Inflatable signal tube and line spool question...

[gsujeff55]

What is the purpose of having a spool of line connected to a signal tube? I often see them offered together online and don't know what for. I must be missing something, but I thought the purpose of a signal tube is if you surface too far from the boat they will help the boat captain locate you....

i am anxiously waiting information on this before i purchase my signal tube.

thanks

Jeff

[USCScubaboy]

I believe you're confusing the difference between an smb (surface marker buoy) and a safety sausage (used to indicated position after surfacing).

Surface marker buoy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_marker_buoy)

That being said, the purpose of the SMB is to indicate your location to boats other traffic on the surface. The purpose of the spool is to keep the SMB directly over your location.

[dkktsunami]

A tech diver who has lost contact with the down line (perhaps because of current) needs to indicate his position to people on the boat. Imagine having a 15 minute deco obligation in a strong current - the diver would drift out of sight of the boat crew. Surface marking buoy also can serve as back-up to a bc to help pull heavy diver (twin steel tanks) off the bottom.

[aku321]

We use them on a drift dive. The signal tube is on the surface attached to you by a line and reel. The boat follows the signal tube and when you are ready to surface there's the boat.

[Doc Harry]

If you are going to purchase a "safety sausage" - a device that you inflate on the surface to increase your visibility - go with something big (6 to 8 feet tall) and yellow in color. The taller the better. Yellow stands out better at sea than red or orange.

You won't be needing a surface marker buoy (SMB) and spool for a while, until you get into drift and decompression diving. But I think a big, yellow "safety sausage" is essential equipment for any open ocean diving.

The other difference between a "safety sausage" and an SMB is that a SMB has a over-pressurization relief valve. That way you can fill the SMB with air at depth. As the air in the SMB expands as the SMB rises to the surface, it will vent when the SMB becomes full. A "safety sausage" has no such vent and can only be used at the surface.

[Bubbletrubble]

Before purchasing the SMB or safety sausage, you may want to check what the local practices are regarding the color of the item. In certain parts of the world, orange might mean one thing and yellow another.

If you talk to experienced local divers, they should be able to steer you towards what brand/model/color of SMB to buy. A great way to meet more experienced divers and find new dive buddies is to join a few local dive clubs.

[Doc Harry]

Before purchasing the SMB or safety sausage, you may want to check what the local practices are regarding the color of the item. In certain parts of the world, orange might mean one thing and yellow another.

If you talk to experienced local divers, they should be able to steer you towards what brand/model/color of SMB to buy. A great way to meet more experienced divers and find new dive buddies is to join a few local dive clubs.

The denotation of color applies only to SMBs, not safety sausages.

[tregrrr]

ahah

I got's me a double sided dSMB from buddy (ap valves); one side orange, other side yellow

now if only I could get the string on the spool to control which side is displayed to the boat ;) :D

[gsujeff55]

Thanks for the information guys, and you were spot on....they look very similar but are quite different.

I am going to be doing both drift dives and anchored dives this year, so both might be in the cards for me. I've never done a drift dive before, nor been with anyone doing a drift dive so I've never seen the SMB at work....basically just a bright float marking your location underwater....sweet!

Thanks again!

[NetDoc]

Safety sausages can be deployed from depth and I require that ALL of my AOW students shoot a bag (SMB) and a sausage. I have yet to destroy one if you follow the physics. If you are 66ft (3 ata) then only inflate the sausage about a third of the way. You can figure out the other depths.

The BEST sausage that I have seen was made by HOG. It's HUGE and it's got a pressure relief valve.

[Guba]

Doc beat me by half an hour, but his sentiment is much like mine. I've been deploying a "sausage" as an SMB for years. No, it doesn't have a relief valve, but a quick glance at my gauges or computer shows how full to fill the device at depth. I use mine to signal the boat for pickup and even mark underwater sites to which I want to return (to salvage a find or something). Therefore, it's handy to have a reel along with the sausage, which I carry on every dive.

