Flag v SMB

[PfcAJ]

SubGear Diving Buoy

Replace the stock flag with a legal sized one and you're good to go.

 

[Diverkip]

Thanks all. That helps clarify things for me. Since it is the law that pretty much settles the discussion. I drift dive mostly in the Pompano Beach area although I have dove in Xcalak and Grand Cayman but they weren't drift dives. Looked up the Florida law and it is stay within 100' radius of the flag in confined waters (channel, river, etc.) and 300' radius in open water. Boats have to stay out of the same zones around the flag. (There are more whereas's in the law but you can google it if you want clarity) Makes sense that the boat knows where we are. If someone needs to get on the boat NOW! you wouldn't want to be trying to get their attention from a location hundreds of yards away in a direction they weren't looking and in seas and wind. Also, being 40+ fsw with a boat going over is no big deal until you have to make an emergency ascent. Then having a clear zone could make all the difference. Using my own reel and developing a safe way of handling it seems like the way to address the issues I dislike about the present system.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Thanks all. That helps clarify things for me. Since it is the law that pretty much settles the discussion. I drift dive mostly in the Pompano Beach area although I have dove in Xcalak and Grand Cayman but they weren't drift dives. Looked up the Florida law and it is stay within 100' radius of the flag in confined waters (channel, river, etc.) and 300' radius in open water. Boats have to stay out of the same zones around the flag. (There are more whereas's in the law but you can google it if you want clarity) Makes sense that the boat knows where we are. If someone needs to get on the boat NOW! you wouldn't want to be trying to get their attention from a location hundreds of yards away in a direction they weren't looking and in seas and wind. Also, being 40+ fsw with a boat going over is no big deal until you have to make an emergency ascent. Then having a clear zone could make all the difference. Using my own reel and developing a safe way of handling it seems like the way to address the issues I dislike about the present system.

Take a look at our solution to a surface flag for a scuba diver. We offer a hard float with a Florida legal dive flag and a weight to keep the flag upright. This float will handle some pretty stiff currents without submerging and it is very streamlines so it is easy to pull. If is extremely tough and has hand holds and buoyancy to support a diver on the surface.

We suggest you add a reel which will allow the diver to eliminate excess line which is to be avoided when drift diving over tall wrecks. It allows the diver to easily wind up and ascend directly under the float. The racheting system is designed to eliminate back spinning and tangles and it automatically locks the line, so you can anchor the float (to a dead piece of rock or wreck) when you want to stop.

With 150 ft of line the rig should handle depths of up to around 100 ft with moderate currents.

Hawaiian Hard Float | MAKO Spearguns

Utility Reel | MAKO Spearguns

...

 

[tbone1004]

the hawaiian hard float is a great piece of kit btw, not a fan of the reels, but cave divers tend to be picky about those sorts of things it does work decently well for this specific application though.

 

[azmodan50]

The float looks interesting, but I don't like that reel either. Although the ratchet doesn't allow back spin, the line likes to come off the reel which then gets tangled up.

It would be nice to have a reel that enclosed the line in a housing and would take up extra slack automatically. Almost like those dog leashes where you push the button to let out line and winds the slack up when you release the button.

 

[beanojones]

+1 on the Speargun Buoy/Flag idea, although I would go with the coated foam type over the hollow hard plastic type. (and I would also secure the flag pole holder to the body of the bullet itself rather than over the handles). Another version of that idea is a converted boogie board with a flagpole jammed through it, and a weight attached to the bottom. If you do the image search you will see how people put five gallon buckets through the boogie board too.

An easier to carry Flag is the Weighted Flag pole with a Styrofoam section for positive buoyancy.
Dive Flag & Float - Serpent Aquatics

(no idea about this reseller, just first google hit.)

If you go this Syrofoam flagpole routd, save yourself a headache, and do away with the two piece flagpole idea.I just cement the flag onto the lowere section. Any decent wind ends up acting as a lever arm on the flag, and kills the whole point of the extended pole length. The cleverest variant on this theme I have seen was a home brew version that used a driveway reflector on a pole with a dive flag cemented onto it and a weight attached to the bottom.


