Some things that I haven't learned yet

[Soakedlontra]

I have practiced the deployment of my 6ft long surface marker buoy recently. It was OK but the SMB was not vertical on the surface. There is still one thing that is eluding me: how much air I am supposed to dump inside the SMB?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...5-some-questions-smb-usage-7.html#post4881394

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have practiced the deployment of my 6ft long surface marker buoy recently. It was OK but the SMB was not vertical on the surface. There is still one thing that is eluding me: how much air I am supposed to dump inside the SMB?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...5-some-questions-smb-usage-7.html#post4881394

You have to put a little bit of tension on the line to make it stand at attention, Betty ... otherwise, it'll lay down no matter how much air is in it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

Well, you want it full on the surface, right? So at 30 feet, you fill it half full. At 60, you fill it one-third full. But for any SMB to be vertical at the surface, you must put enough downward tension on the line to make it stay that way. They will all fall over if you let the line slack.

 

[Soakedlontra]

You have to put a little bit of tension on the line to make it stand at attention, Betty ... otherwise, it'll lay down no matter how much air is in it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Well, you want it full on the surface, right? So at 30 feet, you fill it half full. At 60, you fill it one-third full. But for any SMB to be vertical at the surface, you must put enough downward tension on the line to make it stay that way. They will all fall over if you let the line slack.

Thanks! I guess there is no way to know whether the SMB is vertical or not unless somebody looks at it from the surface...Sam and I filmed a video about it and obviously when we surfaced the SMB was flat.

To watch the video go to:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...5-some-questions-smb-usage-7.html#post4881394

(I did not want to repeat the video twice...Ma! Maybe I should have posted here too?)

At 30 feet I have to fill it half full but how can I stay neutrally buoyant if that inflatable 'rocket' push me up to the surface while holding the spool?

 

[Soakedlontra]

Thanks! I guess there is no way to know whether the SMB is vertical or not unless somebody looks at it from the surface...Sam and I filmed a video about it and obviously when we surfaced the SMB was flat.

To watch the video go to:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...5-some-questions-smb-usage-7.html#post4881394

(I did not want to repeat the video twice...Ma! Maybe I should have posted here too?)

At 30 feet I have to fill it half full but how can I stay neutrally buoyant if that inflatable 'rocket' push me up to the surface while holding the spool?

I haven't been here in a while and I am getting lost...

The video is not longer available because I am not longer a member of You Tube.

As I have mentioned somewhere else I am getting better at deploying the SMB. I just need more practice

 

[Soakedlontra]

I have a Mobby's dry suit and a while ago I replaced my house garments that I used to wear underneath it with a Whites MK3 undergarment and I still feel cold.

My regular buddy keeps telling me that I don't put enough air in my suit...Well when I do I become too buoyant and I have to let air out.

I cannot figure out how to solve this problem...Maybe it is the MK3 that is not that good after all? or I need to wash it because I have been using it for almost a year? or add more layers? Ma!

 

[TSandM]

Carry more weight.

The Mk3 is very buoyant. I had to add 4 lbs when I switched to it.

You have to carry enough weight to be able to put enough air in the dry suit to loft the undergarment. If you don't, you dive very squeezed, and very cold.

Argon also helps.

 

[Herk_Man]

Aloha. Don't be bummed, the more you dive the more smoothly things can begin to go. Here is what I recommend:

1) Always make a list! Even as an instructor, I still have my mental list of the 7 crucial items for a dive. I start from the feet and work my way up: weights (and weight belt if you need one), fins, boots, wetsuit, bcd, reg, mask.

You wear your weights on the bottom of your feet!?

 

[Soakedlontra]

Carry more weight.

The Mk3 is very buoyant. I had to add 4 lbs when I switched to it.

You have to carry enough weight to be able to put enough air in the dry suit to loft the undergarment. If you don't, you dive very squeezed, and very cold.

Argon also helps.

Thanks Lynne!

How much weight are you talking about? I have 15lbs in my weight belt + the weight of the back plate. I don't particularly want to add more weight in my belt so either I get weights for the back plate or a weight harness.

I will experiment next time I go diving.

 

[TSandM]

You're diving ten pounds lighter than I am. I have a 20 lb weight belt, a five pound backplate, and use two three-pound weights in camband weight pouches. I think we are both using LP95s for tanks, right?