What is the proper use of a Diver Marker "Sausage"

[shark_tamer]

Mine is the one on the left . When folded, the pouch is clipped to D-ring

... and the reel with 140 feet long nylon twine, also attached to D-ring.

Bulky reel you might say ! But this is what I need when I'm wreck cert.

 

[beautybelow]

yeah...the one to the left with diver below is exactly what I have two of with busted seems. I can't find the right kind of glue here to fix it, but other than that I like it. The lead in the bottom holds it open too so you can deploy it easier.

 

[shark_tamer]

Photographers think alike !!!

yeah...the one to the left with diver below is exactly what I have ...

.......but don't they all say " Diver below "

 

[MuscleBob.Buffpants]

Has anyone used or had experience with the self inflating SMB made by AP Valves in the UK? http://www.apvalves.com/uk/products/smb/smbci/

 

[Bill51]

Whichever one you will carry on every dive. They're all good - including the cheap one I illustrated above, but only if you carry and use them.

I spoke with a local diver couple days ago who told me of she and her hubby surfacing 200 yards from a boat on their last trip. I nagged her about their need for these. She said they both had them - in their bags on the boat. :11:

Excellent point! I’ve seen plenty of folks with relatively large fancy SMBs with OPVs and multiple inflation methods that sit in their dive bags because they don’t like the bulk in their pockets or hanging from them. The most important feature is that it’s comfortable for you to stow and carry all the time and easy to restow in the water before getting back on the boat.

I or my students have deployed the cheaper (not plastic cheap) ones without OPVs hundreds of times and have yet to see one bust though I have had plenty that developed small leaks over the years from wear and tear, being caught in something that pinched it, or the one that got run over by a boat (my own boat no less). For most boat and drift diving in Florida I find 4’ adequate if it completely seals as you can hold it up to wave if need be, but if it has an open bottom 6’ is much better for those days with 4’ seas. The non-open ended ones are also nice to use as a head rest when you're floating around waiting on the boat too.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

LOL!!!

Thanks Rich.

I'm actually pretty good at Underwater Nav. It's just that there are times when I want as much time at the coral heads grabbing as many bugs as I can, and they plus currents may lead me away from the boat. Since it is generally my wife and myself diving, there is no one left on the boat to drive it over to us.

Personally, my view is if you are diving from an unattended boat, the safety sausage may be the lesser of your problems.

In open water, I use a sausage, it is just commone sense. Deploy it from about 30 feet on a finger spool, no problem.

Your greater problem is that there is no one on your boat. If it breaks anchor and starts drifting, you have a much more serious issue.

Jeff

 

[TSandM]

I was on a dive in Indonesia when we surfaced far from the boat, and the boat wasn't looking in the right direction. We decided to blow up a safety sausage, but the assistant instructor who was on the dive didn't know how to use hers, so I used mine.

On another dive on the same trip, we were diving very shallow at the end of the dive in an area where we had been warned there was boat traffic. I signalled the dive guide that I wanted to deploy my SMB, and he got agitated, but I did it anyway. He relaxed as soon as he saw it was up and I was fine. I suspect he might have had some bad experiences with people who didn't know how to do it, particularly from 15 feet.

The funniest thing I've seen was a guy who had bought himself an SMB and reel, and had the SMB all rolled out and ready to inflate BEFORE he had any kind of line attached to it. I swam over and grabbed him before he had an autonomous sausage

 

[flw]

Has anyone used or had experience with the self inflating SMB made by AP Valves in the UK? http://www.apvalves.com/uk/products/smb/smbci/

Yes - best piece of kit I've ever bought. Most common design in the UK - on any given boat probably 70% of divers will own one. They are more bulky, but they do fit into a dry suit pocket.

 

[Meng_Tze]

You can also get a few different colored ones. Come up with a color coded chart and leave it on the boat. Red = everything is ok and I am just doing a safety stop. Yellow = i have a deco obligation and will be a little longer. Green = having some sort of trouble, and there is a message attached to this float with instructions. This may be a bit too elaborate for your style of diving, just thought I would plant an idea that maby you could use. Cheers either way and always try to carry at least 1, they really take up no room.

P.S. I never clip anything that I am sending to the surface to me.

WesTex is right in this one: do not clip the SMB to yourself. There are many boaters out there who do not watch out and if you get snagged, you go for a ride...........

Also, there is no standard in color and what each means. Even though there are many ideas out there. Yellow can be seen far better than orange. If you have to send up a message, do that with a slate or something. It becomes confusing to many boats if there are several smb's in the water and each has a different 'status' based on color. SMB only means that a diver is below. On most charters this should suffice.

On charters where there is a support diver (can be DM on leisure charters), usually this diver goes to the smb's and checks for messages or maybe goes down to see the diver personally.

Many deco divers use a lift bag for hanging deco (liftbag = 'just hanging' and a SMB (smb='attention!') for messaging. But that is another story

 

[The Chad]

At least 2 ppl. brought up the great point of some boaters not knowing anything about boater safety or proper procedures. And whos to say they could have their boat on autopilot while they are downstairs pouring themselfs a cocktail. Being a boater myself I am guilty of running over buoys (not diver buoys) in the keys due to the fact that their are so many that mark reefs and other projects they are doing down there. Sunlight off the water can make it tough at certain times of day.

That being said as many have sugguested, never tie anything off to yourself. Get a very good reel or two and a couple of SMBs. I like Manta in both departments.

Practice, practice, practice in the pool. yeah it may only be 11 feet deep. But when you can blow it, not change bouency at all it becomes second nature. I use the exhaust air off the reg in my mouth (some approve some think the reg will get tangled and drag me to the surface) as soon as you feel the bag wanting to take a ride let it go and let nature do the rest.

Happy lobstering