How To | Make Your Basic Spool Into a Kickass Spool |
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
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Basic spools need to be set up properly when they're brand new and there are a few upgrades that you can do to make them much better than other spools.
The first thing you need to do is to remove any excess line that may be blocking the holes around the sides of the spool. Then the loop at the end of the line needs to be large enough to fit your hand and the spool through it so you can tie it off onto something easily.
And that's where many divers stop but there are a couple of extra upgrades that you can make to make your life easier. The first is a small loop at the base of the leader that you can use to get hold of the leader when wearing gloves and the second is to use a section of heat shrink wrap to make the end of the leader rigid so it can fit through the spool easier.
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The most important thing about scuba diving is that you do it safely. And that is what Safe Diving is all about.
On this channel, I will discuss all aspects of going underwater from equipment advice and techniques to the little things like what to pack in your bags for a dive trip.
My entire professional career has been spent in and around the scuba diving industry and travelling to diving destinations both warm and cold.
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Safe Diving
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First option / point of "If your final stop is 5-6m then cut the excess off so you only have that amount" is really dangerous when combined with "Can be used in the event your dive computer packs in"
If your dive computer / depth gauge has broken then you're guessing your at the correct depth. If you deploy the DSMB and it's too deep then you'll either let go or it will drag you up and there's a good chance you'll overshoot your final stop depth. It will be alot safer to add at least another 5m and mark your stop depth so you have plenty of slack.
The rest of the upgrades are great. Personally I've marked the line with permanent marker at 3m (1x2" black mark), 6m (2x 2" black marks with ~2-3" between) and 9m (3x 2" black marks with ~2-3" between). The marks are big enough and spaced enough that I can see them underwater without my mask on. Note you need to leave the line out for about a week for the permanent marker to dry or it will mark adjacent pieces of line.
I'd like to see more of these diver hacks. As a new diver it's nice to see the tricks to help make a dive fun.
facebook.com/watch/diverbydesign/914583392389847/
These may have something of interest for you.
These guy/s are awesome.
They say you can never teach an old dog new tricks... bullsh*t!
Absolute first thing I do is to pull off all the line and ensure the line is tied around the axle of the spool.
If you have a long spool you can also use the heat shrink tubing to mark off the 5m mark by putting a short section on before you tie all the knots :)
As far as I understood, the line was only a bit longer than 5 m, so the end of the line should mark the deco stop anyway - right?
@@mrki4937 I don't think you will find any 5m spools 'out of the box' - smallest I have seen is 15m - I personally use a 15m or 30m - 60m spool depending on the dive depth to be able to send up messages or DSMB markers
Small suggestion, when you tie the loop at the end for the heat shrink, if you pull one side of the line offset slightly so one side of the large loop is longer than the other, the large loop will sit open making it easier to work the spool through as well. I hope that was clear through text.
There's one more step to upgrading a spool especially if using it for DSMB: Fully unroll it and secure the line onto the spool body. That way, if it fully unrolls, you don't lose it and you can more easily rewind it.
The shrinkwrapped tip makes the other miniloop obsolete. You can just push the tip through in either direction.
Despite the obscene prices, I prefer metal spools because they are colourful, flared, and often colour-coded by length. But my ratchet reel will always have a place for DSMB deployment from deeper dives.
Great video on spool set up. I saw a video about this trick of adding a marker at 15 ft or 5 m of line. Something like a swivel for fishing line that is about 1-2 inches long. This makes finding your deco stop in poor viz easier because you can feel the line difference even with thick gloves on. Now you always know that swivel is at 15 ft or 5 m with you marker buoy deployed. Just measure out to that length, cut the line and tie the swivel back into the line. Also, I will singe the knots a bit to keep from unraveling. This would also be another great use of the heat shrink for those extra knots.
I also tie knots at ten foot lengths on my short fifty foot finger spool. One knot at 10 feet, two at twenty and so on. No need to stare at the computer to maintain depth in blue water. Just keep an eye on the knots as you enjoy the view, if any. It's similar to a cave reel with a knot every ten.
Thanks for this. Been meaning to take even more line off my spool and this provided the push to do it and re-tie the end.
Genius, thank you for solving the mistry of spool.
There are so many ways to do this. The way you have show us is defiantly a good one.
