Some questions on SMB usage

[flw]

I prefer a reel to a spool, so I can let go of it on acscent and it won't disappear back down beneath me again.
For most dives. either the bottom or about 20-30m are the easiest depths to deploy from - 6m is the worst, as you need to fill it fuller or it get's a bad case of brewers droop on the surface, rendering it less visible from a boat - on a very deep dive, I'd still be unlikely to deploy much beneath 40m. On an extremely tidal site, such as burray sound/pentland firth - expect to need more than double the depth of the wreck out in line before it reaches the surface
Rigging the reel/dsmb is easy, takes seconds and separating the 2 makes them easier to store in a pocket - just practise it a few times.
I find the easiest way to fill a bag is using my own exhaust bubbles, there is a bit more chance of an entanglement, however it does mean you can use both hands to control the bag/reel/spool
From experience - make sure you've attatched the end of the line to the drum of the reel - or it's an expensive ascent

 

[flw]

I8) I clip off the spool with a double ender, and I adjust the position of the clip if needed as I watch my depth.

I would never, under any circumstances clip myself or anyone else to a dsmb line - there have been far too many cases where the line has been pulled for some reason from the surface and the diver has ended up inadvertantly on the surface

 

[Teamcasa]

Thanks, some good advice there folks. D_B, I'm not sure I quite understand your "stirring the pot" technique. Do you clip the double ender around the line and then twirl the double ender around the circumference of the reel? if so, I guess you'd have to twist your grip on the double ender once for every "stir" so as not to have the line twist around the double ender. Or am I misunderstanding you?

Imagine holding the spool flat in your hand, palm up, griping one side of the spool. Take a double ender and clip one end around the line. Start to draw circles around the spool winding the line back on the spool. The motion is more like rubbing the lip of a pot with the spoon (double ender) flat.

 

[Teamcasa]

...For most divers, a pre-rigged SMB & Line is enough.

For a great percentage of that group, you could easily stow 40' of line, rolled-up inside of the stowed SMB. The reel is over-kill in most cases.

For the typical recreational diver that does not practice deploying a SMB, this is very good advice.

After all, a recreational diver would need to deploy would if they were too far from the boat or shore or to help them do a safety stop should they not be able to hold a stop without the aid of a buoy or anchor line.

All recreational divers should practice this maneuver from time to time anyway. Just let the captain or shore team know you intend to practice this drill.

 

[flw]

For the typical recreational diver that does not practice deploying a SMB, this is very good advice.

After all, a recreational diver would need to deploy would if they were too far from the boat or shore or to help them do a safety stop should they not be able to hold a stop without the aid of a buoy or anchor line.

All recreational divers should practice this maneuver from time to time anyway. Just let the captain or shore team know you intend to practice this drill.

With all due respect, if a diver cannot hold a midwater stop without a line, then they shouldn't be there in the first place

 

[Teamcasa]

With all due respect, if a diver cannot hold a midwater stop without a line, then they shouldn't be there in the first place

With all due respect, not all divers have enough experience to prevent every dive scenario and may just find themselves in situations they never hoped to be in.

Those inexperienced divers can still be prepared by shooting an SMB, hold their stop, get spotted by the crew and get back on board safely so they can dive some more and gain the proper experience.

 

[Quero]

I would never, under any circumstances clip myself or anyone else to a dsmb line - there have been far too many cases where the line has been pulled for some reason from the surface and the diver has ended up inadvertantly on the surface

I didn't say I clipped it to MYSELF, I said I clipped it OFF. Exactly as the demo on the vid shows. Please do try not to read between the lines.

 

[Quero]

For the typical recreational diver that does not practice deploying a SMB, this is very good advice.

After all, a recreational diver would need to deploy would if they were too far from the boat or shore or to help them do a safety stop should they not be able to hold a stop without the aid of a buoy or anchor line.

All recreational divers should practice this maneuver from time to time anyway. Just let the captain or shore team know you intend to practice this drill.

Dave, it depends entirely on the sort of diving being undertaken. You may have a point where it concerns shore diving or simple out and back dives from an anchored vessel. But here where I work, every dive is a drift, and it ends with the deployment of an SMB--not to help hold the stop, but rather because depending on how far we have traveled/how fast our divers' air has been consumed, we all come up in different places. Using an SMB shows all the surrounding boat traffic that there will be divers coming up, and it lets our boat know where to come get us from. Many times I've come up and the boat was right there, but I still want all vessels on the surface to know that we are below and not to drive over top of us. In my case here, the SMB is really the correct term for this device as it is a bouy that floats on the surface to mark our position.

 

[flw]

With all due respect, not all divers have enough experience to prevent every dive scenario and may just find themselves in situations they never hoped to be in.

Those inexperienced divers can still be prepared by shooting an SMB, hold their stop, get spotted by the crew and get back on board safely so they can dive some more and gain the proper experience.

Perhaps, however in our local training, I would expect a diver to be able to hold a midwater stop, before I signed them off as a sport diver. We also routinely use dsmb's, so being able to shoot a bag is required as well - being able to put a bag up is harder than being able to hang midwater. In this area, it's unlikely that anyone would be signed off if either was a problem - but then deco dives are also the norm here as well
That said, I occasionally use a dsmb, not because I need to, but so that there is a visual reference for a 'trainee'

 

[Teamcasa]

Dave, it depends entirely on the sort of diving being undertaken. You may have a point where it concerns shore diving or simple out and back dives from an anchored vessel. But here where I work, every dive is a drift, and it ends with the deployment of an SMB--not to help hold the stop, but rather because depending on how far we have traveled/how fast our divers' air has been consumed, we all come up in different places. Using an SMB shows all the surrounding boat traffic that there will be divers coming up, and it lets our boat know where to come get us from. Many times I've come up and the boat was right there, but I still want all vessels on the surface to know that we are below and not to drive over top of us. In my case here, the SMB is really the correct term for this device as it is a bouy that floats on the surface to mark our position.

Of course, you are right. I should have been more clear what I meant by "would if they were too far from the boat" and too make sure nearby boaters can see you!