what sort of reel for a marker bouy?

[Freeflyer]

Hi,

after reading around the forum, I've decided to get a surface marker bouy, but I'm a bit unsure as to what sort of reel to get.

I was thinkiing about a 15m piece of cord, but read that a reel is better to prevent tangles. Could anyone suggest what I should look for in a reel.

Thanks,

J.

 

[blackice]

Freeflyer once bubbled...
after reading around the forum, I've decided to get a surface marker bouy, but I'm a bit unsure as to what sort of reel to get.

I was thinkiing about a 15m piece of cord, but read that a reel is better to prevent tangles. Could anyone suggest what I should look for in a reel.

Thanks,

J.

Every diver should have a SMB, for those times when the boat has moved away to pick up another diver or just can't see you in the swell.

Personally I have recently switched over to a spool, it is really simple in design .. and when used correctly will offer no chance of entanglement. You can put up to 100foot of line on it, but most will put less than that as generally you will not be doing expensive deco that deep.

Spool with double ended bolt snap and a loop at the base of you SMB should do the trick. Have someone show you how to do the "shooting the bag" so you get the idea.

 

[HammerNoMore]

blackice once bubbled...
Personally I have recently switched over to a spool, it is really simple in design .. and when used correctly will offer no chance of entanglement. You can put up to 100foot of line on it, but most will put less than that as generally you will not be doing expensive deco that deep.

I agree. If you use a reel to send up an SMB you have to keep thumb tension on the reel to prevent a jam. This becomes an added source of lift you may not really want. Of course if it does jam, you have to just toss it unless you are seriously overweighted. (My SMB has 45lbs of lift.)

A spool is so much simpler to use, cary, stow, etc. Right tool for the job.

JJ has an excelent article on this at http://www.gue.com/equipment/feature/liftbag/index.shtml.

Have someone show you how to do the "shooting the bag" so you get the idea.

5th-D has a good video showing how:

http://www.fifthd.com/divestore/classes/video/shootbag.avi

You'll need the Div

 

[Wingtip]

blackice once bubbled...
I have recently switched over to a spool, it is really simple in design

I have recently switched to the Terkel Spool it is billled as a "cold water" spool easy enough to use with gloves but the balance on this thing is incredible. You can let it go and just watch it spin perfectly vertical in the water column. (best to get ahold of it again before the bag reaches the surface though, FYI)

 

[Chris H]

I have a Halcyon spool and although it is compact and easy to put in my drysuit pocket but it is really a pain to use.

I also have a small Dive Rite reel that I think I prefer over the spool but it is a bit bulkier and I don't think it would be comfortable in my pocket.

I haven't given up on the spool yet, but the last time I used it I wanted to throw it. Whichever means you decide to use, I suggest practicing using it until you feel comfortable.

As for letting the spool go while the line is coming off; I tried this on a 70ft deco stop and watched the spool go shooting to the surface and slowy make its way down to within 15 ft of where it needed to be (in my hand). Hold on to the spool

Anyway, practice, practice, and then practice some more. Good Luck

 

[Freeflyer]

OK, so I've been looking at reels online, and they seem to be simply a spool of line wound onto an open plastic reel.

And for this they charge $45.

Do you really pay that much, for something so simple. Does anyone just get a small plastic reel used for something else and wind their own line on.

What sort of line would you recommend, I'm thinking thin braided would be ideal. 50' should come to about $5

This seems to be ripe for DIY/Scavenging.

Cheers,

J.

PS. Anyone tried the buddy reel from APvalves.

http://www.apvalves.com/PktReel.html

Looks interesting, although more things to go wrong than a simple spool.

 

[Chris H]

Most of the spools in the $45 range are made of Delrin.

Dive Rite makes one for $35 that is not Delrin.

50ft might be a bit short depending on what you intend to use it for. I went 75ft so I can shoot a bag at the 70ft deco stop. The reel I use has about 90ft of line on it.

I think the line is 24# or maybe even 32#.

Do some searching and see what you can come up with for DIY, but I think you may be suprised at the lack of anything else that is similar. It costs money to set up a lathe or CNC to cut the spools. McMaster Carr sells Delrin rod.

 

[Freeflyer]

Being just a padi AOW I've never had a need for a 70' deco stop, I've never dived deco levels. I was thinking more for just the 15 safety stop, or to show positioning surfacing near a boat.

Is there a reason it has to be made or delrin. I'd have thought any nylon or SS reel would do fine.

Might have a look at some fishing reels or nylon cord bobbins. If not, I may have to stump up the cost.

Cheers,

J.

 

[divinglife]

when I got my reel, I made sure it would cover me all the way to the bottom. I ended up getting 140 ft which is a little shallow but was at a good price. The reasoning being that I could use it as an up-line should I need one. And yes, I paid 45 bucks for my dive-rite. 45 ft gives you very little uses for it other than your 15ft safety stop. You want something more versatile and useful.

 

[PacNWdiver]

I have both. The spool is perfect for recreational boat diving, 50 ft of line with the double bolt snap. Terkel diving makes them too:

http://www.terkel.net/spool.html.

This tool I don't think is adequate for decompresion diving or for navigation (wreck diving, low or zero vis, etc). I have a standard reel with 300 ft of line. I picked it up from Trident. It was inexpensive but if I had to do it over I'd get a Manta reel or the new OMS reels are very sweet!

John