[Splitlip]

What is the purpose of having a spool of line connected to a signal tube? I often see them offered together online and don't know what for. I must be missing something, but I thought the purpose of a signal tube is if you surface too far from the boat they will help the boat captain locate you....

i am anxiously waiting information on this before i purchase my signal tube.

thanks

Jeff

Why we use 'em in Jupiter. :)

JDC027.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC027.flv)
JDC032.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC032.flv)
JDC033.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC033.flv)

[Nemrod]

What is the purpose of having a spool of line connected to a signal tube? I often see them offered together online and don't know what for. I must be missing something, but I thought the purpose of a signal tube is if you surface too far from the boat they will help the boat captain locate you....

i am anxiously waiting information on this before i purchase my signal tube.

thanks

Jeff

Sometimes you have to free hang your deco or safety stop, especially on a drift dive, shooting a sausage lets the skipper and crew know where you are and keeps other boats away, in theory.

N

[syntaxerrorsix]

Why we use 'em in Jupiter. :)

JDC027.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC027.flv)
JDC032.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC032.flv)
JDC033.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC033.flv)

Looks like the diver climbed up that line pretty quick.

[Splitlip]

Looks like the diver climbed up that line pretty quick.

LOL

Look at the numbers at the end of each of the video links. Jump from 27 to 32.

The point was really to post the boat signal. :)

[syntaxerrorsix]

LOL

Look at the numbers at the end of each of the video links. Jump from 27 to 32.

The point was really to post the boat signal. :)

Suuuuure


:D

[mjatkins]

I think the only point that has not been mentioned here is that deploying an SMB/sausage from depth requires some practice. It is not as easy as your divemaster makes it appear, but with some work it can be an extremely useful skill.

[tregrrr]

Sometimes you have to free hang your deco or safety stop, especially on a drift dive, shooting a sausage lets the skipper and crew know where you are and keeps other boats away, in theory.
N
'cept when the locals see those like alpine skiiers see slalom gates... and jetskis get loud while doing deco...


I think the only point that has not been mentioned here is that deploying an SMB/sausage from depth requires some practice. It is not as easy as your divemaster makes it appear, but with some work it can be an extremely useful skill.

Working as a dive guide on a Liveaboard we always wondered how much entertainment each new batch of guests was going to provide on the first 'check dive' and 'sausage party'. some weeks it was pretty good :D

but seriously, there is a bit of an art to doing it smoothly. MJ has a point. If you are going to get a reel and bag, make sure you practice with it in a safe and un-stressed manner before you need to deploy it for real in a somewhat more stressed environment and wind up taking yourself to the roof inadvertently. That might be inopportune if your reason for sending the bag was a bunch of boats roaring above

[Splitlip]

Suuuuure


:D

LOL.
OK, here's clip 31. Enjoy. :)

JDC031.flv video by mm2002_bucket - Photobucket (http://s637.photobucket.com/albums/uu91/mm2002_bucket/?action=view&current=JDC031.flv)

[NetDoc]

Oh, I don't know. It comes naturally to some, not so much to others. I shot my first sausage from a 100' after a couple of us got separated from the flag tender. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Here is a synopsis...



Unclip reel.
Take double ender off of the reel and clip it to your BC.
Unclip and deploy sausage.
Loop the line end through something solid of the sausage. This is usually what your clip is fastened to and not the clip itself.
Hold reel and bag in one hand.
Inflate by mouth or octo depending on depth. 1/2 at 33fsw, 1/3 at 66fsw and so on.
Release the bag QUICKLY. Don't get pulled up.
DON'T put your finger in the middle of the spool. Use just the pads from the tip of your pointer finger and thumb lightly in the center to keep control of the wheel.
If there are ANY issues, just let go of the reel. Cut the line if you have to.
Unclip the double ender from your BC and clip the line onto the reel.
Reel the line on the spool as you ascend.

[inked59]

On a recent drift dive in Cozumel, the DM used the tube & reel to signal the boat when we were doing our safety stop. The boats there did not anchor at all and just kept circling until they found their DMs tube.

[Guba]

That's the standard operating procedure for Cozumel since there are practically no mooring buoys and the considerable current would make fixed-point diving somewhat of a challenge for most divers anyway. Most boat captains/crews are quite adept at following their groups' bubbles, even when they cross with other groups (since they should know their DM's dive plan). They've been doing this for so long that they each know the approximate put-in/take-out points anyway, so the boat is usually lingering near the end of the dive simply waiting to see their DM's marker pop up before moving in. To get a really great idea how to deploy a SMG from depth, just watch some of those DM's. They do it so often, it's just second nature and most of them can deploy it in seconds without losing their focus on the group, bobbling their buoyancy, or any other problem.

[diver 85]

For deploying a SMB @ depth....