Mark You are a genius…🔥🔥🔥so simple but yet very helpful. Saving up for that diver certification. Watch u on every channel. Thank you 🙌
Glad to see you making videos again ☺️
Thanks for helping us newbies out!!!!!
I did lose my spool once and I was wondering how that happened. This video told me how it happened. Thanks for these great tips.
This is amazing! Was looking for something so thorough a long time!
Very informative n helpful for this first timer using a spool.
Another method I've used to stiffen a line to make it easier to push through a hole is to apply superglue to the appropriate section, let it soak in to the strands and harden.
Thank you for this cool video!!! Pls more of this kind of diver hacks!
Thanks for this and the many more amazing videos.
Maybe you can do a video about all tge different kinds of knots its sometimes hard to remember all or find the right video on TH-cam. For example the adjusting bungee for dive computer etc, boltsnap, Takeling etc and maybe a how to make a pig tail.
Great idea, I'll find my colourful ropes and make something for you
@@SafeDiving thanks a lot
Kickass!!! no doubt.
use colourful heat shrink to pre-mark 5m increments on your spool as well knots in the working line usually causes things to get snagged or tangled so I would advise any more knots than were described in this video for marking depths on the line
😂 I’m glad to hear that you retained the rights to “floppy snag hazard“. I was concerned that was copyrighted by Simply Scuba 😂
I'm not sure Simply actually wanted to be associated with #FlappySnagHazard in the first place...
Safe Diving well you were simply the best part of Simply *(Full disclosure: I enjoyed all of the folks over there) 👍
😂 first dsmb that i had, i lost the reel just for dont know about that and dont have a proper loop and the way to set it , the bolt opened and released the reel but keeping the buoy, when i stoped to made the safety stop i get really surprised 😵 !!! then i learn how seen videos like this one, now as instructor i talk to everyone about "how not to loose your equipment" hah , nice vid!
Excellent, thanks Mark 👌
I use a small cable tie instead of the heat shrink , great video thanks !
Top Video & explanations . Thanks
Love this info. Thanks Mark 🙏
Thank you ! 👍
Extremely useful "tribal knowledge" tips!
I wish my instructor taught us about locking off the spool when deploying the dmsb. I accidentally dropped the spool after deploying the dmsb; luckily we were on the floor so it wasn't much of an issue. However, he wasn't very pleased when i proceeded to drop it again after we surfaced lol.
I've only fumbled a spool once, and luckily it was on 15m and tied on at the other end...
Great tips. I also tie a little knot at multiples of 5 metres so i have an indication during safety stops and a a back up should my computer fail..
Final, final upgrade, just get a reel. lol
One thing to note with wrapping the line around the snap like that though is the underside of the little thumb trigger and the channel edges can be very sharp.
At 4:45 I found that if you bring the bolt snap through the outside side of the spool instead of the inside as done here, it keeps the trigger from getting depressed against the side of the spool and opening the gate.
Most of the time yes, but I've had some boltsnaps come loose that way as well. For example during cave diving with a pouch and five spools clipped to my butt one of them came loose. Since I've switched to the method Mark shows here I've had no issues.
I thought you just used fancy Apeks spools?? JK. I love the heat shrink tubing tip and will add that to my spools tomorrow (I'm in Chilly Chile). I've got another tip for you: I change the color of the line in the 4-6m range for my safety stop. My spools with white and yellow lined spools have a piece of orange in the 4-6m range and my orange spool has white in the 4-6m range. It just helps to have the visual reference right there on out guide line, especially with students. Thanks for all the content. Cheers!
One other tip that I have found useful especially for cave diving where you use your spools frequently is to add a swivel to the end just prior to the loop. This way when you wind up the line it won't twist and get messed up at the end. I just buy good quality fishing swivels which have works well so far.
Does that really work? There's a swivel on my Apeks spool but I feel it still gets twisted.
Great tips! The next video I would like to see is tips for holding the spool safely. I am a cold water diver and always use silicon dry gloves with inner glove. I often lose the grip of the spool when sending DSMB bouy up to the surface. Any great tips here?
Have done the 1st 2 upgrades on my spools but handy thought of the heat shrink in the end. Excellent idea.
I prefer a metal spool as it just feels so much better in the hand IMO. I also like the fact that they have a large whole which works well even with gloves.
