One more sausage/finger spool question

[tparrent]

I appreciate all the responses to my previous questions and I am now ready to order a sausage for my upcoming trip.

I have searched the archives and read hundreds of posts about deploying smb's at depth. As I went through it in my head I realized it is ESSENTIAL that I have someone knowledgable show me how to do this. Otherwise I could easily see myself becoming a tangled up cork heading for the surface.

That being said I would still ike to understand precisely how this will work. I see the small finger spools (I would be releasing at my safety stop so no need for lots of line) with a double ender attached. What do the ends attach to? Obviously one attached to the SMB but the other should be the LINE, right? Not the spool? If it was attached to the spool then the spool wouldn't unwind, right?

I am considering a baffled sausage that can be inflated with a quick shot from my octo or my BC. Seems like a little shot of air from the BC is a better idea since that will maintain the same bouyancy (just transferred to the sausage) until I release it.

Like I said, I will NOT try this on my own. I have enough problems corking through that last 15 feet. I am working on bouyancy every time I hit the water. Right now it appears the safest bet for me is to stay a little below 15 feet for my safety stop and then ascend as carefully as possible. My buddy for next week is very experienced and he plans to help me get this bouyancy thing right as we start the vacation.

Thanks!

 

[GreenDiverDown]

That being said I would still ike to understand precisely how this will work. I see the small finger spools (I would be releasing at my safety stop so no need for lots of line) with a double ender attached. What do the ends attach to? Obviously one attached to the SMB but the other should be the LINE, right? Not the spool? If it was attached to the spool then the spool wouldn't unwind, right?

Unspool some line and tie a generous loop in the end... plenty large enough that the spool can easily be passed through this loop. Most spools will come with a loop already tied on the end of the line. But if not, then make your own loop. I use a bowline knot.

On the DSMB there should be a ring or something like that to attach your line. Thread the loop completely through this ring and then pass the spool through the loop. Now you have a connection between the DSMB and spool that can not come undone.

Once the bag is released and is at the surface you then use the double-ender to clip or lock the line to the spool. I have a photo somewhere... I'll try to find it. There is a right way and a wrong way to clip the line to the spool.

Some divers add a "snoopy loop" to the end of the large loop. This is just a thumb-size loop at the very tip of the larger loop. This little loop makes it easier to untie the larger loop from the bag once you're on deck.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Here ya go... this is how to attach the double-ender to the spool. Note the orientation of the clip. First, pass the opening of the clip over the line. Then, clip it from the inside of the spool to the outside. This will help prevent the line from slipping off the rim of the spool. It will also make it a little harder for the line to accidently slip out of the clip.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Oop!

...here ya go...

http://www.scubaboard.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25248&d=1133710908

 

[tparrent]

Thanks! Now I understand

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I am considering a baffled sausage that can be inflated with a quick shot from my octo or my BC. Seems like a little shot of air from the BC is a better idea since that will maintain the same bouyancy (just transferred to the sausage) until I release it.

Here are the SMBs that I use. There are two photos - the top shows a closed-circuit option and the bottom an open-circuit option:
http://www.halcyon.net/mc/dam.shtml

I have the 6' closed-circuit SMB. (It's visible from either the boat or the air, should things go south). Closed-circuit devices are generally inflated using an LP inflator hose (such as the one that attaches to your BC, or an extra hose off your first stage). They may also be orally inflated via the LP inflator device on the SMB. You cannot inflate them with your second stage. Open-circuit devices may be inflated via your second stage.

Just a couple points to consider. On the surface, closed-circuit devices may be used to float a diver who has become exhausted or injured. Open-circuit devices, since there is no valve to keep the air inside the device, are more difficult to use in such roles. For the same reason, closed-circuit devices may be pulled out of the water and waved, because being inflated gives them rigidity. If you do this with an open-bottomed device the gas inside it escapes - its neither inflated nor self-supporting.

So, both types have their pros and cons and neither is necessarily ideal.

On the other hand, IMHO you're wise to take one along with a spool, and either is better than none. Under most circumstances it comes down to a matter of personal preference. Shooting either requires essentially the same skills.

Work with your SMB a few dives before your trip - when you need to deploy them for real is not the time to be getting things figured out.

Have a fun trip,

Doc

 

[spectrum]

More here:
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/specialty_and_advanced/up_and_away/

Pete

 

[spectrum]

But why a double ender on the finger spool. It seems that it's a cardinal rule never to attach yourself for a deployed float.

Pete

 

[GreenDiverDown]

But why a double ender on the finger spool. It seems that it's a cardinal rule never to attach yourself for a deployed float.

Pete

I'm not sure that I follow you. One doesn't attach themselves to the spool when the bag is deployed. The clip just keeps the spool from... un-spooling.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

The double-ender fastens to one of the holes around the circumference of each side of the spool, and secures the spool to the line at whatever depth the diver is at.

The double-ender isn't snapped to the diver.

It can be used to secure the spool itself inside the diver's pocket when not deployed (by snapping it to a bungee loop), but the diver either loosely holds onto the deployed spool or simply hovers adjacent to the deployed spool, using it as a depth reference for the hover. The double-ender can also be used as a handle to hold onto the spool while winding the line back onto it as the diver ascends.

But generally speaking you're correct, you don't want to snap the spool to your harness while submerged. (Drifting around on the surface while waiting for someone to see your SMB and come pick up your soggy carcass is an entirely different matter! Feel free to clip it to your harness on the surface...you may be there awhile...)