Lost at Sea, which SMB? Carter 10' vs Highland 10' vs OMS 16'

[Dan]

I pick none of those. I don’t like the open bottom SMB. It’ll deflate once the bottom end breach the surface. I prefer the nozzle inflated DSMB which I can deploy at depth.

Deploying DSMB at depth is important for early signaling once you are swept by swift current. Otherwise you’ll be too far away from the skiff if you deploy it at the surface.

For example a dive site called Peleliu Cut in Palau. To dive this site, you descend to the bottom, get yourself ready with a reef hook on one hand and slowly ascend to Peleliu ledge where the current is steadily getting stronger. Once you reach the ledge, you need to hook on to a pocket on the ledge. If you miss the hook-in spot, you will be blown away to the blue by the the swift current. That’s the time you need to deploy your DSMB where by the time it pops up at the surface, it will still be within the visible range of the skiff pilot eyes. If you wait to deploy it when you reach the surface, you’ll be too far away from the skiff. The next island is in the Philippines, hundreds of miles away.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I pick none of those. I don’t like the open bottom SMB. It’ll deflate once the bottom end breach the surface. I prefer the nozzle inflated DSMB which I can deploy at depth.

Deploying DSMB at depth is important for early signaling once you are swept by swift current. Otherwise you’ll be too far away from the skiff if you deploy it at the surface.

For example a dive site called Peleliu Cut in Palau. To dive this site, you descend to the bottom, get yourself ready with a reef hook on one hand and slowly ascend to Peleliu ledge where the current is steadily getting stronger. Once you reach the ledge, you need to hook on to a pocket on the ledge. If you miss the hook-in spot, you will be blown away to the blue by the the swift current. That’s the time you need to deploy your DSMB where by the time it pops up at the surface, it will still be within the visible range of the skiff pilot eyes. If you wait to deploy it when you reach the surface, you’ll be too far away from the skiff. The next island is in the Philippines, hundreds of miles away.

I like the Halcyon SMB for that reason. I think being wider and more round is easier to spot than tall and skinny.

 

[Johnoly]

I'm looking to get an SMB for high waves or lost at sea condition. I do have a standard 5' SMB for normal conditions.

Any good captain can find you in calm conditions. But high waves are usually with higher winds. 3-5ft waves will probably be accompanied by 15-20mph winds. And this is where the 10 foot SMB's have a problem, you can't hold them upright in the wind on your safety stop UW to be seen. Your 10 foot SMB is now only 4 inches tall. Sure you could carry an extra 5lbs of lead to stand it up, but that's gonna mess up your bouyancy. The carter CBPF-35 at 6 ft tall is the perfect height that you can make it stand up tall while on your safety stop but still handles the wind.. If the 4 inch thick, 10 footers are laying flat inside the troughs of 3-5ft waves, it will never be seen by the captain except by luck. Having a 'manageable' length SMB that you can stand upright the whole time while on your safety stop is the key to being seen and tracked. Also Carter's quality is just incredible. I have a 6ft one and it's still going strong with over 700 dives on it. Plus it features a duck bill sealing bottom opening, user replaceable inflate & dump valves and thick bungie wrap that any diver can do themselves. This is how I have my Carter smb set up>>>>

 

[Dan]

You need something rigid enough to stay erect like the 6’ one below. It stays erected even with strobe light strapped on top of the SMB.

It’s small enough to be rolled & stuffed in BCD pocket, including the 100’ spool with double ender.

I have a special LP hose with inflator nozzle (see the red hose, below) for inflating the DSMB quickly without removing the regulator from my mouth.

 

[Dan]

Check this video out for launching DSMB at swift current.

 

[lairdb]

I pick none of those. I don’t like the open bottom SMB. It’ll deflate once the bottom end breach the surface. I prefer the nozzle inflated DSMB which I can deploy at depth.

Coming into this late, but for clarity, the Carter bags have a duck bill bottom; air goes in, but it doesn't come out.

(Completely incidental: I have a yellow CBPF-75 that's in great shape and nothing wrong with it -- but it has lately seemed to me that I'd rather have the CBPF-50. If anyone happens to read this and is interested in a trade, let me know.)

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Flare gun
Rescue monkey
Everything everyone has already said.

You should be fine.

 

[Akimbo]

I would take a 6' DSMB with radar reflecting panels over a plain 10' anyday. I tested the DAN 6' Signaling Sausage and the radar easily found it several miles away in conditions that were hard to see more than a mile.

 

[Chipstix]

I would take a 6' DSMB with radar reflecting panels over a plain 10' anyday. I tested the DAN 6' Signaling Sausage and the radar easily found it several miles away in conditions that were hard to see more than a mile.

Hi @Akimbo , this is really interesting. I'd be interested to hear more about your real world experiences with it? I was put off by the 500m rating that they mention

I was looking for a radar DSMB and found the Seeker from Custom divers (talks about 1.5 to 2miles of successful real world testing), but it is long term out of stock. I put on a wanted post and got a surprisingly hard time on the thread!!

Wanted - Wanted: Custom Divers Seeker Radar Detectable DSMB

Hi, I am going on my first liveaboard in June to Egypt Red Sea (Aggressor 4 - Deep South) I would like to upgrade my DSMB and like the functionality of the Custom Divers Seeker radar detectable DSMB. I realise the risk of boat seperation is hopefully low, but like the idea of this extra...

scubaboard.com

Be great to get your thoughts, as I might go for one of these DAN DSMB units.....

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

DAN 6' Signaling Sausage

The DAN Signaling Sausage was created to provide peace of mind, and high visibility to divers who find themselves too far from the boat. When fully inflated, this surface marker provides a six-foot column of High Visibility Orange tubing with a strip of radar reflective material in the center...

shop.dan.org

Very cool. I wonder if I can get that lining for my teenage son...