I've just upgraded to an Apex Life line 15m spool which has a spinning section on the leader so it is easy to do up afterwards and has a flat line which also goes back on the spool nicely. It has an end which is heat shrink covered for cold water. Can't wait to try it out next month when were due to go to Portkerris for a long weekend. Fingers crossed.
I used to prefer metal spools but have grown to love Delrin spools since they're virtually neutral in the water, which makes handling them easier, for example in caves.
Another thing you can do is to use a splice on the end of the loop rather than a knot. Splices are a lot stronger than a knot and can't come undone. It is pretty easy to do if you get a wool needle from a craft store
One customization I did was to take a hacksaw and cut a grove above two of the spokes between the circles in my plastic spool to "lock" the line into. I undid 6-7 meters locked the line into the grove and then finished winding the spool then locked in the grove again. That way I can even let go of the spool and it will not unravel all the way.
There are spools that even come with these grooves built-in. A potential downside is that the line (or another line) can snag in the groove. I wouldn't use it for deploying a DSMB for example. Since we already have a double-ender to clip the spool to your gear, I just use that to lock the spool.
I just tied a swivel trigger snap onto my SMB, tied a 2 inch loop into the spool line, then fished the loop through the swivel connection and over the shank, and then just clip it to my BCD. Much simpler to do, and I don't worry about my stuff getting knocked off, as the trigger snap is more secure in my opinion.
But that means the trigger snap is attached 'permanently' to the spool, right?. In cave diving we like to be able to use the spool without any hardware on it. For open water use with a DSMB it sounds like a good solution.
@@Yggdrasil42 nope. The trigger snap is attached to the SMB... not the spool.
You can even make a spool interesting!
A video about some under water identifying cards or such would be great. Salt and fresh water. Any recommendations?
To identify what? Fish and inverts etc?
Yeah, they're always useful. Depending on where you are you need to take a book down with you because so many species are dimorphic...
@@SafeDiving yes, any kind of marine life. Can you recommend any ID tables, cards or whatever, that can be used under? Or can you recommend a brand?
Mark, any suggestions on type of line/size of line to replace the line? Not happy with the line that came on my spool, it loves to twist on itself and tangle as it is has more of a flat shape then round.
Most people I know buy cave line. 2mm diameter or so. There's round and flat line, in multiple colors. It's sturdy enough, doesn't float and is slightly stretchy.
Hi Mark, I'm loving the new channel! Should you ever connect your spool to your SMB before going into the water? Or is it best practice to only connect them while deploying?
The main reason not to connect a spool to a dSMB is so that you're less likely to unravel the line in a pocket.
You usually pop the end of the line through a hole in the spool to lock it for storage. But then you can't pull the leader through if it's attached to your dSMB.
I'll demonstrate in the next Q&A...
@@SafeDiving Great thanks! Also, is there any need for a line greater than 15m for recreational diving? Considering safety stops at 5m, what's the point of a 30m spool?
@@andym1966 if you're doing a wreck penetration a 30m spool will come in handy.
@@andym1966 the dsmb takes much less air to fill if released at depth. Also a current layer above you may stream it out at an angle -- a 45 degree angle needs to deploy about 1.4x the depth you want to be.
@@pbillings808 that's a great point about the current. Thanks.
Great video Mark.
What are your thoughts on tying a small loop in the line every 5m?
i.e. 5m = 1 loop, 10m = 2 loops, etc.
Just in case my computer packs in and I need to make a deep stop.
Or just knots, double knots, triple knots?
And 3m, 6m, 9m, 12m are the usual stop levels.
Can also be a good idea to make temporary knots, and check the depth underwater against your computer. Since some lines stretch more than others, and different DSMB's will sit deeper or higher in the water.
So if you're using a thin sausage with stretchy line, your 9 or 10m knot might be almost 2m deeper.
Deep stops are no longer considered a good idea for deco, if we're talking about the same thing. Check out Simon Mitchell's videos about it. He's the prominent expert on decompresion science.
That said, knots at 3m intervals are definitely useful.
@@Yggdrasil42 Hmmm yes.... Kinda.
Not knowing Simon's video, those deep stops (or Pyle stops) I would also not recommend..
Deco stops on the other hand, I would take..
Deeps stops are short pauses that old computers tell you to take starting around 80% of your deepest point.
