Safety sausage question

[dgangi]

I have a standard 40 or 48" safety sausage and will be doing some drift diving in Cozumel, Mexico. My concern is coming to the surface with the safety sausage, only to get whacked by a boat. I'd prefer to hang out at 15' for my deco stop and send up the safety sausage while I am waiting my 3-5 minutes so I am *sure* the surface will be clear of boat traffic when I get there.

When I want diving in Roatan, I saw a few other divers that rigged a string and a weight to their safety sausages so they could inflate them under water and send them to the surface.

Does anybody have a recommendation and instructions for how to rig up something like this? Do I use normal string? Or fishing line? And where do I tie the string to the safety sausage? And at the other end should I use a big washer as a weight? Or something else?

Any personal suggestions you can give would be most appreciated.

Thx...Doug

 

[nickjb]

What you are talking about is dSMB (A delayed surface marker buoy). If you do a quick search on this forum there are a lot of tips for just what you are asking to do.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Most likely you'll never deploy your safety sausage in Cozumel. You will dive with a DM, ascend with him, safety stop at 15' with him, and he will signal the boat when it's time to move in. The boat captain will be up there keeping other boats away.
I've been with outfits whose DM's use safety sausages, and others who just signal with a burst of bubbles.
Bottom line - the operators in Cozumel have a system that works and the boat will be there for you when you surface.
They are pros at taking good care of their customers.. let them do it their way and you'll have a ball.
Rick

 

[tombiowami]

I do not understand what you are asking. What is the problem with just sending it up from 15 feet?


If you are drift diving though, would'nt you have a boat drifting along with you watching a deployed marker of some type?





Tommy

 

[metridium]

Rick Murchison wrote...
Most likely you'll never deploy your safety sausage in Cozumel. You will dive with a DM, ascend with him, safety stop at 15' with him, and he will signal the boat when it's time to move in.

Maybe my experience is unusual, but I very rarely ascend with the DM in Cozumel. The boat's always been there waiting, though, or close by, anyway.

Still, I'm planning on using my SMB there from now on.

 

[metridium]

tombiowami wrote...
If you are drift diving though, would'nt you have a boat drifting along with you watching a deployed marker of some type?

I've never been on a drift dive in Cozumel where the DM deployed a marker throughout the dive. That's on sixty or so drift dives there.

 

[MikeS]

One option is to carry a safety spool i.e. http://www.canadianextreme.ca/spools.html. I carry one in my BC pocket (the more expensive Halcyon version) along with a surface marker. After practicing a few times, I am now able to deploy the surface marker consistently. The biggest challenge is maintaining neutral buoyancy while deploying it. The spool comes with a snap that clips onto the surface marker. Someone on the board advised that you could just let go of the spool while the marker is deployed, and then catch it before it sinks. I tried this with some trepidation but they were right. For some reason it appears to defy gravity and just sits there spinning until the marker hits the surface. At that point if you don’t catch it will slowly unreel as it sinks.

If you hang onto the spool you will not need a weight. Roll it up as you ascend.

Mike

 

[O-ring]

Someone on the board advised that you could just let go of the spool while the marker is deployed, and then catch it before it sinks. I tried this with some trepidation but they were right. For some reason it appears to defy gravity and just sits there spinning until the marker hits the surface. At that point if you don’t catch it will slowly unreel as it sinks.

I love doing that..

 

[Rick Murchison]

metridium once bubbled...
Still, I'm planning on using my SMB there from now on.

I'd sure ask the operator before doing that. I have a sneaking suspicion you may mess up their system and create mass confusion.
Rick

 

[metridium]

Rick Murchison wrote...

I'd sure ask the operator before doing that. I have a sneaking suspicion you may mess up their system and create mass confusion.
Rick

As far as I've been able to tell, their system consists of the boat captain following the group's bubbles - beginning shortly after descent - and picking up buddy teams as they break off from the main group and ascend.

But, as you suggest, it's always a good idea to let the operator know your intentions beforehand. I'd hate to set off a false alarm when all I wanted to do was warn away oncoming boats and/or have a reference line in bluewater.