Deploying SMB

[reefugee]

Hello All,

I am new to scuba (not certified yet), and have a bone-head question about SMB. I am going to purchase the DAN suasage. My question, is how does one go about deploying it? From what I read, most people start deploying it at 15' below the surface. I assume you use something like a rope to deploy it. What type of rope/reel system should I purchase? How long of a rope should I get? I could get 100' rope, but then that is extra weight/bulk that I am dragging with me in the water. Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

 

[hunter991]

I would suggest either a reel or a spool for SMB. Be careful with spools and reels as it is easy to get tangled. Get someone to show you how to do it for the first time.

Take a look at my site to see some examples of reels and spools and let me know if I can answer any other questions.

www.hidawayscuba.com

Brent

 

[Rick Inman]

A hundred foot finger spool is a good starter. Yes, have someone show you how it's done. It's really no big deal.

I would say that they foul rarely, not often if you take care of them (unreel the line, keep it clean, reel it back after use). If it does foul, just let go.

You can deploy the SBM at depth, at your SS, of on the surface, depending on what you are using it for.

 

[*Floater*]

Many (most?) recreational divers use a basic finger spool with 100 ft of line and a double end boltsnap with their SMB's. Check out the Hot Deals section; some guy is selling them for $15 a pop with SS double ender included, which is the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

Deploying an SMB takes some practice, so just shoot it every dive during your safety stop until you get the hang of it (but be careful not to lose your buoyancy and pop to the surface). If possible, ask an experienced diver to show you how to do it first, but otherwise just go for it and you'll figure it out in no time.

By the way, there are big differences between the SMB's, so just make sure you buy a good one. I haven't seen DAN's bag, so I cannot comment on that. I use a semi-closed Carter myself (orange or red custom from Jagfish) and I plan to add a smaller yellow, closed-circuit, oral-inflate only bag for emergencies - this is standard practice in some places for tech diving. i.e. if you have a problem you shoot the yellow bag instead of the orange, and they'll send someone down to check on you.

 

[TSandM]

Like Rick said, you attach the SMB to a spool. It is not a difficult skill, but it does take some practice, and there are some safety issues about how it's done that you might not think about if you just tried it yourself. For example, keeping the whole assembly well out in front of you so you don't get caught in the line when the bag goes up. In addition, it can be a challenge to maintain your buoyancy the first couple of times you do it. Like most skills, it's best practiced shallow at first, and even better done after a little help from somebody who knows how.

 

[ChrisA]

Hello All,

I am new to scuba (not certified yet), and have a bone-head question about SMB. I am going to purchase the
Thanks

For 90% of all divers, you would never deploy the SMB while under water. It's primary use is at the surface if you get separated from the boat or your buddy you simply blow the thing up with your mouth and then wave it around untill you get someone's attention.

OK there are other uses for the thing. You can deploy it from your 15 feet "safety stop". For that you don't need a reel. Just tie 15 feet of string and a small weight, like a couple stainless steel washers to the SMB and roll the string up. The next most sophisticated usage would be to buy a 100 foot "finger spool" so you could deply the SMB from depth and make your own ascent line. It's much easier to make a controlled ascent if you have a line.

Seeing as you are just starting out I would suggest getting just the safety sausage and no line at all. Use it just as a signal device while on the surface. Later add some line, either 15 foot or a finger spool but for a beginner skip the line untill at least a dozen or so dives. At first simply breathing and swimming around will require you full attention

That said if you are comming up in an area where there is boat trafic and you are not near your dive boat deplying the SMB from 15 feet is a good idea. It might keep you from getting run over.