3 Good Reasons to have an Surface Marker Buoy
Greg Galford Jun 29, 2024
- Emergencies - Unexpected scenarios like storms, growing underwater currents and high waves.
- Markers
- Helps your own boat spot you as you ascend from a dive. Note your position during a drift dive and pick-up point after.
- Freedivers use them in open water, to indicate the approximate position of the diver when submerged.
- Mark the position of an underwater point of interest. Attach the buoy to the target until the position has been recorded.
- When spear fishing, it can mark the position of the speargun in case it is necessary to let go after spearing a fish or for any other reason.
- Support a catch bag or fish stringer for underwater hunters and collectors.
SMBs are basic and invaluable tools for any diver. You can tuck one neatly inside your pocket and rapidly inflate it when necessary. They come in different colors and are generally used with a reel. Discussing usage of SMBs before your dive is critical to any diving plan, mainly because there is no universal language for their use in various circumstances.
A DSMB is technically an SMB, but an SMB is not a DSMB. Divers can deploy a DSMB on the surface or from depth thanks to an over-pressurization valve (OPV). This valve allows air to escape and relieves the gas that expands, according to Boyle’s Law. An SMB’s design, which lacks an OPV, means it should be inflated only at the surface. If you deploy an SMB from depth, it will sustain physical damage from overexpansion as it ascends.
What should you look for when buying one? Following are some of the most common features.
Open-End Surface Marker Buoy
These are basically a tube with one open end which stays underwater to prevent air from inside the tube from escaping. This dive marker is ideal for calmer and more predictable diving conditions.
Closed-End Surface Marker Buoy
Close-end SMBs are simple float tubes that are excellent for choppier waters that can worsen during the dive. They are easy to spot and use an inlet valve.
Delayed Surface Marker Buoy
DSMBs are marker buoys that are deployed from underwater should the situation or emergency require them.
Becoming proficient at deploying a DSMB takes time. Go to a local pool or other confined water location with your buddy and practice each step of the process. At the end of every dive, consider deploying a DSMB as that is how learning and muscle memory occurs. Ask instructors and mentors for help.
Repetition creates proficiency and comfort with a skill that every diver should possess.
Hope this overview helps you appreciate the importance of these safety devices. And, as you can see from the photo our store has an extensive variety of them. Picking the right one is critical. You want it to do its job when you need to deploy it.
Hope this overview helps you appreciate the importance of these safety devices. And, as you can see from the photo our store has an extensive variety of them. Picking the right one is critical. You want it to do its job when you need to deploy it.
