Buddy line

I've tried to find discussion about that little piece of equipment to no avail.

Could you comment about it's use, possible problems and general virtues?

For example:
- Can you clearly feel a light tug underwater?
- Can you get entangled with it to the point of having to cut the line?

Buddy lines have their place though few seem to need or use them. Sometimes visibility can be so bad for part of a dive that my wife and I will hold hands to get past a cloudy stretch. Sometimes you buddy just isn't the hand holding type and a buddy line can provide the needed contact. Another solution is just to place a hand on the leaders tank to maintain contact. Shoulder to shoulder works too.

As you suggest you need to maintain form level of tension to have any contact or even to use it to follow. Adding a length of rope to a dive in poor visibility always has the chance of complicating things.

A buddy line should never clip 2 divers together.

It has no place in good conditions as a replacement for reasonable buddy skills.

Pete

The first question is why do you need a buddy line?

When my son and I first started diving we tried using a buddy line poor viz. Needless to say we both concluded that it was more of a safety hazard.

Now if we encounter poor viz, we unhesitatingly will roll out a wreck reel line. The follower never lets go of the line. When it come time reel in the line, the follower keeps the line taught for the reel operator. (This helps avoid a squirrel's nest mess on the reel.)

If the dive is in poor viz and we don't lay a line, we incorporate how we will dive in our dive plan.

Thanshin:

Can you clearly feel a light tug underwater?

Click to expand...

Yes.

Thanshin:

Can you get entangled with it to the point of having to cut the line?

Click to expand...

No need for that. For one thing, you shouldn't use a buddy line in areas where it could pose an entanglement hazzard. If you were to get entangled, you'd simply let go of the line and pull your hand out of the loop. It's a non-issue.

spectrum:

Another solution is just to place a hand on the leaders tank to maintain contact. Shoulder to shoulder works too.

Click to expand...

In that case, one of is doing nothing while the other finds fossils.

spectrum:

you need to maintain form level of tension to have any contact or even to use it to follow.

Click to expand...

Tension is necessary to use the line to communicate, but just to stay together, constant tension is not necessary.

spectrum:

Adding a length of rope to a dive in poor visibility always has the chance of complicating things.

Click to expand...

If both divers know how to use a buddy line, it simplifies things. If one doesn't, he will lose the buddy line and both divers will be solo.

Dr Neil:

The first question is why do you need a buddy line?

Click to expand...

No one needs a buddy line, but it is an extremely useful tool and one I do not like to dive without even in great visibility. If I have to tow a diver, I'll tow them with my buddy line. If I need a Jon line, I adapt my buddy line. Using it as a buddy line in low viz, it makes it possible for both divers to search for fossils while maintaining buddy contact. It is possible to search and maintain contact without a buddy line, but only one diver can search at a time.

I saw an adult and a child using a buddy line in Bonaire this year.

They had a floating device in the middle of the line that kept the swag above them rather than below them.

The child looked to be 14/15 years old so I don't really know what the deal was.

First one I have ever seen .

What about using a length of bungee as a buddy line? It seems less likely to bunch up or get wrapped around something and you can easily make loops to put over your wrist. You could slip a piece of one of those "pool noodle" things on it if the slack doesn't naturally float. Is it more common to use a reel or a length of webbing?

I use 8 ft of 3/8" poly with a loop spliced into each end. Works like a charm.

Way back in the day when I started diving, a local diver got tangled in the line for his dive flag (required by state law to keep divers safe from boaters who ignored it anyway). He drowned about 12" under the surface.

Since then I avoid using any line that is attached to me and avoid any slack in any line I use.

Pool noodles and floaty devices in the middle of a buddy line are a fine idea, but they just can't maintain any significant tension on the line. If a diver catches the line with a fin or anything else, the float will be pulled down and create slack, creating the potential for entanglement.

In limited viz, where you use it the most, the potential exists for a buddy line to snag something on the bottom. Add some current sweeping both divers down current from the snag, and things suddenly get interesting. Plus a buddy line adds nothing to navigational ability.

A reel is a much better solution as it will also lead you back to the exit/ascent point in low viz. You'd be surprised how much different a wreck can look swimming the other way, especially if it is your first time on the wreck and/or you have limited experience in low viz.

However it requires practice and some degree of training - maybe not a formal course, but an hour or so with someone who knows how to do it right. Using a proper tie off (not on the anchor or ascent line, but near it) and keeping the line tight is essential.

About 6 weeks ago I untangled an OW diver who got caught in a line run by what appeared to be an instructor trying to keep every one together and oriented. I am not sure if the diver belonged to that group or to another group, but he swam into the slack line and quickly got very tangled in the 10 seconds or so it took me to approach him. Whether he had enough slack to reach the surface was doubtful but I had him hold while I untangled him and then pulled the 10 ft or so of slack out of the line and wrapped it around a rock.

So if you do run a wreck reel or similar line, do it responsibly and do placements as needed to ensure it stays tight to avoid tangling yourself, anyone in your group or other divers who may come across it.

My buddy and I use a line while "treasure hunting" in an area of a lake used by party boaters (be surprised what you can find out there...we've already raised nine anchors and no telling how many sunglasses. It's fun...) and we use a buddy line because the vis is extremely bad. Our line is about eight feet of nylon webbing with velcro closure "bracelets" in each end. We do, indeed have a float in the center to get it above the few snags and stumps in the area. For us and under the limited conditions in which we use it, the buddy line works perfectly. If we had to contend with more obstructions or current, we might reconsider. I agree with Walter...it's a tool, and one to be used under appropriate conditions.

Ok, now I see the possible problems it can bring.

One with a float and removable straps may be useful in low viz conditions if handled with care.