Why not attach spool to DSMB before the dive?

[flymolo]

Unplanned free ascent = kick down while disconnecting inflator hose and then deflating until ascent fully stopped. SMB isn't used until the cork is stopped and only then would it even cross my mind to send it. Not sure if any other situation that can't be fixed with the above steps. Dump valve in the shoulder/butt work great in a pinch.

unplanned free ascent means coming up off the shot line. not to be confused with an out of control ascent

 

[flymolo]

I read it that way at first too, but he was replying to an "emergency scenario".

I don't see an ascent away from the line as an emergency requiring immediate fumbling of a dsmb at depth. No reason to not stay calm and blow bubbles while shooting it.

you're not completely wrong. it's not necessarily an emergency, but being lost at sea definitely is.

 

[crofrog]

It's just not something you have to do in a hurry, if it takes you 1 minute to put the SMB together and send it up, or it takes 30 seconds to pull the SMB out of your pocket and send it up it's just not a meaningful difference in time.
So I'm not sure what scenario getting an SMB to the surface "right effing now" would make a meaningful difference in.

 

[flymolo]

It's just not something you have to do in a hurry, if it takes you 1 minute to put the SMB together and send it up, or it takes 30 seconds to pull the SMB out of your pocket and send it up it's just not a meaningful difference in time.
So I'm not sure what scenario getting an SMB to the surface "right effing now" would make a meaningful difference in.

i think if things had gone sideways and i or my buddy like, really wanted to get off the bottom asap, i would be less than amused watching them assemble their smb first

also, on a dive where you are doing blue water drift deco (or any kind of deco where there is no visual reference), you want to get the smb up quickly so you and your team have a visual reference ready for when its time to do your first stop and/or gas switch

with regards to GUE, if memory serves me correctly, it was made clear to us during fundies that assembling an smb in midwater was a skills exercise

 

[Rayk]

I carry two DSMB with me, orange and yellow, both rigged and ready to deploy, if i need a spool for whatever reason, I just untie it from DSMB, because number of times I shoot DSMB more frequent then the times I need a spool.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

What works best depends on how you stow the gear. I stow them separately for convenience. It takes less than 5 seconds to loop the line through the bolts snap.

 

[johndiver999]

i think if things had gone sideways and i or my buddy like, really wanted to get off the bottom asap, i would be less than amused watching them assemble their smb first

also, on a dive where you are doing blue water drift deco (or any kind of deco where there is no visual reference), you want to get the smb up quickly so you and your team have a visual reference ready for when its time to do your first stop and/or gas switch

with regards to GUE, if memory serves me correctly, it was made clear to us during fundies that assembling an smb in midwater was a skills exercise

The hurry is not to have something for the divers to follow on ascent, but rather to get a marker on the surface ASAP and as close to possible from where "your people" are going to be looking for it.

In other words, if you are supposed to be coming up an anchor line and you miss it, it sure is nice if the smb hits the surface a few hundred feet from the boat versus having the divers drift 1000 feet before the marker hits the surface and can HOPE TO be seen. The speed of the current and the quickness of deployment matter.

 

[Catito]

I am dry land practicing with my new finger spool and DSMB while wearing my dry gloves. I have watched multiple videos demonstrating how to do it and in all the videos the first task is to attach the line from the finger spool to the DSMB.
Is there a reason why I can't attach the line before the dive and carry it that way? Just seams like it would be easier.

I always have my reel attached. Use it often off of Palm Beach. Easier this way.

 

[Wibble]

I carry two DSMB with me, orange and yellow, both rigged and ready to deploy, if i need a spool for whatever reason, I just untie it from DSMB, because number of times I shoot DSMB more frequent then the times I need a spool.

Why not carry a separate spool? They’re compact and you could keep several in a drysuit pocket.

If I suspect I’ll need to line out from the shot line I’ll take a large 120m/400ft reel with me as well as the ever-present 60m/200ft pocket spool.

 

[Wibble]

Unplanned free ascent = kick down while disconnecting inflator hose and then deflating until ascent fully stopped. SMB isn't used until the cork is stopped and only then would it even cross my mind to send it. Not sure if any other situation that can't be fixed with the above steps. Dump valve in the shoulder/butt work great in a pinch.

That's one failure mode.

Another popular failure mode, oh the irony, is getting tangled in your SMB and being dragged to the surface. This could be because the reel jammed when inflating (reel in all the slack) or you got caught in the SMB when it inflated (don't use those stupid SMBs with snag-tastic loops -- or knot the things up if you have one). If the reel jams, just let it go. The boat will quickly work out it's a dead SMB lying on the surface and pick it up. You can then send up your secondary SMB you keep in your pocket for just this reason -- hopefully just as big as the primary.