What smb and where to buy it?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Lorenzoid:
In Cozumel, the most likely of the unlikely scenarios is that you get separated from the DM and you have to surface on your own and signal the boat. Just about any SMB will work for that, because you will be inflating it on the surface. If you haven't practiced deploying an SMB from depth (say, at your safety stop) and you don't plan on practicing this before your trip, then there's no need to narrow your choice down to one with features that facilitate at-depth deployment (the so-called Deployable SMB or DSMB).
Click to expand...
Actually while this really is the most common senerio it can also be one of the most dangerous. I would stress learning how to deploy a bouy (starting with a modest one) prior to surfacing to help prevent being struck by a boat. There have been several recent close calls and at least one injury due to a prop stike. Sundays, IMO, are the scariest with a lot of local weekend warriors on the water.
 
gopbroek:
Actually while this really is the most common senerio it can also be one of the most dangerous. I would stress learning how to deploy a bouy (starting with a modest one) prior to surfacing to help prevent being struck by a boat. There have been several recent close calls and at least one injury due to a prop stike. Sundays, IMO, are the scariest with a lot of local weekend warriors on the water.
Click to expand...

Well, sure--learning to deploy one at depth is optimal. But I wouldn't give anyone the impression it's a necessary or common skill among Cozumel divers. Inflating the thing quickly upon surfacing would be nearly as good as deploying at depth, and a lot less of a pain to learn.
 
kelemvor:
Piranha has the 10' dsmb's for $30 cheaper. 10ft Deluxe High Seas Smb Kit
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't recommend a 10' DSMB unless one is diving in the open ocean from a single boat. That is just way overkill for the type of diving most do in Coz and elsewhere where dive areas experience heavy dive traffic. Furthermore, while bigger is generally better when it comes to being seen at sea, an overly large DSMB can present its own dangers until one becomes highly skilled at deploying such a thing from depth.

When I was searching for a DSMB and seeking advice here all the input and suggestions I received narrowed it down to the following DELUX BLUE REEF DSMB in Neon Yellow with Red Line on the composite (NOT Stainless Steel) blue reef finger reel.

Blue Reef Diver-Below Deluxe 4' (1.22m) Surface Marker Buoy

Blue Reef Finger Spool Reel

Makes one great, easy-to-deploy package and I'll never surface without having deployed it again unless I am in a group which has already deployed and surfaced with one. Just be sure to cut that plastic clip off the DSMB and permanently attach the line from the finger spool to it. There are all kinds of ways to stow the package but eliminating the step of attaching the DSMB to the reel while UW is paramount in my opinion... Before I did that I watched my perfectly deployed DSMB soar like a kid who lost his balloon twice as I failed to properly attach the line even though it seemed as though I had. #1 I considered a fluke... 2nd time it happened several dives later indicated a problem that needed to remedied via permanent attachment.
 
deepsea21:
I personally wouldn't recommend a 10' DSMB unless one is diving in the open ocean from a single boat.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I sometimes dive out in Neah Bay in the northwest tip of Washington state. There is only one boat charter that goes out there. It isn't unheard of to wind up in 6f+ waves that were not predicted by the weather service. A 10' DSMB would be for my backup so I can be found.
 
Lorenzoid:
Well, sure--learning to deploy one at depth is optimal. But I wouldn't give anyone the impression it's a necessary or common skill among Cozumel divers. Inflating the thing quickly upon surfacing would be nearly as good as deploying at depth, and a lot less of a pain to learn.
Click to expand...

Lorenzoid... I would not call this a "common" skill among general Cozumel divers either but those who chose to dive with ops that allow more freedom based on a diver's experience I've found the majority carry a DSMB and reel. That last 5' when surfacing and you're tank is light already for those who live on the edge of lead requirement can make it very tough to rapidly descend again if one hears the engine of a boat approaching at high speed... Been there, experienced that. Which is why I always prefer to a bit "over-weighted" and leads me to one more comment for all... NEVER EVER "TAKE THE ELEVATOR" up from a 15' SS via BC inflation. Not only can one not halt the ascent should a high speed boat be heard approaching but those last 15' should be gradually ascended as the maximum volume expansion of gasses in the body is experienced in those last 15' so all should TAKE THOSE 15' THE SLOWEST even though most think after a 15' SS dive is done and it's time to go. No dive is done until one is back aboard the boat!
 
Last edited:
deepsea21:
There are all kinds of ways to stow the package but eliminating the step of attaching the DSMB to the reel while UW is paramount in my opinion... Before I did that I watched my perfectly deployed DSMB soar like a kid who lost his balloon twice as I failed to properly attach the line even though it seemed as though I had. #1 I considered a fluke... 2nd time it happened several dives later indicated a problem that needed to remedied via permanent attachment.
Click to expand...
A ball bearing Coast lock swivel works pretty good and prevents line twist
 
wetb4igetinthewater:
Agreed. I sometimes dive out in Neah Bay in the northwest tip of Washington state. There is only one boat charter that goes out there. It isn't unheard of to wind up in 6f+ waves that were not predicted by the weather service. A 10' DSMB would be for my backup so I can be found.
Click to expand...

God bless ya... You'll never find me diving in cold Washington state waters, any cold water, or any area that presents the potential for serious swell and chop to develop in an instant. I bet there's lots of cool things to see there but I'll never see it (unless you post video to youtube!). I'm all about relaxed, calm tropic water diving. My thoughts of Devils Throat in coz are the same... I've dived Devil's Throat a few times via Youtube! Seen it but I prefer my 70-minute dives in the max 80' range and shallower where the light is better and photo ops of little critters are better.
 
kelemvor:
II didn't buy my own smb until I went to Cozumel where you were required to deploy one on every dive.
Click to expand...
????
I dive Cozumel a lot and I have never been required to deploy a SMB. I have done so by choice several times, but IME most folks, most of the time, just gather at the DM's SMB.
 
ggunn:
????
I dive Cozumel a lot and I have never been required to deploy a SMB. I have done so by choice several times, but IME most folks, most of the time, just gather at the DM's SMB.
Click to expand...
Maybe it was something unique to the operator; Dive Paradise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom