Sausage reel...

[pir8]

Now try it from 120ft.

In a current.

With some stops to do meaning you have to tow it around for 20 minutes while you ascend.

Deep/long deployments certainly can be done with a spool but a good ratchet reel makes it far more comfortable

I would be using a heavier duty reel with a lift bag in that case.

 

[String]

Which is maybe the confusion here.

I take "safety sausage" (a term i've never heard outside this board) to mean a delayed surface marker buoy. Which is usually about 5ft long, 8" wide and has about 30lbs lift when full.

 

[pir8]

I have a smaller sausage that I carry bundled with a spool for the Carribean. Diving Jersey I carry a heavier Reel with a 50lb lift bag.

 

[JS1scuba]

ok, so I got a safety sausage. last dive trip just tying line to it and trying to control it was a big hassle.

I've noticed DM's and others having a reel to let out and reel in the line attached to the sausage.

can you buy these reels? or are people making them from old fishing reels?

Reels and spools are a regular part of diving these days. The more you are out there the more you will see them on Safety Sausages, Lift Bags, SMBs and flag / floats. We have a huge selection of spools that make what you want to do easy. Visit our websites and select REELS and SPOOLS ... PM me with any questions.

Real Divers Have Reels !

Cheers

 

[diver_daver]

For a dive marker, I use a reel. For my safety sausage, I don't use anything but line. I have a 40' line that is tied into a chain sinnet about 10' long and is tucked with the folded safety sausage into the space between my back pad and plate. It is easy to deploy as it is folded not to tangle, also easy to rinse and dry without unfolding.

 

[sharky60]

Thanks for the info guys,

YIKES! Those things can cost some change!!!

 

[Guba]

Seems to me that the purpose/need dictates how this question should be answered. How are you going to use it? If you are deploying from significant depth, then a quality reel is called for and it can be used in a variety of other situations (setting a retraceable course, etc...). If all you want is to deploy it from shallow depths for a safety stop, then a reel might be considered overkill. I attached about 10 m of sturdy line and a whistle to my sausage (which has its own snap-link), then attached a chemical marker to the other end of the line. I wound the line onto the marker, rolled the sausage and put it all in a pouch on my BC. The only time I use this system is for safety stops, but I carry it on ALL dives regardless of conditions.

 

[Jim Kerr]

Now try it from 120ft.

In a current.

With some stops to do meaning you have to tow it around for 20 minutes while you ascend.

Deep/long deployments certainly can be done with a spool but a good ratchet reel makes it far more comfortable

I'm not familiar with the "ratchet" reel. Could you provide a link that could show me what you're talking about? Is that different from a safety or primary reel? Thanks.

 

[mike_s]

I'm not familiar with the "ratchet" reel. Could you provide a link that could show me what you're talking about? Is that different from a safety or primary reel? Thanks.

IT's a reel that "rachets" when you wind it in. typically a spring loaded lever on a gear that clicks and rachets as your turn the crank. it keeps the reel tight and from rolling back out.

to let line out, you have to press down on the lever that hold the rachet in place against the gear.

In this pic, the blue lever on the right acts as the ratchet lever.... you press on the lever with your thumb to allow line out.

2nd pic below, yellow lever... .same concept, just different reel and different picture angle