Dive line buoy with reel

[7BDiver]

I haven't seen anyone use a buoy with a reel for the dive line and thought it could be very convenient for diving around the lake, so I made one. It won't pack away in a bag for flying but easy for local diving. The main purpose of this equipment is to keep track of divers in low visibility water by providing a reference point or line to attach to.

Things I like about it so far:

• Effortless to pull around in the water, don't even notice the slightest amount of drag
• Sets the line at depth or finds depth very quickly
• Ratchets or freely drops line
• Easily holds 100ft 3/8 line
• $200 to make
• Can rest fins and other equipment across floats or clipped to structure
• ~20 lbs to pack around
• Anchors to the bottom well and doesn't drift around in the wind much with light weight
• Very fast and easy for relocating dive spots along the shoreline
• Doesn't need to be inflated and can be disassembled easily
• Ready to go as soon as I pull it out of the truck

Cons:

• Bulky and odd shaped
• Won't fit in a backpack
• Needs gear ratio or longer lever arm for anything greater that 10 lbs weight
• Design needs lots of refinement
  

 

[7BDiver]

This will give a better reference for size:

 

[Brochman]

I can remember seeing someone on this site a couple of years ago who made a Spearfishing board out of a( wake board, spearo board, small surf board cannot remember which one it was) but they had bolted a reel to the underside of the board, probably a bit more drag with it in comparison to your design though.

 

[Mr. X]

Float looks cool.

I think I saw a commercial product, spearfishing float, that included a reel for the float line a few years ago - but perhaps I'm thinking of the float mentioned by Brochman?

Omer, I think, sold catamaran floats for spearos a few years ago. I think their model came with 2 sets of floats: one set inflatable and the other set solid - so you could choose which to use.

"Ain't nothin' new under the moon and the sun"

 

[7BDiver]

HA! I think I found what you are talking about, neat float designs but would be nice if they were designed for larger line and could pull some weight to keep the line tight. Funny, never found that float before until I searched the catamaran key word, thanks!
https://spearfishing.world/thread/632-reel-on-a-float/

 

[Mr. X]

That's the one with the reel but not the catamaran float. I'll see if I can find it...

Here it is. It includes a reel too. Sounds like you were on same wavelength as Omer's designer. Pity it is no longer available, it is a clever, innovative design:

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