Easier SMB Deployment???

[rivers]

I am not sure that “change your gear” is valid since they are not tech divers. What practical reason does anyone have for using a 100' spool that isn’t on a rebreather or looking like this guy?

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Honesty, a decompression obligation below 20' is some pretty serious diving. Why should the vast majority adopt a 100' spool as their standard? We’re talking about people who will probably never see their computer in the red unless it is their fifth reped on a liveaboard.

As someone who is, for the most part, doing strictly recreational dives, in the sea, i (or my buddy), shoot our dsmb either A) as soon as we descend if on a drift, B) Just before we ascend or leave a wreck, or C) when the skipper tells us. I have put up a blob from depths as shallow as 4-5m and as deep as 25m. So yes, 100ft of line for a recreational dive isn't overkill. I have a spool with a 150ft of line. my back up has 100ft of line

 

[skankpile]

only on scubaboard will people argue about how best to drop their spool..

 

[Akimbo]

only on scubaboard will people argue about how best to drop their spool..

It is an interesting phenomenon with divers. Once they find something that kind’a sort’a works they become convinced it is perfect and fooling with it is a sacrilege. I first ran into it in the early 1960s when “real divers” insisted that this was the best diving gear possible:

 

[Zen Diving Inc.]

It is an interesting phenomenon with divers. Once they find something that kind’a sort’a works they become convinced it is perfect and fooling with it is a sacrilege. I first ran into it in the early 1960s when “real divers” insisted that this was the best diving gear possible:

Im going with "Royal Navy 6 bolt/ Dutch Diving Co" Final answer... Designed by ....Gorman?

 

[idive2]

Regardless of the method used it seems I need an extra hand. I don't like the spool as it seems much more tedious than
a reel. The reel I like best has a release lever and that is one more thing that has to be addressed when deploying the smb.
It's hard for me to hold the reel and smb in one hand and also make sure the release is depressed. What I do is let some
line out and let the reel drop down a bit and with the reel hanging I either inflate orally or have recently tried the inflator
hose with some success. The real trick comes after I have air in the bag. I need to pull the inflator hose away with one hand
while holding the bag with the other. This whole time the reel is still hanging about a foot under the bag. I then need to reach
across with my hand that is not holding the bag and depress the release before letting go of the bag. Letting go of the bag
before releasing reel would not work well. My other option rather than reaching across with my right hand to get the reel would be to
switch hands that is holding the partially inflated bag and release the reel with my left hand, then release the bag. I do this most often
as it seems a bit more natural than reaching across with my right hand to grab the reel.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

That’s pretty-much how I see it done except the bag is orally inflated (usually deeper) or people just use their octopus to inflate through the bottom. I find blowing a puff into the bag first makes it a little easier to align and keep from tangling in line (and gear). I didn’t bother doing that on these experiments since managing the line became a non-issue.



Close, except using a shorter line that is completely unwound before inflating. My thought is to avoid any potential jamming and re-spooling more than is needed.



Hmmm, did you use braided or twisted line? I didn’t give it any thought, but braided non-floating line (Dacron, Nylon, etc) is the most tangle resistant line I know of.



I didn’t bother with a clip at all. The larger line seems to stay put better than the “string” so I just shove it into a pocket while it is attached to the rolled bag. Conceivably (thinking out loud) you could just wrap the line around rolled bag, maybe with a large washer or small fishing weight tied to the end. The spool itself may be unnecessary??? I might try that with ¼"/6mm braided line which is really easy to handle even in mitts or dry gloves. I will probably reduce the length to 20'/6M since the end hangs about a foot deeper with a fully inflated bag.



I have never had an SMB that stood-up unless I went a little negative and hung on. I don’t understand how bag dynamics changes by having shorter thicker line. I guess the real question is why have all that line unless you are searching and need to mark something (assuming minimal-to-no-D)?



My test was in moderate current. The wind had no effect since the bag didn’t stand up until putting weight on it. Besides, the line was only out of my hand a second or two, between release and the bag breaking surface.

I didn’t try this in a ripping current, but it didn’t seem to drift away since we were both drifting at the same rate. I would try it a few times in a fast current, letting the unfurled line slip through my fingers, before trying the “let go” method. I think I will try it with a 6' Dan SMB next time for a “worst” case test.

BTW, that radar reflector on the new Dan SMB makes the scope light up big time… way better than any of us expected.

https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/store/home.aspx?id=5

I don't need or want a heavier line. I wrap the line around the wrapped up smb. The string is tied to the smb on one end and the other is a brass clip. On the loop of the brass clip are a few elastic bands of thin bungi material or other strong elastic. This elastic secures the string and a brass clip to the smb. So the smb is clipped to a D-ring on the BC. No reel and no need to mess around with pockets. We drift dive a lot and I have been using this method with 20 feet of line for a long time. There is no handling of the line anyway. You pull the elastic bands off, allow the smb it spin, deploying the line and the clip keeps it tight. There should be no loose line, unless you get impatient with the process. If you start the deployment at 40 feet, you shuld be ready to add air by the time you hit 20 feet.

