Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) : Ideal length

[Tortuga68]

It's like fingers... a thumb is a finger but a finger is not necessarily a thumb. So calling it an LP hose doesn't narrow it down much

Anyway, I don't see the advantage of disconnecting a hose when you have redundant gas coming out your exhaust every breath on OC

 

[The Chairman]

Anyway, I don't see the advantage of disconnecting a hose when you have redundant gas coming out your exhaust every breath on OC

Other than it being quicker, easier and wastes less air, I guess I can see your point.

 

[eelnoraa]

So far, only Tortuga understand my post about diffuculty filling big smb properly in recreation depth. Probably only NetDoc's method can migitgate this speed. However, discounting LPI is easy without gloves. In colder water with thick gloves or drygloves, discounnting LPI and reconnecting it isn't very easy either. It should be doable tho, so I will give it a try.

There is also a different understand of neutral buoyancy here. Multiple breath into smb will definitely make you positive. In fact, even after one breath exhale into smb, once you inhale, you are already possitive. By the time you take the 2nd or 3rd breath, you are already 10ft or more above your stop. To maintain at the same depth, you are either negative to begin with, or have to swim downward or vent BC/drysuit to get neutral. This is true regardless of depth. However, at deeper depth, one breath into smb is probably enough to fill it once it gets to surface.

So I have two SMBs with me. To shoot under water at recreation depth, I use Halcyon 3.3ft. It is to let nearby boat or people that I am there. I also have a 6ft smb. If I surface and find the boat very far away, I will inflator it to get boat attention. The 3.3ft is rolled up stowed in left thign pocket. It will be use anytime I do a blue water ascent. The 6ft is FOLD up flat stow in right pocket. Stuffs here is mostly for emmergency. So far, I only have to use the 6ft once.

 

[boulderjohn]

So far, only Tortuga understand my post about diffuculty filling big smb properly in recreation depth. Probably only NetDoc's method can migitgate this speed. However, discounting LPI is easy without gloves. In colder water with thick gloves or drygloves, discounnting LPI and reconnecting it isn't very easy either. It should be doable tho, so I will give it a try.
.

Make sure your SMB has a connector that can be inflated with the LP inflator--not all do.

If you are wearing dry gloves, then you must be wearing a dry suit. In that case, use the LP inflator connected to the dry suit inflator. It is much easier.

If you are into technical diving or slinging a pony, it is possible to get a LP inflator connection that attaches directly to the first stage on the bottle you are carrying. In that case, there is nothing to disconnect--just push the connector on the SMB into it. I have never done it or seen it done, but I do have the connection. When I bought my first set of HOG gear a few years ago, they sent one to me gratis. I was a DIR student then, so it just got put away.

 

[Ste Wart]

Ask a dive boat skipper, at the end of the day they are the ones looking for it.

 

[The Chairman]

Make sure your SMB has a connector that can be inflated with the LP inflator--not all do.

I said this in my first post in this thread, but it bears repeating, repeating.

 

[Banyan]

So I have two SMBs with me. To shoot under water at recreation depth, I use Halcyon 3.3ft. It is to let nearby boat or people that I am there. I also have a 6ft smb. If I surface and find the boat very far away, I will inflator it to get boat attention. The 3.3ft is rolled up stowed in left thign pocket. It will be use anytime I do a blue water ascent. The 6ft is FOLD up flat stow in right pocket. Stuffs here is mostly for emmergency. So far, I only have to use the 6ft once.

I recently bought the 3.3 ft Halcyon and am likely going the same way. The 3.3 ft Halcyon for standard recreational dives (easy to deploy fully from shallow depths with one breath and restow between dives) and my old 6 ft SMB in my backplate pocket as an "oh s**t!"-option. Certainly if I could only have one SMB and could reasonably expect to sometimes be in choppy open ocean, I wouldn't take anything less than a 6 footer. Depending on the OPs normal dive environment, the recommended size may be even larger.

 

[gcarter]

I have one of the CBSS-25 super sausages @ 96" Personal Floats Safety Sausage Tubes and while it is a good solid bag it is just too big for most of my dives. I'm looking to get a 3' to 4' bag.

 

[idive2]

What I like about the closed bottom Halcyons is there is nothing to depess and hold
while orally inflating. Especially with gloves this eliminates wondering if you have something
depressed properly. Also a nice stainless steel fitting for orally inflating or using an inflator hose.
I have seen the taller narrower smbs made by other manufacturers and they seem like they would
require less to inflate yet sit higher from the surface.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

It depends of course, as you can tell from all the posts and opinions. My opinion is get a 6' SMB. It's big enough to see in decent-sized waves (Atlantic or Pacific diving), but not so huge you can't store it. If you pop it shallow you probably won't fill the entire thing, but you keep it upright by keeping tension on the line. 6' is also going to be substantial enough to do a drift deco on, and is more visible than a lift bag for that purpose.

They are super cheap too. I'd get something closed-circuit w/ a dump valve.

Take a look at Piranha's offerings, or Northeast scuba supply:

Surface Marker Buoy's "SMB's"

72'' Safety Sausage - Northeast Scuba Supply Store