Teaching of SMB/Safety Sausage Deployment in Basic Scuba training

[Cave Diver]

My LDS is not the cheapest dive shop in the area but definitely make up for it with detailed instruction on the skills they do teach and are open to help you dive outside of class.

That's called value and it IMO, value is always better than cheap.

 

[DCBC]

I introduce divers to the SMB on the OW and include hands-on training in the Advanced. It's a required piece of personal equipment for this course and may be worth its weight in gold when diving in the North Atlantic (the next stop for a separated diver could be Ireland).

 

[Teamcasa]

I would think it is a skill worth going over in OW classes if the diver typically (or plans on) dives in a location(s) where a SMB is commonly used. I certainly believe it should be part of any Advanced certification class.

 

[Druid]

I learned to dive in the UK where it is pretty much standard practice to deploy a DSMB at the end of a dive so the boat can see where you are and come to pick you up. I went from PADI OW to DM and not one instructor showed me how to use a DSMB. I learned by asking other divers how it was used, buying one and spending some time practicing in shallow water.

Both the UK club based courses (BSAC and SAA) include DSMB deployment at a fairly early stage in diver training.

The recommendation here is to use an orange one, btw. Yellow is generally used in the event of an emergency, and generally restricted to "technical" dives.

 

[Splash-X]

The sausage : I have 2 experiences with the sausage and in both cases we were all surprised how little effect it had. One was bright orange, the other yellow. I do carry one but my whistle has a greater impact. Therfore, test your whistle, there are some real crappy ones out there. Specially the ones that don't work when they are wet, tick me off.

Care to elaborate? Your words at face value have no useful meaning. Describing why they had "little effect" may help.

Two types of surface markers exist, a SMB which is deployed at depth to aid in your ascent/safety stop and a Safety Sausage which is deployed on the surface to aid boats and other traffic as to your position.

The SMB doubles as your surface marker when you do surface. The only instance I can see both a SMB and a safety sausage having "little effect" would be if you were in conditions that your marker wasn't designed for.

For example, taking a 3ft safety sausage to a location where the seas are easily 3ft making your marker hard to see. This isn't the safety sausage's fault, it is yours for selecting gear that doesn't fit the conditions. In these conditions a 6 - 8ft marker would be ideal.

 

[Doc]

Two types of surface markers exist, a SMB which is deployed at depth to aid in your ascent/safety stop and a Safety Sausage which is deployed on the surface to aid boats and other traffic as to your position.

A simple "safety sausage" as you mention, can easily be deployed from the 15' depth to await boar pick-up.

Yes, I do teach it to any certified diver who understands the usefulness of it.

 

[Splash-X]

A simple "safety sausage" as you mention, can easily be deployed from the 15' depth to await boar pick-up.

Yes, I do teach it to any certified diver who understands the usefulness of it.

As long as you have a safety sausage (or "see-me" sausage) with an over-pressure relief valve in it you could use it from under water too. I've see people deploy from 15ft with no valve and it blows apart like a balloon.

At 30ft you're looking at a double in size, so from 15ft you're looking at about 1.5 times expansion.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I discuss it in OW and I will deploy it on last checkout dive if I feel it will benefit the student. I require students to perform it in AOW class.

 

[PhilF]

If my understanding is correct, you should be able to fill a safety sausage (with no over-pressure relief valve) 3/4 full and deploy it from 15ft (~5m) without rupturing it.

 

[snowmaker]

I am DM and like to show OW students several SMB's on land and then give them a chance play with them on the surface. Usually do this when we do surface skills, weight belt and BCD removal/replace, cramp removal, tired diver tows.

In AOW I like to see the students shoot one from 15'. Great skill to have. While all the instructor don't always agree with me I try and make sure the students get a chance to try this. I think some instructor have never inflated one underwater.