Safety Sausage technique question

[o2deep4o2long]

Here is how not to do it.

 

[Barracuda2]

:laughing:

Here is how not to do it.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: as long as that's not me!!!

 

[rongoodman]

That made me laugh out loud!!

 

[o2deep4o2long]

That made me laugh out loud!!

We laughed underwater for several minutes when that happened, flooding our masks repeatedly.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

For a 6 ft safety sausage, why use a reel or a spool? I simply wind 25-30 feet of string around the sausage when deflated. To deploy at say 30 feet, I unwind the string (cave line) from around the sausage and I have a brass clip at the end of the string (opposite end from where the float is attached). The brass clip pulls the string straight down below me, keeping it straight and tangle free.

When all the line is unwrapped off the sausage, I just fill it up about 1/2 way with one breath and let it go. I let the string slide through my hands as the clip rises and the float ascends. I can hang at 25 or 30 for a while and then slowly ascend the line, leaving the clip and extra line hanging below me.

I often take out the float and start unwinding it at a "deep stop" of around 50 feet. It takes about a minute and gives me something to do. By the time I get to 30 feet, the float is completely ready for deployment.

In the interest of keeping things simple, what benefit does a spool provide?

 

[cool_hardware52]

In the interest of keeping things simple, what benefit does a spool provide?

For starters you don't have 30 ft of slack line in the water :11:


Tobin

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Maybe I was not clear. You never have slack line in the water, that is a big hazard. It is held vertically below you by the weight of the brass clip.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Maybe I was not clear. You never have slack line in the water, that is a big hazard. It is held vertically below you by the weight of the brass clip.

I misread your post. Now for the benefits of a spool; You might need more than 30 ft of line, it gives you something to wind the line up on as you ascend, and you don't need to have 30 ft of line, slack or otherwise hanging down below you or fouled on something or somebody below you.


Tobin

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Thanks for the response, the benefit of not having 30 feet of line out when climbing a ladder might make a spool worthwhile in my view.

I use a reel when sending up a marker lift bag from around 70 feet, because 70 feet of loose line would clearly be too much to handle. However, for a simple little 6-ft sasuage that I launch from 25 feet, I will skip the spool.

 

[dojio]

hi. i live in palau and if you are diving with a good dive shop the dive guide will deploy their safety sausage for the group. if you are separated from the group you will want to deploy your own sausage prior to surfacing because there is boat traffic around the sites and you want to be sure you are seen prior to going up.