Sterny(Offline)

Hi there!

I had a chance to try Alastair's Halcyon closed-circuit SMB at the weekend, and I liked it a lot. Until then I'd mostly just used my own DSMB, a Mikes co-branded Typhoon self-sealing one which is probably about 5' long and fairly wide. I like it fine, but it's always fun to try a new bit of kit.

I should mention now that I'm working towards being capable of retaking DIRF and don't yet have the skills to do all these things perfectly yet, so some of the following admissions need to be taken in that context!

I liked the design a lot. Inflation was really easy and quick (though I forgot to reconnect my drysuit hose after I'd deployed it, not that I needed it anymore, but oops!). I also liked the compactness and the bungie loop to attach a double-ender to, and it looked very well made, but I felt the one I tried was a bit on the small side (not trying to be smutty, for once). Al - what size was the SMB that I borrowed? I thought maybe the 3.3' but could have been the 4.5'...?

Although I'm not all that great at deploying my SMB (which is quite a lot bigger - my present modest level of skill means I tend to go up or down quite a lot when deploying it - though it's improving with practice), I really do like the lazy safety/deco stop factor - it's so nice to just hang from it (plus, hanging from it a bit - me still horizontal in the water - keeps it nicely upright on the surface).

With the one Al lent me on Saturday, I didn't really dare pull on it much, as I thought I'd just see it coming back down towards me! I probably erred on the side of caution and could do with another few goes with it to see how much I could hang from it - maybe more than I did (it wasn't upright most of the time). So, while I'm out of the water until this weekend, thought I'd see what other people think.

To those of you who have the Halcyon SMB with the non-captive inflator nozzle that you push your suit inflator onto to inflate, what size is it (the 3.3', 4.5' or 6'?), where do you use it, and do you think you made the right size choice for the diving you do?

Cheers!

David

ericfine50(Offline)

I have the 6 footer. I bought it because it you get blown off of a wreck, the height could be usefull. Used it only in practice. Fits nicely into my DS pocket.

Joe Hesketh(Offline)

It really isn't good form to use the marker buoy as a crutch for buoyancy. If you get in the habit of this you'll start to rely on it. Try lightly holding the line between your fingers instead so it can run freely up and down with the swell while you hold the stop under your own steam.

Alastair(Offline)

Hi David,

Mine is the 3.3' one which I keep in the thigh pocket. It's easy to use but if the sea's rough it's not the best SMB to have. We used one when the waves were quite rough and the skipper was somewhat un-impressed.

Clare's now got the 4.5' as she feels it more visible for the boat.

Cheers
Al

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JohnKendall(Offline)

I've got a couple, I mostly use the 3' marker, it's quite small but very nice to deploy. You shouldn't be hanging on it at any point anyway. I also have the 4.5' blob, but that would pretty much only be for offshore dives, when the sea state is not great.

HTH
John

Brian Allen(Offline)

I've seen the 3.3' and it's very thin. I sometimes skipper our boats and i often see a calm flat sea whip up into a moderate swell whilst people are diving, i'd prefer divers from my boat use a bigger DSMB for any sea diving, not just offshore. It's better to be safe than sorry imo.

Brian

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Phil O(Offline)

I've used the 4.5ft and 6 ft SMB's with no problem and I'd agree with others that these are the ones to use in the ocean.

If you're diving in a wet suit you could also use the bigger SMB's as a source of bouyancy in the event of a wing failure. I say that from a theoretical position as I've never tried it out - has anybody used one for bouyancy?

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Brian Allen(Offline)

Thinking about this, imho i'd say a larger DSMB would be needed for general UK boat diving. But the 3' would be perfect for most Redsea dives or high season in Thailand / Asia (or similar) where the chance of any less than perfect weather is remote.

I realise that the smaller SMB is much nicer to use, and is less risk to the diver whilst lauching (if tangled it would be easy to swim down) so is a good choice if you have a deco obligation. But this risk is negated if you are an experienced diver so the larger DSMB shouldn't be a problem.

If launching from 21m, with a slow ascent even a light surface current of 1.5 knots would have you half a mile away after 20 minutes. It's often quite tough keeping everyone safe when different groups of divers ascend at different times, so the groups can get quite spread.

The skipper is a key member of the team and i think it's pretty essential that he can see your buoy easily from a moderate distance.

Bri

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Tricky(Offline)

I nearly bought one of these off eBay a few months ago (not DIR I know). At 3m long, I think it would be quite visible. I'd planned to keep it a secret until I first had to deploy it just so I could see the look on my buddy's face. Unfortunately I forgot to bid on it before the auction finished

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Clare Gledhill (Online)

I want one of these - as put up by our very own moderator JohnKendall

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