Dive flag reel attachment

[guggie]

Anyone use a dive flag reel and attach it to their BC? Is this an absoulte taboo to do, or is it a relative taboo? I'm not planning on penetrating any wrecks, just lake and ocean dives.

[frankc420]

Well, that's a bad idea really, say joe blow rides past your flag and someone grabs it and starts to pull on it, or it gets stuck to their boat... The tension on the rope wouldn't allow you to unbuckle it, so you would have no choice but to cut the line... Worse case, tie it off and stay within 100' of it.

[Cichlid]

Yeah it seems that all it would take is one time for it to snag on something to put you in a bad spot.

[FishFood]

Tie it off and remember to ascend near it. Itll be good underwater navigation practice to
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[guggie]

Good points raised. I suppose I could attach it to my BC D-ring with a weak link (quick release) to protect against the boat snag. A tie off doesn't work too well if I'm moving on a course across the bottom. That would be a good idea if I was exploring a specific area though.

[FishFood]

Attaching it your self isn't just a snag hazard, but an entanglment hazard also.Id advise against, but if you really want to do it, make sure you remember it's there (IE, no quick uturns or going upside down), and make sure your dive buddy knows what your doing so he or she can keep a watch on you.

[guggie]

I'm tired of having to manage the H-shaped line holder in one hand and a camera in the other. I can't even think of trying to deal with a light for looking under things.

My buddies have untangled me already from the current line arrangement.

I like the idea of tying off the flag if I stop for a bit to look around. I'll have to do that more often.

[HoosierDaddy]

Both my buddy and me are attached to the same dive flag when diving at Venice Beach in low viz, we tend to work the bottom in a large area. Viz is usually so poor if we were not connected to each other and we got more than 5-10 away from each other we would not find each other again until we surfaced... I think it does pose a risk of getting caught on a passing boat, getting caught in the line yourself and so on. But that is why you dive with a buddy and at least one knife... Not much of another option. You could hold the flat? Going without a flag would not be safe or legal. Although, I do think the flag draws boaters to it rather than away from it.
<DIV>We do another shore dive and we tie the flag off on the wreck and then are free to move about the wreck with no worries.</DIV>
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<DIV>From time to time I float one off the back of the boat while diving in addition to the flag on the boat. Every little bit helps...</DIV>
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<DIV>The type of dive will determine what you do with the dive flag.</DIV>
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[guggie]

Originally Posted by HoosierDaddy

Not much of another option. You could hold the flat?

Flat? Typo?

[przeor]

I would never attach the flad to me- we either have someone hand carry it using a ratchet reel or we weight it down and surface up the line. I'd hate to have a boater pull my float up with me attached to it.