SMB - Lift bag....
- Thread starter mwhities
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OP
mwhities
Contributor
Well, I appreciate the fly fishing option but, I don't think it'd last long underwater, especially under salt water. I know I could rinse it well but, I still don't see it lasting very long. Granted, it's under 30 dollars, I just don't think so.
Michael
Michael
Namchief
Contributor
They do make a saltwater version I will find it and post it. well I couldnt find an automatic one for saltwater but the one I posted before was alluminum alloy frame and stainless steel spring so as long as you rinsed it not sure it would not last a couple of years.
While fishing reels are designed to get wet, they are not designed to be saturated and stay that way for really long periods. Even rinsing it won't get all the salt out unless you completely unreel all the line and rinse it again.
OP
mwhities
Contributor
I might be to lazy for that right now. 
Michael
Michael
ianr33
Contributor
I have just been playing with a spool and I think that winding it in one handed will actually be OK.
The way most people wind in a spool is to hold the spool firmly in one hand and wind the line around it with the other hand. Instead if you let the tension of the lift bag hold the line firmly in place you can wind the spool around the line.You dont rotate the spool,rather move the entire thing in a circular fashion to wrap the line around it.Hope that makes sense,kind of hard to explain.
This will only work if the line is under tension.If the lift bag sinks and the line goes slack you could have a problem.
The way most people wind in a spool is to hold the spool firmly in one hand and wind the line around it with the other hand. Instead if you let the tension of the lift bag hold the line firmly in place you can wind the spool around the line.You dont rotate the spool,rather move the entire thing in a circular fashion to wrap the line around it.Hope that makes sense,kind of hard to explain.
This will only work if the line is under tension.If the lift bag sinks and the line goes slack you could have a problem.
OP
mwhities
Contributor
Winding it up will be no problem, the issue I'm having is deploying it safely. Not getting tangled up in the line, dropping my spool and allowing it to fall, and anything else that could happen. I just need to get in the pool or some water and play with it by myself (with buddy near).
Michael
Michael
I'm not having any brilliant flashes of insight on this, but one thing I do want to stress is that you do NOT want the spool/line close to your body (eg. held between your cheek and shoulder) when any air goes into the bag. Rick Inman recounted an incident last year where the bolt snap on his primary reg got caught in the line, and he was dragged to the surface by his long hose.
If you can get the bungie off the bag, you can hold bag and spool in one hand. Assuming you have arranged your regulators so that you can pick up your backup without your hand (and I think that's critical for your setup), you can take a breath, spit out the primary, inflate the bag and let it go. If you're using a Delrin spool, it will go up a little and then unwind down to you, and you can catch it after you've done your regulator switch back to your primary. You wouldn't be able to pull the bag out and verify you've cleared the knot, because I can't see any way you can do that with one hand, but I've done bag shoots without accomplishing that myself (she says, looking a bit chagrined).
If you can get the bungie off the bag, you can hold bag and spool in one hand. Assuming you have arranged your regulators so that you can pick up your backup without your hand (and I think that's critical for your setup), you can take a breath, spit out the primary, inflate the bag and let it go. If you're using a Delrin spool, it will go up a little and then unwind down to you, and you can catch it after you've done your regulator switch back to your primary. You wouldn't be able to pull the bag out and verify you've cleared the knot, because I can't see any way you can do that with one hand, but I've done bag shoots without accomplishing that myself (she says, looking a bit chagrined).
ianr33
Contributor
Another thought on how to deploy it: Could you hold the bag and spool in your hand,put the bag over the end of the inflator hose and press the deflate button. That will fill the bag with air from your wing. This method has the GREAT advantage that yout buoyancy stays constant and gives you as much time as you want to check that the bag is clear of you and your gear before letting it go. Once you do let it go you will tend to sink,but keeping tension on the line will counteract that.
Other possibilities are to inflate the bag with exhaust bubbles from your reg.Works well enough but might be too easy to get snagged on the bag,and only having one hand would make it hard to fix that.
A third possibility it to have a closed circuit bag and put a Dive Alert air horn on your inflator hose.Put the valve of the bag in the air horn and press the button.Bag will inflate.
I dont know if any of these will actually work for you but would make for a fun pool session trying different methods.
Hope it works out for you.
Other possibilities are to inflate the bag with exhaust bubbles from your reg.Works well enough but might be too easy to get snagged on the bag,and only having one hand would make it hard to fix that.
A third possibility it to have a closed circuit bag and put a Dive Alert air horn on your inflator hose.Put the valve of the bag in the air horn and press the button.Bag will inflate.
I dont know if any of these will actually work for you but would make for a fun pool session trying different methods.
Hope it works out for you.
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