Dive Flag Fail!

[CT-Rich]

look over your shoulder every once in a while....

[video=vimeo;111316987]http://vimeo.com/111316987[/video]

This was one of the last dives of the season. I took my friend Mike with me and we decided to use his dive flag. I always like my old-school inner-tube float, never had this kind of mishap ( I will admit that it has turtled a couple of times). This style seems to do this a lot. On a couple of occasions, I watched it sink like a diving U-boat, flapping proudly as it went down.....

PS I just noticed I misspelled periscope, no reminders needed.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

look over your shoulder every once in a while....

[video=vimeo;111316987]http://vimeo.com/111316987[/video]

This was one of the last dives of the season. I took my friend Mike with me and we decided to use his dive flag. I always like my old-school inner-tube float, never had this kind of mishap ( I will admit that it has turtled a couple of times). This style seems to do this a lot. On a couple of occasions, I watched it sink like a diving U-boat, flapping proudly as it went down.....

PS I just noticed I misspelled periscope, no reminders needed.

Interesting video. As the floatation foam gets old and begins to break down and degrade, the flag will lose buoyancy.

The problem with an old school innertube is that they are hard to pull through the water- a lot of drag.

We offer a solution that works much better. Our hard float with the optional dive flag and ballast weight. This float is very rugged, very streamlined and easy to tow and also has handles to support a tired diver at the surface, if that should ever be needed. You can easily manage the floatline length with our inexpensive ratcheting reel.

Hawaiian Hard Float | MAKO Spearguns

Utility Reel | MAKO Spearguns

 

[Selchie in LB]

Good to know. I've been looking to buy a dive flag and it seems they're either $15 or $50+. It's an essential piece of gear for RI shore diving.

under water some where

 

[CT-Rich]

Good to know. I've been looking to buy a dive flag and it seems they're either $15 or $50+. It's an essential piece of gear for RI shore diving.

under water some where

This style can do this straight out of the bag. I'd get something that has enough buoyancy to prevent you from accidentally pulling it under. On the bright side, if you pull it under in RI, you will still be within the legal 50'

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

This style can do this straight out of the bag. I'd get something that has enough buoyancy to prevent you from accidentally pulling it under. On the bright side, if you pull it under in RI, you will still be within the legal 50'

That is true. If you are diving in a current (or swimming hard) the float pictured in the video will simply be pulled underwater. They are inexpensive, but they have some significant weaknesses.

 

[EastEndDiver]

That type of flag can be used to alert submarines that divers are in the water and steer clear.

 

[icechip]

A couple of times I've inadvertently pulled the flag under and the top section (flag and half of the staff) has popped off. Recovered it the first time it did that, but not the second time, it's somewhere out in the Atlantic. So now just had the float and half a staff. Got a new flag and bought a wooden dowel rod that fit into the bottom half staff. Drilled a hole through where it connected and now use a cotter pin to hold the top half (with flag affixed to dowel rod) to the bottom half. Plus the wooden dowel rod was longer than what it replaced so my flag sticks even higher up out of the water for the boaters to see, which is always good here in Mid-Coast Maine.

 

[kmurray719]

This was one of the last dives of the season. I took my friend Mike with me and we decided to use his dive flag. I always like my old-school inner-tube float, never had this kind of mishap ( I will admit that it has turtled a couple of times). This style seems to do this a lot. On a couple of occasions, I watched it sink like a diving U-boat, flapping proudly as it went down.....

PS I just noticed I misspelled periscope, no reminders needed.

There is something "in between" the torpedo flag float and an inner tube. I find the inner tube floats bulky to carry to the water and to tow. And expensive as well. This is what I (and most people I know) use for a flag:


Even my most Hulk built friend can't pull it under.