Quick poll—When do you inflate your SMB?

[Graeme Fraser]

OK, let me rephrase that... hands up if you haven't had an embarrassing DSMB moment!

 

[James79]

OK, let me rephrase that... hands up if you haven't had an embarrassing DSMB moment!

I have a lurking suspicion you won't get many hands! lol

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Hands up who's had an embarrassing DSMB episode!

If you haven't had an embarrassing DSMB episode it just means you haven't done it enough.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Hands up who's had an embarrassing DSMB episode!

My fav (of course was while in in "Pro Mode" with some new divers, on launch, the spool tangled so I let go - slightly embarrassed. but as I looked up - to figure it's drift, the spool was unwinding on its way back down. I merely had to hold out my hand and the spool fell right into it

I did admit on the surface that it was a balls up on my part, not some casual trick. They were impressed though all the same

 

[AdivingBel]

Hands up who's had an embarrassing DSMB episode!

A nice thing to do when you see a novice start to shoot their bag is to hover below them a few meters so you can catch all the clips and lights etc.. Wonder how I know to do that??

 

[Wookie]

My fav (of course was while in in "Pro Mode" with some new divers, on launch, the spool tangled so I let go - slightly embarrassed. but as I looked up - to figure it's drift, the spool was unwinding on its way back down. I merely had to hold out my hand and the spool fell right into it

I did admit on the surface that it was a balls up on my part, not some casual trick. They were impressed though all the same

That’s how I always shoot a DSMB on a finger spool. Inflate the DSMB and drop the spool at the same time. It usually stays right in front of you, no more than a foot or 2 up.

Unless you wound your spool poorly....

 

[Searcaigh]

Pro tip - power inflate from you LP inflator hose. Its the shizzle. The dump valve keeps it from over pressurising, woooosh, and up it goes.

I use my dry suit inflator hose, always free when diving wet.

 

[Searcaigh]

Hands up who's had an embarrassing DSMB episode!

A good rule of thumb for how big a spool you need is to have 1.5 times the max depth you will need to shoot.

Yea my last major screw up a few years back was sendup up a DSMB on a 30m reel from 40m.

May not have been an issue on it's own but I was diving dry and hadn't opened my dry suit dump valve and didn't let go fast enough.

This could have been a complete disaster resulting in a runaway ascent but I managed to control everything by the time I reached 20m.

Lesson learned
1. Before unclipping DSMB, open dry suit dump valve.
2. Carry a reel with a longer line than the depth diving (with some exceptions e.g. 70m tech dives).
3. When your reel runs of line, LET IT GO. ..... the DSMB will be on the surface and can be retrieved easily, you're not going to lose it.

 

[Diving Dubai]

LET IT GO. ..... the DSMB will be on the surface and can be retrieved easily, you're not going to lose it.

We all know this in our hearts, but irrational human nature kicks in because you don't want to lose it

I once got caught in a situation where I needed to cut my reef hook. I literally couldn't bring myself to do it, despite one part of my brain screaming "cut it you fool"

My buddy saw my predicament and sorted me out and gave me a good telling off on the surface

I still cringe about it to this day. I mean it was just a reef hook, and I had a spare in my bag (obvs not my fav one)

 

[Diving Dubai]

Unless you wound your spool poorly....

I must try that, I have a crack bottle dsmb which goes off like a missile

And I've written the speciality on winding spools badly.