small marker buoy

[mdsd]

What is a good marker buoy for identifying dive spots? Something that can be inflated at depth of 60-100 ft. and temporarily anchored. Small is better.

 

[Mandy3206]

Maybe a Pelican float, nothing to inflate, and neutral before deploying.

You only remove the small weight from the bottom and drop it, it will deploy itself to the surface.

Very small, about 4 or 5 inches long and 2 or 3 inches diameter, I'll look for mine in the storage bin, measure it and post the dimensions later.

Has 100 ft of line, pretty handy uhh....

http://www.pelican.com/new_products/trade.html

Also, if you drop something overboard, you may deploy it to mark the general area for the search after gearing up.

 

[Mandy3206]

Something wrong with the above link, click "Misc. Products" on the left column after loading the link

 

[herman]

I have used a 1pt Coke bottle. Put a hole in the lid, run the end of the line through the hole and secure with a knot and tie that end on the string around the neck of the bottle leaving enough slack so you can install the lid. Wind the amount of line you want onto the bottle and secure with a rubber band. To deploy simply blow a little air into the bottle from your reg exhaust, put the cap on and let it go. I have used it at depths of around 30 ft. By leaving the lid off, you avoid a lot of extra buoyancy and the hole in the lid allows excessive pressure to excape. While I certainly don't condone litter, it's no big deal or expence if you loose it.

 

[Diver Dude]

Herman...I like your idea. I use a small buoy, oval shaped, 6" x 3.5". These have a <1" hole running through it. Cut the buoy in half on the 6" length. Slip a 1" dowel into the hole so the two halfs are 2" apart. Wrap any length of string around the dowel. Add an eight oz. weight at the end of the string. Put a piece of velcro around the string/weight area to secure. Make up a few of these with differant length string and mark the length of the string on the buoy.
I always have a few of these on my boat to mark interesting blips and I never dive without one.