Deploying DSMB with a spool question.

[detroit diver]

Mostly fresh, but when I'm down south it's all ocean diving. Last time it was 9 dives in 3 days in WPB and Miami.

Yes on both counts.

DD, you dive mostly in fresh water, right? Its not as much of an issue in fresh water as the salt acts as an "adhesive" between line layers..... I find that I don't need to do it after I get done doing a dive at Vortex, for example (shooting the bag just for bag practice from the bottom of the cavern) but do after ocean dives, especially if I am not going to be diving again for a week or two.

Pug is also correct in that if you "crank yourself up" you will hose the spool - you don't want to be doing that.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I don't know about salt vs fresh as far as spools sticking.. though I suppose it could possibly be a problem if a spool had *crystalized salt* on the line from having dried without being rinsed. However I can't imagine there is a difference in salt water vs fresh water.

I dive exlusively in saltwater (and soak my spool in fresh water whether deployed or just taken along on the dive) and have never had a spool hang up and not come right back down.

One thing that does make a difference in regards to handling the spool is the difference between warm water and cold water... not the water but what the diver is wearing on their hands.

 

[FreeFloat]

Yes, the dexterity involved would definitely be a consideration. Are the holes in your typical spool large enough to accommodate at least one 7mm-wetsuit-gloved finger? (or is asking for a "typical" spool like trying to define a "typical" car?)

 

[Uncle Pug]

Are the holes in your typical spool large enough to accommodate at least one 7mm-wetsuit-gloved finger?

Bare finger but not a 7mm or dryglove finger. There are some spools being made now with bigger holes but still not a good idea IMO.

 

[dbulmer]

If you don't wind them up as you ascend you run the risk of getting tangled in all the line in the water and it definitely makes it more difficult on the surface to deal with all that line.

What we do (as DIR divers) is to clip the bolt snap around the line and then through one of the perimeter holes on the spool and if there is no current or wind drift let the spool go and back away from it a bit. This provides a reference for your stop and keeps you from getting the line tangled on any of your gear.

If there is current and/or wind drift you can hold onto the spool if you jerk it down once in a while being careful not to get pulled up by they bag moving off at an angle.

When it comes time to move to the next stop unclip the bolt snap from the perimeter hole but leave it around the line. Some folks use the bolt snap to wind the line around the spool but I prefer to hold the bolt snap steady and wobble the spool.

Note: you should not be winding *yourself* up... you should be maintaining your buoyancy control and ascending on your own winding the line as you go. This takes practice because if you ascend faster than you can wind then you will have excess line exposed to entanglement.

If you feel that you did a bad job winding you can certainly rewind later. One of the things that causes line jams is maintaining too much tension on the line as you are winding it in and winding *yourself* up is at the root of this many times.

Up,
When I was learning to do what you suggest I had terrible trouble keeping the bolt snap on the line - for some unknown reason I kept on unclipping the bot snap with my fingers - damn irritating to say the least!

I am not DIR but I do training dives with DIR blokes and they'd warned me before we tried it how simple it looks - I didn't believe them !!!

I like your idea of keeping the bolt snap in one place and using the spool. I never imagined in a million years that such an exercise could be so hard!

 

[gh1304]

It may have been a simple question but the replies I have got so far will keep me busy practising this in the water for a while.

mwilding. Special thanks for the video. It really did clear things up for me.

Doc Sandy. I am from Hafnarfjordur, which these days is pretty much a suburb of Reykjavik these days. It is still a town but you hardly know when you leave one and enter the next these days.

Thanks for your replies.

Cya, Gisli.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I had terrible trouble keeping the bolt snap on the line - for some unknown reason I kept on unclipping the bolt snap with my fingers

...what happens is that the line pulls throught the bolt side of the snap... when winding you need to make sure that the line is against the solid hook side of the snap.

 

[dbulmer]

UP,
Yes I tried that and still messed up!

 

[Marvintpa]

In the Fifth D video what is it he uses to inflate the bag? Where is it he's tucking it away to after using it? Can't imagine one of those pointy dive store inflator accessories would be DIR, and I'm guessing Fifth D is a DIR supplier.

 

[bwerb]

In the Fifth D video what is it he uses to inflate the bag? Where is it he's tucking it away to after using it? Can't imagine one of those pointy dive store inflator accessories would be DIR, and I'm guessing Fifth D is a DIR supplier.

He's unhooking and rehooking his drysuit inflator hose to fill the bag. It only takes a second to do.

I think launching a bag with the spool spinning freely in the water is one of the absolutely coolest things to see. It is just really neat. If you have the opportunity to show someone who has never seen it done before, definitely do it...but it can cause mask leaks from the grin lines.