Help with deploying a safety sausage

[Lorenzoid]

Kudos to you prodigies who got the knack of it on your second try, but it is NOT easy for some of us rec divers to learn to handle a spool--and that's why Akimbo's idea of using 20 feet or so of webbing looks appealing, at least as something easy to use on actual as opposed to training dives. I have practiced with the spool and SMB numerous times, and it either just plain takes forever for me to do it properly or I get tangled in the line or (most often) the procedure throws off my buoyancy and I find myself sinking too deep for the stop or popping up to the surface. I'm not lazy--just inept. I practice with the spool. I took GUE Fundies (and didn't pass). It seems it may take me many more hours of practice to be able to confidently use a spool. I'd rather do my practicing on training dives, and in the meantime use something more reliable on actual dives where I really do need to reliably deploy an SMB on the safety stop.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

You have to look at the dive profile — this is the Basic Forum. IMHO, the vast majority of recreational divers don’t need the complexity of a spool. Most will never need more than a short safety stop at 15-20'. Nearly all will never make a decompression stop of any significant duration deeper than 20'.

I have started using 22' of 1" Nylon webbing attached to the SMB and a bolt snap at the other end. I hold the folded SMB in one and swirl it around allowing the webbing to unwind under the weight of the snap around the depth of my first stop. At this point the webbing is hanging and I power inflate the SMB. I allow the webbing to slide through one hand until the SMB breaks the surface.

This does not apply to technical divers that do spend considerable periods of time on stops deeper than 20' or divers that need to [-]be[/-] mark objects on the bottom. That requires a spool of some sort.

It makes a much more compact package and is much easier to deploy and wind back up. The image is of a 5' SMB that has been folded in half several times, the webbing wound around it, and a piece of blue bungee holding it together. I store in in a pocket.

I do the same thing, however I find no need to use bulky nylon strap.. I use some string or cord..there is no need to carry extra gear like a reel or spool if you are not going to deploy deeper than 25 feet or so.

This video at 8:28 shows me deploying it. I've been doing it this way for around 20 yrs, maybe more.

[video=youtube_share;uZJ0byuTVqU]http://youtu.be/uZJ0byuTVqU[/video]

 

[wspalding]

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.

 

[MSltr]

I use an alternate to the spool which is a custom nylon strap. Easier to deploy, but a little more work to recover.

Surface Marker Webbing Deployment System - Global Scuba

 

[Akimbo]

I do the same thing, however I find no need to use bulky nylon strap.. I use some string or cord..there is no need to carry extra gear like a reel or spool if you are not going to deploy deeper than 25 feet or so…

I tried string first but found the webbing was faster to deploy and the bulk was not significantly greater (personal judgment call). I consider the webbing to be a refinement rather than a major improvement though. It is easier to hang onto webbing with cold-water gloves, not a factor in your case.

Instead of pulling the line off and letting the SMB spin, I grab the top of the folded SMB, reach out, bend my wrist down, and swirl the SMB to unwind and let the bolt snap and webbing fall in the water column. The snap is enough weight that it falls as fast as I can swirl my hand.

Edit: I wasn’t satisfied with the system at all until I put the bolt snap on. The webbing and string sort of floated around too long for my liking. Funny how such a small thing makes such a big difference.

 

[rivers]

I keep my dsmb and spool pre-rigged in my pocket. My spool is a 45m delrin spool. And i have one of the 4.5ft halcyon oral/lpi inflate dsmbs that i inflate with my drysuit hose. My back-up is a 30m spool and self-sealing that I inflate with my primary reg.
I prefer the halcyon to be honest. It's easier to put up.
Steps
Put spool and dsmb in right hand and unclip my drysuit hose with my left.
Take the bolt snap off of the spool (clip it to right chest d-ring) and unfurl dsmb.
Put the line in between my index and middle fingers and lightly grip the spool with thumb and pinky.
holding drysuit inflate and dsmb in left hand, put drysuit inflate on lpi nipple.
Let it go, still lightly gripping spool as it unwinds.
And I always put my bag up before leaving the wreck.

 

[kafkaland]

[video=youtube;FgVGgITqZW4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgVGgITqZW4[/video]

That reminds me of my first attempt to deploy an SMB. Just after AOW, in our local mud puddle. It must have looked just about as awful. :arrow:

 

[blinkswiler]

This looks like fun. I've carried a dsmb for 500+/- dives and never deployed. As a PADI instructor, dsmb's will become part of the ow class. I can hardly wait to see how 10 novice students deploy theirs in open water. The good news is that we won't have to worry about diver seperation procedures as all 10 will be entangled together in one big ball of diver novices. The coroner will have to perform the seperation.

 

[Storker]

That reminds me of my first attempt to deploy an SMB. Just after AOW, in our local mud puddle. It must have looked just about as awful. :arrow:

My first attempt at shooting a dSMB was during one of my AOW dives. I think it was the PPB dive. I ended up thorughly entangled in the line. The instructor had to untangle me. Embarrasing.

The next try was somewhat more successful...


--
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Typos are a feature, not a bug

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I tried string first but found the webbing was faster to deploy and the bulk was not significantly greater (personal judgment call). I consider the webbing to be a refinement rather than a major improvement though. It is easier to hang onto webbing with cold-water gloves, not a factor in your case.

Instead of pulling the line off and letting the SMB spin, I grab the top of the folded SMB, reach out, bend my wrist down, and swirl the SMB to unwind and let the bolt snap and webbing fall in the water column. The snap is enough weight that it falls as fast as I can swirl my hand.

Edit: I wasn’t satisfied with the system at all until I put the bolt snap on. The webbing and string sort of floated around too long for my liking. Funny how such a small thing makes such a big difference.

absolutely! the bolt snap is the most important piece, because it pulls the line straight down below the diver. The last thing you want is loose line attached to a buoyant object near your body or mask. The speed of deployment is less important than the simplicity. I get it out when I do a deep stop at around 50 feet. By the time the line is unwound, my stop is over and I can come up to 30 and deploy the marker.