Deefstes
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Hi all, I'm hoping some of the more experienced divers can give me some SMB advice and answer some of my questions. There was a good thread on this not long ago but for the life of me I can't find it now (searching for TLA's doesn't work). Sorry for starting a new thread.
At any rate, I remember there was a nice youtube vid showing a diver deploy his SMB. I've managed to find the video again:
This weekend I shot my first SMB and it was quite fun actually. Everything went nice and smooth but watching the video again now I think I may have skipped some parts (like looking up before shooting the SMB) and I did one or two things differently also (like using my octo as opposed to my primary or my mouth).
So, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask these questions:
1. Is there a preference for which air source (primary, octo, mouth) to use for inflating the SMB?
2. What is the typical depth from where divers shoot SMB's? Safety stop? From what depth should I practice doing it?
3. The video is great for pointing out the steps but how long should it really take a diver to shoot an SMB? If you find yourself in a semi emergency for instance. Let's say you have an OOA diver sharing your air and now you want to shoot a SMB before you surface. Surely you'd want to do it as quick as possible. How quick is that?
4. If you're not wearing gloves I can imagine that running the reel between your fingers as in the video clip can hurt if it runs particularly fast. Any ideas?
5. Any tips on maintaining good buoyancy while inflating the SMB and before sending it to the surface?
6. Is there a good/efficient way to wind the line back on to the spool as you make your ascent? I bought a Mares compact reel (image below), thinking it would make it easier but it doesn't. It's not such a great design and now I'm thinking of removing the handle and everything so I'm left with only the reel. My question then is, how do you conveniently reel in the line again?
At any rate, I remember there was a nice youtube vid showing a diver deploy his SMB. I've managed to find the video again:
This weekend I shot my first SMB and it was quite fun actually. Everything went nice and smooth but watching the video again now I think I may have skipped some parts (like looking up before shooting the SMB) and I did one or two things differently also (like using my octo as opposed to my primary or my mouth).
So, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask these questions:
1. Is there a preference for which air source (primary, octo, mouth) to use for inflating the SMB?
2. What is the typical depth from where divers shoot SMB's? Safety stop? From what depth should I practice doing it?
3. The video is great for pointing out the steps but how long should it really take a diver to shoot an SMB? If you find yourself in a semi emergency for instance. Let's say you have an OOA diver sharing your air and now you want to shoot a SMB before you surface. Surely you'd want to do it as quick as possible. How quick is that?
4. If you're not wearing gloves I can imagine that running the reel between your fingers as in the video clip can hurt if it runs particularly fast. Any ideas?
5. Any tips on maintaining good buoyancy while inflating the SMB and before sending it to the surface?
6. Is there a good/efficient way to wind the line back on to the spool as you make your ascent? I bought a Mares compact reel (image below), thinking it would make it easier but it doesn't. It's not such a great design and now I'm thinking of removing the handle and everything so I'm left with only the reel. My question then is, how do you conveniently reel in the line again?