Need Tips On Reel Use

I do non-penetration wreck dives in the Northeastern United States, and have recently begun using a reel to guide me back to the dive boat anchor line. I would be interested in any tips on reel use, and any suggestions for reading about reel technique.

Thanks.

Don't tie off to the anchor line, you do not want to have you or your reel get drug out, off, or over the wreck if the anchor comes loose. Better to tie off close to the anchor than directly to it.

It would be a really good idea to complete a wreck diving course so that you can learn to use a reel from an instructor.

A reel works great for this purpose. I use the same technique on some of the wrecks up here on the great lakes when the viz is poor. Like was said before don't tie off directly on the line but near it.
A good reference would be a cave diving manual- chapter on reel use. The book will show you how to correctly run line, then I would practice a little on shore and in shallow water.

MJillKDives once bubbled...
I do non-penetration wreck dives in the Northeastern United States, and have recently begun using a reel to guide me back to the dive boat anchor line. I would be interested in any tips on reel use, and any suggestions for reading about reel technique.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Hi there:

Firstly, you seem to have picked up instinctively a good basic practice! However -- and there's always an however isn't there -- there are a couple of things that may help you better manage the reel and line.

Rule one... use a simple reel... the more simple the better. Shun the ones with springs and releases and stay with something that is a basic spool and handle.

Rule two... throw away the cave line that probably came loaded on the reel and replace it with "wreck line" which is thicker... now I always forget this but I think it's #36 braided nylon line (in any event its break strain is about 150 kg compared to cave line's 100 kg)

Rule three... do not overload the reel with too much line regardless of its design... keep the line well below the lip of the spool otherwise, when it swells after getting wet, it will fall off the spool at the most inopportune moment.

Rule four... when you are unwinding line, keep the reel out to one side of your body pointing back toward the last tie in... what's a tie in. When you deploy the reel you will put wraps around suitabel spots on the wreck to keep it from flapping around.

Rule five... avoid line traps!

Good luck

Rule six... be careful reeling in to avoid jams. Don't let too much slack develop but don't pull your self along either.

Rule seven... when you violate rule six and have to wrap the rest of the line around the outside of the reel don't feel embrassed about untangling it on the boat. It's like driving a stick shift, the only people that laugh when you stall can't drive stick.

cornfed once bubbled...
It's like driving a stick shift, the only people that laugh when you stall can't drive stick.

Click to expand...

That's sooo true. I always want to slap them when they say, "drive stick much?"

Doppler once bubbled...


Rule two...throw away the cave line that probably came loaded on the reel and replace it with "wreck line" which is thicker... now I always forget this but I think it's #36 braided nylon line (in any event its break strain is about 150 kg compared to cave line's 100 kg)

Rule three... do not overload the reel with too much line regardless of its design... keep the line well below the lip of the spool otherwise, when it swells after getting wet, it will fall off the spool at the most inopportune moment.

Click to expand...

Line comes in 4 sizes depending on the size of the reel and the application. #24 is the smallest and may work ok for cav diving where lenght is more important than strenght, but in or over a wreck you need something stronger that can be a braded a bit more before it breaks. #36 is the next largest size followed by #48 which works very well on a wreck reel. Really large reels may come with 1/8 inch line.

The trade off for increased strenght is the reduced amount of heavier line that can be carried on the reel.

A 4" primary reel will come with about 400' of #24, 300' of #36, 250' of #48, or 110' of 1/8" line.

A 3" reel will come with about 175' of #24, 130' of #36, and 100' of #48.

You can also find 5" primary reels and they will come with 800' of #24, 550' of #36, 425' of #48, or 250' of 1/8" line.

In most cases it is advisable to strip off about 25-50' (depending on the size of the reel) to make it less likely to jump the reel. The line is rolled to the reel in a very orderly fashion at the factory, but does not look that way after the first dive and if you load to much on one side of the reel while bringing in the line, it can go over the edge. Removing some of the line helps prevent this.

Most traditional reel designs allow removal of the reel under water which helps clear a jam if the line ends up between the spool and the frame of the reel. (not losing the little plastic washers when removing the reel underwater with wet or dry gloves is another matter entirely and keeping a few spares in the dive kit is a good idea.)

I have pretty much been a die hard reef scuba fan in terms of reels but recently started using a plastic reel from trident to tow a dive flag. It is a lot stronger than I thought it would be and relatively easy to manage. It does have a spring release arrangement but it is very simple and much less likely to fail or bind the reel if it fails than some of the other release designs out there. On the down side, you need tools to remove the reel so getting the line jammed between the spool and the frame can be very hard to imposible to fix in the water if you don't catch it on the first turn or two.