Shooting a Sausage

[MMM]

And any good tech class or intro-to-tech will teach this skill.

I haven't yet taken any tech classes, although I may someday just so I can keep learning something new. But it seems to me that it's a pretty basic skill that should be part of a formal training program before one reaches tech training....

 

[RonFrank]

You don't need to learn everything in a class. If you believe this to be a valuable skill, than learn to do it.

I'd recommend having a buddy keep an eye one you the first few times you do it. You WILL tend to hold onto the lift too long, and start ascending. I generally try and be a bit negative when I do this, As one will be exhaling (assuming a mouth inflate) in theory you should remain somewhat neutral. The reality is that one has attached themselves to a buoyant bag, and the tendency is to get pulled up a bit.

If you are uncomfortable learning these types of things without an instructor, find a buddy who teaches this, or take a class. Unfortunately I'm not sure if any non-tech class teaches this skill.

 

[Rick Inman]

You don't need to learn everything in a class.

That's the truth. With just a little bit of effort doing a search here on SB, you'll find an excellent video of a ss shoot and a step by step list of what to do.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Exhaling into the bag has the theoretical advantage of keeping you neutrally bouyant, the problem is that much of the gas misses the bag and it takes a few breathes to launch it if you are shallow and/or have a large SMB. So when you inhale again you have what is in the bag plus what you just inhaled and you are then positively bouyant.

My preference is to dump gas from the wing into the bag via the inflator. The transfer is almost 100% efficient so when the wing is empty you are still neutral. You can then hit the inflator with the dump button still depressed and send air straight into the bag. And when you overcome inertia and just start to rise, release the bag as well as the dump button, but keep the inflator depressed. Upon bag release you are suddenly negative which kills the rise, and in the few seconds it takes to overcome inertia and start to sink, you will have added the gas back into the wing and will again be neutral. The result is very little change in depth, even whan launching a large lift bag or large SMB.

The thing that takes practice if holding the bag by pinching the bottom edge of it between the index and middle fingers of your left hand while holding and operating the inflator with the remaining fingers and thumb of the left hand - and it does not work well with some of the generic inflators out there with buttons on the side and end of the inflator.

The reason for managing the bag and inflator one handed is to ensure the spool or reel and the line is held out in front of you with the other hand, clear of any parts of you that could become fouled. You do not want to go up with the bag.

 

[Buoyant1]

I did a fun dive with one of the instructors from my LDS last summer and he asked me what I wanted to do...After I told him what I wanted to see in the quarry, I told him I wanted to learn how to shoot a bag, so he showed me, he gave me on the surface instructions, and demonstrated at depth, then it was my turn...now it's up to me to continue to practice it.

 

[RonFrank]

I use a safety sausage, so unless one has a hose with a very small opening (I've seen these on divers, but rarely), than one must breath into the safety sausage to inflate. I can generally do it in one breath. Trying to do it in two will result in one holding a buoyant bag, and you will loose depth. There is very little air loss into the water if any.

The open bottomed bags are IMO better as DA Aquamaster has explained. I just don't own one! The SS works, but mine has no over inflation valve, so I generally fill it about 1/3 of the way. We use these to send fish to the surface while spearfishing as well. At depth they are easier to launch as one does not need to put much air in them.

These are surface sausages, so a cheap mans lift bag! Not ideal, but they do work fine, roll up small, and one can clip on a few to one Dring without much drag, or bother.

 

[TMHeimer]

I did it on the Deep course. Think we put about 1/4 full of air while on the bottom. Makes sense at about 100 feet. Then go home & tell your wife you sat on the bottom in 100 feet of water and 37 F and tried to inflate your sausage.

 

[Belmont]

I did it on the Deep course. Think we put about 1/4 full of air while on the bottom. Makes sense at about 100 feet. Then go home & tell your wife you sat on the bottom in 100 feet of water and 37 F and tried to inflate your sausage.

At 37 F it must have been pretty small to begin with...

 

[shoredivr]

The thing that takes practice if holding the bag by pinching the bottom edge of it between the index and middle fingers of your left hand while holding and operating the inflator with the remaining fingers and thumb of the left hand - and it does not work well with some of the generic inflators out there with buttons on the side and end of the inflator.

I found this challenging to do: either the inflator buttons need to be closer together or my fingers need to be longer.....

Oh, well, practice, practice, practice

 

[Jim Baldwin]

A few years ago, a DM taught me how to shoot a sausage with a reel. I learned techniques from different depths, in current etc. ie. first lesson learned: don't hang onto the spool as sausage ascends! Let it roll freely!

I understand this isn't part of ANY PADI course. Wondered if it's part of any course? Seems to me that it's a basic skill that a DM would require. Thoughts? Comments?

In the confined water portion of my AOW classes after my students use the lift bag I show then how to deploy a safety sausage with a finger spool and then let each one try it. It adds a few extra minutes to the pool seesion and everyone seems to enjoy watching the spool hang. I use a Halycon with a low pressure inflator and use my drysuit hose. The students get to disconnet their lp inflator hose and give it a try.

I use mine all the time in Cozumel. I also make a habit of using it when I take my students on their deep dive for AOW and we're coming up for our safety stop.