dangerous as there’s a serious snag risk.

If you’ve screwed up the inflation and the reel catches or jams you let the damn thing go — it will be picked up by the boat. You then send up your spare SMB. Yes, you always carry one. I also carry a third small yellow SMB to send up the SMB line which is a pre-agreed signal with the skipper; bailed out, etc.

 

[apedai]

2 method
1、use reef hook before inflate
2、inflate it at surface
btw if you have near 5m long dsmb you can even knock someone‘s head who on the boat

 

[BlueTrin]

2 method
1、use reef hook before inflate
2、inflate it at surface
btw if you have near 5m long dsmb you can even knock someone‘s head who on the boat

5m long DSMB?

…

I guess I’ll have to inflate that from much deeper

…

Make sure to not lift the boat if you use Helium

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I wonder if there is a flare available that you can shoot from underwater and it will break the surface and then turn into a magnificent fireworks display.

That would just be sooooo much easier.

 

[apedai]

5m long DSMB?

…

I guess I’ll have to inflate that from much deeper

…

Make sure to not lift the boat if you use Helium

Yes OP said it is 16ft tall

16ft tall. I have a 12 ft cilling.

 

[steinbil]

2 method
1、use reef hook before inflate
2、inflate it at surface
btw if you have near 5m long dsmb you can even knock someone‘s head who on the boat

Hahaha
It's fool proof! How could attaching yourself to the bottom and sending up and SMB with 130lbs of lift ever go wrong?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

once its deployed, you can also tug on it to make it stand up.

go ahead, everyone...

 

[apedai]

Hahaha
It's fool proof! How could attaching yourself to the bottom and sending up and SMB with 130lbs of lift ever go wrong?

hahaha I did when I'm noob

and result is nice hahah, it is 1.8m