Line work videos

[DA Aquamaster]

Me too Jean. I am a Ralph Hood/Larry Green reel fan for both primary and jump reels. Spools work fine, but a good jump reel is easier to run and handle in high flow, etc and won't unspool if you get bumped, drop it, etc.

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In the distant past the practice was to clip it off the the line you jumped to, pointing the way you went. However the current practice is to clip it back on the reel's line prevents the spool or reel from getting knocked up an over the the line it is attached to. The current practice is much more secure, the older method could leave you with only the snap hook attaching it to the line.

With reel or spool, apply some tension a bit short of the line you are jumping to keep the line tight. The develop a habit of always tying the same way (wrapping over or under is fine, but always do it the same way. That will pay off when deep, in poor viz, etc when it can otherwise be hard to know which way to unwrap the line when removing the jump.

Where to place the jump on the mainline can vary. You can place it between the arrows or on either of the arrows, or set your own arrow or cookie behind the other two arrows and tie to it. The latter makes the most sense as it develops a habit that will also work for you when jumping from a spot on the line that is not marked.

The critical issue is not to create confusion for you or anyone else. If you are on a line with multiple exits and are exiting against the direction of the line arrows to the closest exit, drop a cookie, not a line arrow as it will be pointing the "wrong" way. Also, always place your marker behind the arrows to further avoid confusion.

Also, if the passage has a set of double arrows at the mid point (pointing in each direction) drop a cookie on your exit side. In the event you lose the line in an area of low flow, you may find the double arrows but would not neccesarily know which way to exit - that cookie could save you a lot of time in a lights out/silt out, lost line exit.

 

[Peter Guy]

With reel or spool, apply some tension a bit short of the line you are jumping to keep the line tight.

During my Cave class, we jumped to an "older" line that had become a bit frayed. My instructor had me wrap the line but secured my spool to a rock a few inches from the jumped-to line. His point was that he didn't want to have me put any undo tension on the frayed line but still keep my jump line taught.

BTW, is this just something that would be particular to this instructor or is this something that is in general practice? (Note, this was the only frayed line I've been on -- he told me later that since this was one of "his" caves, he'd go back in and replace the line later.)

 

[Daedalus]

During my Cave class, we jumped to an "older" line that had become a bit frayed. My instructor had me wrap the line but secured my spool to a rock a few inches from the jumped-to line. His point was that he didn't want to have me put any undo tension on the frayed line but still keep my jump line taught.

BTW, is this just something that would be particular to this instructor or is this something that is in general practice? (Note, this was the only frayed line I've been on -- he told me later that since this was one of "his" caves, he'd go back in and replace the line later.)

If the line is frayed and unsafe and you should be running your own line or (preferably) replacing it. If putting a spool on the line is too much stress for it to bear, then it can't be trusted to bear the stress of being used in an emergency or the stress of getting caught on something accidentally.

 

[TSandM]

Yes, when I originally heard this story, all I could think was, "Wow -- if it won't take the tension of a spool, how likely is it to hold if I need it to exit in zero viz?"