Safety Sausage on a BC

[detroit diver]

It doesnt seem to make a lot of sense to me.

1. If it goes off at depth, you've got no way to dump the air in it and you'll become a rocket ship.

2. As previously mentioned, a safety sausage or lift bag can be deployed at depth as a marker for any boat traffic.

I keep a spool with 75-100 ft of cave line attached to a 6 ft tall SMB or safety sausage. It's stowed in the pocket attached to my backplate, buy you could put it in a pocket of a BC.

Last weekend we got blown off a wreck and did a blue water ascent. I blew the bag at 40 feet to let any boats (including our chase boat) know where we were. The line going to the surface also served as a reference line.

 

[Cave Diver]

Lonely Boy once bubbled...
Well, I am asking if anyone has tried this device. Is it handy to use in the surface? Will there be any chance of malfunction underwater? Will it occupy the rear dump valve that make the valve not usable underwater?

No, I havent tried it. But I did watch the video and this is what I learned...

1) It would be fairly simple to use on the surface providing that you are in a perfectly vertical position. Otherwise, it's practically useless.

2) Yes. It is a mechanical device. Therefore there is ALWAYS a chance of malfunction underwater. If the little retaining pin broke, it would allow air to enter it.

3) The valve is still usable. This device just replaces the valve assembly with a new valve that also contains the sausage.

Further thoughts...

The reason for this "invention" was because the inventor had to do a surface without a buddy while holding two very expensive cameras, and it was akward for him to deploy a regular sausage.

IF he had been practicing good buddy skills, the incident MIGHT have been avoidable.

IF he had some sort of bolt snap on his cameras, he could have secured them to his harness without being in danger of dropping them and left his hands free to deploy signal device.

IF he had used and practiced deploying a SMB from depth, he would have had a chance to be seen before he got so far from the boat.

Anyone got $.23 change for my quarter?

 

[Cave Diver]

detroit diver once bubbled...
It doesnt seem to make a lot of sense to me.
1. If it goes off at depth, you've got no way to dump the air in it and you'll become a rocket ship.

Hey DD, mebbe you should add this thought to Hal's "
Anyone ever thought of this?" thread.

 

[detroit diver]

Cave Diver once bubbled...


Hey DD, mebbe you should add this thought to Hal's "
Anyone ever thought of this?" thread.

I'm sorry I missed that thread. Or maybe not.....

 

[Zept]

Cave Diver said...
The reason for this "invention" was because the inventor had to do a surface without a buddy while holding two very expensive cameras, and it was awkward for him to deploy a regular sausage.

IF he had been practicing good buddy skills, the incident MIGHT have been avoidable.

But who would want to buddy with someone who had an expensive camera in each hand that they weren't prepared (or able) to let go of? Seems to me the hands-free sausage is only addressing one small part of the problem.

Zept

 

[Cave Diver]

Zept once bubbled...


But who would want to buddy with someone who had an expensive camera in each hand that they weren't prepared (or able) to let go of? Seems to me the hands-free sausage is only addressing one small part of the problem.

Zept

I agree totally. Just realize that my quote above was my assessment of his situation. It in no way condoned it.

 

[Hallmac]

It is designed to replace the right lower dump valve on the seaquest BC. it operates off the air in the bladder and your power inflator. You unscrew the lower dump valve and attach the unit then you thread a strap through the tank belt slot to make it one piece with your BC.
To operate it you simply pull a string that looks just like the original dump. the air in your bc flows in to it and inflates. You can use it at safety stop but there is no advantage. When you reach the surface you inflate the bc and it becomes fully inflated. There is a small bungie that is attached at shoulder level that you reach back and grab. You attach it to the shoulder d-ring so the tube remains tight against your back and stands about 5 to 5 1/2 feet above your head. It was invented so you could have both hands free while you were trying to attract the attention of the dive boat. The newer Seaquest BCs have rear dumps on both shoulders and the lower right and they figured you did not need all of them. Go figure! It can be defalted by using any of the exhaust valves or the same line used to inflate it.

Just another gadget! I would agree Cave diver add it to my thread we could have some fun with it too!

Hallmac

 

[StilettoDriver]

I have one on my BC.
Used it in Cozumel this past Sept. when we surfaced some distance form the dive boat in 4-6 ft. seas. The capt. had no prob. seeing our location.
They are cheap and effective safety signaling devices.
TR

 

[Hallmac]

I put one on an Pro QD and ran it through some paces today here what I found.

Easy to install and operate. It does not prevent the lower dump from working. The string that operates the dump valve is really long and needs to be shortened. Once deployed it stands 4 feet seven inches above the shoulder. It is well made and uses the same material as the Halcyon lift bags.

Problem found is once deployed it stays that way until you are back on the boat. Almost impossible to roll it up and store it away while you are in the water. While rolling it up you need to make sure it is a tight roll and must be kept square or you will never get the latch poked back through the elastic loop. Took me a few minutes to figure it out but can be done without reading the instructions.

Hope this helps.

Hallmac

 

[djhall]

What is the cost on this thing? Put another way, how much extra would someone be paying just to have the sausage integrated into the BC dump valve?

I saw an article on these a few weeks ago and they looked interesting, but I could not find one listed online with a price. I am looking to buy a safety sausage to carry with me on ocean dives, but I suspect there is a hefty premium attached to any new gadget.