One easy to add thing that makes using any float easier is to put a good section of appropriate strength bungie on the flag end that evens out the tugs, reduces strain on the stitiching (for people using inner tube float and covers), and also allows a tied off float to be pulled taut without a tide swing submerging the flag/float.

Another pro tip about dive flag in general is that the fiberglass poles end up putting splinters in your hands. Get the smallest PVC piping glue the fiberglass flag pole inside that (and also glue the flag to the pole), and then bore out the flag insert to fit the slightly larger diameter PVC pipe. (

When new fiberglass seems fine, but fiberglass is just not designed to handle with the grain scraping in and out of the flag mount, and the fiberglass splinters are a pain in the pooper.

 

[ams511]

the hawaiian hard float is a great piece of kit btw, not a fan of the reels, but cave divers tend to be picky about those sorts of things it does work decently well for this specific application though.

It is far more convenient than those silly coat hanger reals for towing a flag.

---------- Post added April 9th, 2015 at 09:43 PM ----------

SubGear Diving Buoy

Replace the stock flag with a legal sized one and you're good to go.

I really don't understand why they design those floats with such small dive flags.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

The float looks interesting, but I don't like that reel either. Although the ratchet doesn't allow back spin, the line likes to come off the reel which then gets tangled up.

It would be nice to have a reel that enclosed the line in a housing and would take up extra slack automatically. Almost like those dog leashes where you push the button to let out line and winds the slack up when you release the button.

No reel is perfect, but it would be hard to imagine a small, robust reel that would automatically retract 150 ft of line. The reel we sell for this application is surprisingly strong, we know people who use them to anchor kayaks- you do have to be cautious that the reel line in not being abraded by any rocks, etc, when anchoring.

We suggest the hard plastic float for people who want a nearly indestructible float and are not traveling with significant size restrictions. For divers who are traveling by air, then an inflatable has some significant advantages.

We offer other floats.. The high pressure float is extremely tough similar to a Zodiac inflatable boat. This is designed for use on large pelagic fish, so it will stand up to use as a dive flag/float.

The liters designation refers to the air capacity which is just slightly less than the buoyancy...15 liter float has around 30 lbs of lift, so that should be large enough for a scuba float and it will be much easier to pull than a flag.

 

[tbone1004]

ams, much better than the kite reel, but I don't like unitaskers, though I actually just use a finger spool when I'm towing a flag. Personal preference, but agreed that it is much more convenient.

 

[danvolker]

No reel is perfect, but it would be hard to imagine a small, robust reel that would automatically retract 150 ft of line. The reel we sell for this application is surprisingly strong, we know people who use them to anchor kayaks- you do have to be cautious that the reel line in not being abraded by any rocks, etc, when anchoring.

We suggest the hard plastic float for people who want a nearly indestructible float and are not traveling with significant size restrictions. For divers who are traveling by air, then an inflatable has some significant advantages.

We offer other floats.. The high pressure float is extremely tough similar to a Zodiac inflatable boat. This is designed for use on large pelagic fish, so it will stand up to use as a dive flag/float.

The liters designation refers to the air capacity which is just slightly less than the buoyancy...15 liter float has around 30 lbs of lift, so that should be large enough for a scuba float and it will be much easier to pull than a flag.

I have used the Riffe and also the Omersub torpedo floats, and they both have a very streamlined frontal section....the point being, what design do we really want on the front of the torpedo float? With the riffe or omer, you can toss one off the back of a charter boat going 20 mph, and the pull on the line is minimal....try this with a flag float, and some divers could get pulled in to the water behind the boat, so great is the drag....the flag floats are the opposite of aero...

So this blunt nose torpedo....how does it do on the toss of the boat test, or, actual towing by a diver compared to the hard shell, or the Riffes?