Safety sausage as a marker buoy?

[DandyDon]

As you can see, the setup is nice and small. Small enough that I always have it in my BCD pocket (actually I don't bother removing it from my BCD when rinsing, but that's another issue). A few times when I've used it, other divers have told me about the wonderful, much better sausage and reel setup that they have. Unfortunately, their much better sausages spend most of their life on the boat in the gearbag rather than being with the diver.

A couple of local friends told me about their experience of getting pulled well away from the boat before surfacing on a trip, and I said "I hope y'all had sausages?" She siad: "Yes, but they were on the boat." :11:

I'll have to try the fully inflated and send from the bottom of Santa Rosa NM's Blue Hole next time. Nice to know they don't explode. Mine has been on every dive since my first boat trip in 2001, so if any would - mine would.

 

[WetFatCat]

Thanks to you all.
I meant sausage as SMB to indicate position of the diver before surfacing. Going to deploy it from safety stop.
Could you please share your thoughts about choice between cord rolled around a buoy (as Charlie99 does) and a cord on finger spool?

 

[joetex0777]

Both are good choices.... just make sure you practice with which ever one you decide on.

 

[caseybird]

This combination of surface marker buoy and 30' of 2mm cord lives permanently in my BCD pocket.

Cool rig, Charlie.:14:

 

[crpntr133]

I would think that a spool would be less likely to get fouled up. But then you got to know how to shoot the bag with it. Also if you want to do a deeper stop and use the bag then you might be limited to the amount of "rolled" line.

 

[Guba]

I have 30 feet of cord wrapped attached to and wrapped around a light stick. The other end of the cord is attached to my sausage (to be deployed for safety stops, of course). Yes, I deploy them from depth. Yes, I have, on specific occassions, used my sausage for a "marker", though I really don't like to swim away from it.
For that reason, I developed a cheap, "expendible" marker. It works just like a sausage (looks pretty much like one, too), but it's made of one of those tubular mylar "thunder sticks" that they give away at sporting events such as basketball games. They're supposed to make a ringing percussion sound when slammed together. I attached a line to it, rolled the line onto a thin finger spool, and can stow several in a BC pocket. They aren't that hard to deploy (with a bit of practice), and I'm working on a simple device that will allow me to air it up with my octo or second stage. Of course, one has to be aware of depth and how much air to put in the thing, but it works well.
My gallery has a picture of the device if you want to check it out. (It's on page two.)

 

[Diver Dennis]

I have 2. The small one that is oral inlate fits in the small black bag and is always attached to the 100' spool. It fits easily into my BC pocket and stays there. I have inflated this from 80' and as has been posted won't explode if there is not too much air in it.

The big one I keep in my boat bag and use in heavy seas. It is inflated orally or with your reg and has an over pressure valve.

I solo dive a lot and put my name on them so when there is a lot of boat traffic and divers, they know it's me. Color can mean different things in different countries, so it's good to check.

 

[Udo Hartig]

Thanks to you all.
I meant sausage as SMB to indicate position of the diver before surfacing. Going to deploy it from safety stop.
Could you please share your thoughts about choice between cord rolled around a buoy (as Charlie99 does) and a cord on finger spool?

Hi WetFatCat,

I think we have what you are looking for.
A product specifically designed to be deployed by recreational divers on their Safety Stop.
www.surfacemarker.com

The Webbing Deployment System is easy to use and greatly reduces your risk of entanglement as it does not need to be unraveled before deployment.

The disadvantages of the string /cord method are that you need to unravel the full length of the cord (or let it drop free with the weight of the bolt snap). This can only be done if there is nothing below (i.e. Reef) and also increases the risk of the line or cord snagging on equipment as your SMB shoots to the surface. A reel or spool is a better option than the cord in this situation. The WDS eliminates the need for a reel or a spool just for sending up your Surface Marker Buoy.

I have my doubts about semi-permeable fabric buoys mentioned – if these buoys are letting air through, what keeps them inflated at the surface.

• Worst case scenario you are out there for several hours +, and your buoy is constantly leaking
• Is there really enough air coming out of the semi permeable fabric to prevent it from bursting when sent up from 30m / 100ft (look at the size of and OPV on BCD or Tech buoy it is there for a good reason)

With all due respect to DandyDon, yes I have seen many of the fully closed oral inflates explode it is only a matter of time + depth + too much air before they fail. They are great for on the surface and as a back up sausage.

 

[JeffG]

Hi WetFatCat,

I think we have what you are looking for.
A product specifically designed to be deployed by recreational divers on there Safety Stop.
www.surfacemarker.com

Saw the video....they must of taken the PADI Rec-Tech Course.

 

[Udo Hartig]

Saw the video....they must of taken the PADI Rec-Tech Course.

Hi JeffG,

It's logical and easy enough for any diver with proper buoyancy control and a few dives under their belt to master ... a lot easier than a reel / spool or string