I don't own a reel and it seems to be extra gear that is unneeded for shallow deployment.

The only real disadvantage with my method is that you ascend up the line leaving the line hanging down (weighted with the brass clip). If you have a reel or spool, you can wind your line back up on ascent and you are much cleaner while getting one the boat. With my method, you hand the boat driver the smb and then he pulls in the 20 feet of string and lays it on the deck. If you had a charter with 20 people, I would imagine that it might be worth the trouble to use a spool. I don't dive on those boats anymore.

 

[Akimbo]

Im going with "Royal Navy 6 bolt/ Dutch Diving Co" Final answer... Designed by ....Gorman?

Manufactured and “supplied by” Seibe Gorman for sure. The Winchester Cathedral job was 1906 to 1911. Deep Diving and Submarine Operations by Robert H. Davis, Seventh Edition, Page 455.

I don’t know the Brit hats that well but it looks like the predecessor to the Davis Admiralty six-bolt; which basically added a check valve, supply flow control valve, and a simplex phone to this one. Interesting how the hose and strain relief members weren’t married into a single umbilical… probably because the hose failed so often.

Clever how they tied the strain relieve to his port (window) protector instead of the breast plate… Not! What were they thinking?

---------- Post added December 19th, 2012 at 07:26 PM ----------

… With my method, you hand the boat driver the smb and then he pulls in the 20 feet of string and lays it on the deck. If you had a charter with 20 people, I would imagine that it might be worth the trouble to use a spool...

I hand the inflated SMB up half the time anyway because they are waiting on me. What do you think of wrapping the line around the inflated bag on the swim back instead of letting it trail behind?

This video of yours really looks like a better way for most people and on most dives. Thanks.

…or.. skip to 8:25 filmed myself

Helldiver SB2C Plane Wreck Off Jupiter Florida - YouTube

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I generally try to avoid dealing with any loose line bundled in the water. It is probably safer to hand up the smb, and the clip keeps the line tight until it is all on the deck in a small mess. I also had a typo, I own several reels and often use one to deploy an smb from deep. I don't own a spool and have never used one.

 

[Diver0001]

Regardless of the method used it seems I need an extra hand. I don't like the spool as it seems much more tedious than
a reel. The reel I like best has a release lever and that is one more thing that has to be addressed when deploying the smb.
It's hard for me to hold the reel and smb in one hand and also make sure the release is depressed. What I do is let some
line out and let the reel drop down a bit and with the reel hanging I either inflate orally or have recently tried the inflator
hose with some success. The real trick comes after I have air in the bag. I need to pull the inflator hose away with one hand
while holding the bag with the other. This whole time the reel is still hanging about a foot under the bag. I then need to reach
across with my hand that is not holding the bag and depress the release before letting go of the bag. Letting go of the bag
before releasing reel would not work well. My other option rather than reaching across with my right hand to get the reel would be to
switch hands that is holding the partially inflated bag and release the reel with my left hand, then release the bag. I do this most often
as it seems a bit more natural than reaching across with my right hand to grab the reel.

The problem I foresee with your approach is that a time will come when either you fail to get a hand on the reel quick enough or it jams..... and it WILL jam. they all do.

When (not if) that happens, you'll need to let go of it so you don't get dragged to the surface and you'll chance losing your bag and your reel. Not only that, but if someone on the surface is looking for your location based on the position of the bag then you'll send them on a wild goose chase while you finish your stops free-floating and surface where they aren't expecting you. Something like this can vary in severity from an inconvenience to very dangerous depending on the proximity of boats and the expectations of the crew.

R..

 

[Searcaigh]

Not sure I understand. Are you using the 30M reel for decompression stops deeper than 20'/6M?

I try not to run into deco, but sometimes it can happen, but that is not my main reason it is more in line to what DA Aquamaster posted

So...I start my ascent and drift down current. I'm already a few hundred feet down current of the boat when I start, and I am a few hundred feet farther down current by the time I reach my safety stop depth and shoot the bag. So now I have a 3' recreational bag 600' downstream from the boat in an area where no one is looking. I'd much rather have had a 150' safety spool and shot the bag immediately from the wreck, bringing the bag up closer to the boat, and increasing the chances that someone would have seen it and immediately recognized there was a drifting diver to track and recover, rather than noting it 15 minutes later after the diver count comes up short.

A short SMB line just does not make sense, even if many come with short lines, as a spool is much more practical, easier and safer to handle, and more adaptable to real world situations - even for an OW diver.

If for some reason there is a strong current and I come off the main dive site, it is better to let the boat crew know asap, however they may not notice as they could be smoking, playing cards or oggling some lady who is sunbathing topless