Who actually used a "safety sausage"

[detroit diver]

We use them all the time when shooting in the Middle Grounds. We inflate it and send it up while we are doing our deco stops or safety stops as the case may be. They are great things. I actually rigged up a makeshift mylar flag that I can stick into the little pocket for cylumes for radar detection. My pals say that the mylar shows up like CRAZY on the boats radar.

Interesting. How big is the mylar piece, and where do you attach it to the bag? Any pics?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I currently carry a crap one that has an open bottom, but as soon as I get a 'real' one I figure I'll put it on a d-ring on the crotch strap of my (future) bp, right under the tank bottom.

 

[eponym]

Like others who responded here, I use mine routinely when diving near shore, deploying it so I can hang off it during my safety stop. Lets my boat know I'm nearly up, alerts other traffic in the area. (It's challenging to find your way right back dead on to the boat while underwater in this soup of an Oregon coast).

-Bryan

PS It may have already been mentioned here, but I found this article very good reading. It has a detailed description of SMB deployment at depth and seems to be written for the recreational diver.

 

[baitedstorm]

I always carry one "just in case" but haven't ever had to use it.

 

[annie]

I currently carry a crap one that has an open bottom

I've got one of these too and love the thing . . and have used it once this year and worked a charm.

My question is this: A lot of people seem to have Delayed SMBs which they use while ascending . . .I think they're a great idea and I want one.
From what I can see though, DSMBs are smaller and designed so the boat can follow you on a normal ascent/drift, but not for an emergency situation if you really drifted out of sight and there was a major swell . . . they're not really big enough.

No other divers I know have a large SMB for emergency use. They seem to think they're covered with a smaller DSMB - to be honest I wonder. I don't think they're really that easy to see in a heaving swell, especially not from any significant distance away. Thoughts?

 

[eponym]

No other divers I know have a large SMB for emergency use. They seem to think they're covered with a smaller DSMB - to be honest I wonder. I don't think they're really that easy to see in a heaving swell, especially not from any significant distance away. Thoughts?

I won't get into the pros, cons, and usage of a DSMB. I will say this: the more height the better. seven feet out of the water is good. Remember that this is a small slim object and the crew are looking in a field that is about two miles out by 360 degrees.

Okay, time for arts and crafts.

Take a big sheet of paper. At a convenient scale, draw a horizontal line representing your distance from the boat--let's say 200 feet, nice and close.

At one end of that line, draw a vertical line up to represent boat freeboard--let's say 10 feet. On top of that, add six feet for height of eye of your divemaster.

At the other end of the line, draw to scale a vertical line representing your head above the water, and another representing your smb height above water.

Now assume a nice calm sea and draw a small gentle three-foot swell right in front of you, between you and the boat.

Finally, draw a line of sight from the divemaster to you.

Bigger is definitely better.

-Bryan