So if you dive to 45-50m depth (to log a 50m zone dive) 90% of your body will still be On-Gassing deeper than 20, (so you're causing more saturation problems than the deep stop could solve)
Now deco stops on the other hand are mandatory stops. Personally I feel 12, 9, 6, 3 is where stops become important.
furthermore... (regarding safety stops: Personal I always try and make 5m until the surface a gradual ascend.
I'd rather take a 3min safety stop at 5m, and take the next 2-3min to slowly ascend to the surface)
Compared to people hanging at 5m until Mr computer gives them the all clear, and than they go direct to the surface.
@mysteryliner any current or wind at the surface and your DSMB will not be deployed vertically. Much like an anchor line, it will be at an angle in the water column, making any knots for "measuring depth" useless.
Apeks spools for me. Love the hacks, thank you
There are two more additions that I can think of: (1) tie small knots every meter for the first 3-5 meters as depth indicators and (2) make an additional loop at the end of the big loop. In that way it becomes easier to untie the knot from the d-ring of the smb. What do you think?
Depth (length) indicators on SMB line can be very useful. Apart from helping with perfect safety stop depth the line can be used to measure something underwater Eg doing a hand drawn map of a wreck.
However rather than knots (how does one quickly know if it’s the 3 or 5 meter knot being looked at) is, as another person commented here, coloured heat shrink bands or my suggestion is colouring the line with a rainbow sharpie markers (so the flexibility of the line isn’t altered by the heat shrink.) and line can be marked at each meter for measuring.
Suggest using an existing colour coding like the electronics resistor code.
Brown = 1; Red = 2; Orange = 3; Yellow = 4; Green = 5; Blue = 6; Violet = 7; Gray*= 8; White* = 9; 10 is Brown Black; 11 is Brown Brown; 12 is Brown Red & so on. 20 is Red Black; 21 is Red Brown & so on.
* May have to use different colours depending on line colour & available sharpie colours.
Or can use a Morse Code like markings with just a black sharpie.
1 small band per unit with 10 being a longer band;
11 a long band & short band; 12 a long band & two short bands, and so on.
20 is two long bands, & so on.
@@markboscawen83301 knot for 3m, 2 knots for 6m, 3 knots for 9m... until you hit 21m which is the has switch for n50. No need for remembering the colors. You just count the knots and can do that in zero visibility too.
How long should the spool be?
I like the heat shrinkable tube thing but why not make the end loop a little bit longer so it extends beyond the “shrunk tube” so the double ender clips through that rather than the ”crotch” at the base of the “shrunk tube”?
Because then the loopmat the end becomes a soft thing again, making it harder to push through the spool holes in the first place. Try it, it's not great.
So, I'm just throwing this out there, I was thinking of replacing the line on my finger spool with paracord, about 200' of it. Yay or Nay?
I'm not sure what paracord is like in the water at any length...
You usually want your line to be fairly neutrally buoyant in the water so it stays where you leave it and doesn't float off tangling everything up. Paracord strikes me as if it would float and be a pain.
It's also really thick, limiting how much you can wind onto your spool.
I don't think conventional paracord (the 4-5mm line) will be suitable on a spool for dSMBs. The main worry that I can find is maintenance in salt water conditions because salt crystals can build up inside and cut the line from the inside unless you wash it thoroughly after every dive.
@@SafeDiving thanks for the reply... I didnt even think about the cleaning, granted unspooling 200' would be a pain in the butt. I may try it anyway just to experiment...and let you all know how it works out??
@@jackgrant4795 How did it work out? I usually get 2mm cave line when I need to replace line on a spool.
I Aldo tie little loops at 5m and 100 so I know as I go up the line what depth I am at without having to look at the computer
@ianmitchell8747 any current or wind at the surface and your DSMB will not be deployed vertically. Much like an anchor line, it will be at an angle in the water column, rendering any knots for "measuring depth" useless.
Qq.. Why do you tie a knot under the shrink wrapped part? To avoid the wrapper from slipping?
XDeep SM bcd setup
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Home made Apex spool hahahah
A lot more entanglements with reels. Spools are better.
Is Apeks out of their mind on spool pricing or is their "technology" really worth the astronomical mark up?
They are nice. but, still do the same thing as any other spool or reel. It's a bit like comparing budget regulators and premium regulators. Both will do the job but, one is much nicer...