Help with deploying a safety sausage

[tomfcrist]

In regards to inflating a dsmb...I also don't like deliberately free flowing a reg to get the job done. Nor do I like the manual inflation hoses, regardless of if you can use a lp hose to do the inflation. I use a blowgun nipple that attaches to an lp hose. It's not attaching itself to the bag, and if it sticks open(free flow) it can be easily disconnected. Just my 2psi

 

[RDRINK25]

Let me clarify a little. I know how to do and I can as I have done it numerous times. I am not good at it and is a skill I am looking to improve on. Times I have done it I have dropped the spool then on the boat I am pulling up 100' of line. I have also filled up the bag too much and too fast and it wanted to shoot to the top.

What I was hoping for was some video's just to watch some techniques on how too.

Thanks all for the help and who have shared.

 

[TSandM]

I'm not sure you are going to get your answers from videos.

As far as dropping the spool goes, I think the answer is probably to slow down. We all want to rush through procedures like this, and especially with cold hands or thick gloves, it's really important to be methodical and careful. I was taught that, after ensuring the bag has been unfurled and is well away from me, I should grab both the inflator and the spool in one hand, and remove the regulator with the other. Putting the two carefully into my hand and ensuring they are solid before removing the reg reduces the chance of dropping anything.

As a bag fills, it will try to drag you up. A 3' bag has only about 5 lbs of lift, and you can easily counter that by going just a bit head down and finning gently until you can release the bag. Bigger bags are better deployed deeper, where you don't have to put as much gas in them and they'll still be full at the surface.

Managing the spool as the bag is going up was a challenge for me. Trying to hold it gently on the outside and NOT get a glove caught in the channel took some practice, but the real problem was that I didn't trust that I wouldn't lose the spool if I lost contact with it briefly. The fact is that, unless you have hellacious surface current or wind, even if you let go of the spool, it will go up a few feet and then unroll back down to you. Once I realized that and relaxed, I almost never screwed up holding the spool any more.

Hope those ideas are helpful. I often think that watching a video of someone doing something beautifully doesn't really help me figure out what I'm doing differently from the demonstrator, so I can't improve.

 

[macado]

I'm pretty sure this was already mentioned but PADI now teaches SMB deployment as part of the Open Water Course since they revamped their open water course. They even include an SMB, albeit a crappy one in the Open Water crew packs now.

It is a required skill to demonstrate in Open Water dive flexible skills. The only thing different is they don't require you to shoot it from depth. For PADI standards the skill is can be taught as inflating on the surface or deploying from depth.

Pg. 54 PADI Instructor's Manual under Open Water Dive Performance Requirements, Dive Flexible Skills

Inflatable Signal Tube Use — Deploy an inflatable signal tube at the surface, or deploy a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) from underwater.


I recommend keeping it pre-rigged to a finger spool. Less tasking loading involved.

 

[Lost down under]

This bloke seems to have his house in order, he'd have been better off sending the camera up!

http://youtu.be/4KpZe7A1NqU?list=PLA9B90B5EE53391DE

 

[Mustard Dave]

Ok, I didn't read all the replies before responding, but my 2 cents. Sorry if this is a repeat. I used to use an old school finger reel when deploying the safety sausage from depth. I've had it snag and had to release it, I've also had it yanked from my hand when deploying in 4-6 seas. I strongly encourage bypassing the finger reel and going with a reel that has a handle and a means to cinch the line once you reel in to your safety stop depth. You'll spend a few extra bucks for the reel, but your life is worth it. There has probably been enough advice given here about the steps to deploy the smb at depth. I know that when I haven't been diving for awhile I struggle with getting everything oriented while maintaining my depth if I feel rushed so, my new method is to start getting the smb ready when I hit about 1000 psi so that I can be slow and methodical about deploying it rather than feeling rushed and everything going to hell. Yes, I just figured this out this week. It was good to have my newly certified son diving with me this week because I wanted to show him the method for deploying his sausage, and it really made me slow down and things went much smoother.

A finger spool is much less likely to jam than a reel. With a finger spool, the only moving parts are the line and the contact between your fingers and the spool. With a reel, you have the axle the reel spins on, the line, the eyelet and the locking mechanism. I have seen more reels jam or fall to bit s in the water than spools doing the same.