rope question

[pingshui]

Momentarily I am looking for a buoy-rope setup. I only go freediving and not past 30m so far. I was thinking about getting a torpedo buoy and attaching the rope to it. This way I can also simply roll up the rope on the buoy after diving.

So my questions are:
- will a torpedo buoy hold 30m of rope when I roll it up?
- how thick should the rope be in diameter?
- how much bottom weight will I need? (lake, no current)

I'd really appreciate your help! :crutch

 

[trux]

Well, it depends on the size of the torpedo buoy - there are several types available. But generally you can't afford attaching a classical 10-20mm rope to a such buoy, and no heavy weight. Such buys usually already come with ~20m of a ~4-5mm rope. Using 30m of the same type should be fine. I guess you won't be able to attache more than very maximally some 5kg of weight (more likely 2-3kg), unless the torpedo is really big. Smaller buoys can't be really used for free immersion, but rather just for the safety, and as a guide.

Another possbility is a spearfishing float (usually much bigger than the torpedo buoys), or a special freediving round buoy using an air chamber of a car tire. It has an inner space where you can put the rope, and other material. For example Apneaman sells two sizes 58 cm and 68 cm

Buoys, ropes, carabiners - Apnea Services s.r.o.

They also sell quite useful ropes - they are signal yellow (hence well visible), do not strech much (around 1m per 100m), are very light (an advantage for the transport), float on water (useful when handling it on the surface without a boat), do not soak with water and hence dry very fast (again a big advantage for the transport). The bigger buoy from Apneaman can keep 100m of the rope inside, and you can attach 10-15 kg of weights, which makes it well suitable also for Free Immersion.

 

[pingshui]

Thanks for the quick answer! And your arguments are convincing. Well, with Christmas approaching I will just go for the bigger buoy. That one at least has space for some water and equipment.

 

[trux]

You are welcome BTW, I did not answer the question about the thickness of the rope - generally the grip is better, safer, and more pleasant with a thicker rope. But the thicker, the more heavy and more expensive the rope is. 20mm might be nice, but unless you have a permanent diving platform or big boat, it is not practical. So if you decide for the ropes in the Apneaman store, you should chose between the available 10 mm and 12 mm from this point of view. At 10 mm you can put more of the rope into the buoy (or othr things aside from the rope) and it is lighter for the transport. At the 12 mm it is more comfortable for the diving. From the point of view of the maximal weight, it does not matter - they can both hold enough. Of course, you can also buy another rope, such as one for alpinism, which may be thicker (but with all those disatvantages mentioned earlier).

What is really nice is the GloRope (Genesis Light Line LLC | gloRope.com | Large Size Nylon Glow Rope, 5/8 in.-thru-1 1/4 in.) - I believe Will Trubridge uses it in Dean's Hole. Quite thick and luminiscent, hence excellent for dark waters and great depths. However, it is about 20 times more expensive that the rope mentioned above

 

[pingshui]

Since we are not doing so much FIM and we don't go too deep in our shallow lakes I will go for the cheaper 10mm rope. Since it is not too expensive I can still go for an upgrade if I somehow end up becoming a pro rofl

 

[Tody]

HI

First i wanted to make a DIY project to make a float for our dive trips. But then i found this

Reactor Boje Instructorboje Apnoeboje Apnoe Tauchen Tek | eBay

And for the rope i recommend simones hammerladen in chemnitz.

Tobi

 

[dimitris33]

Ivo,

I have tried to buy rope through apneaman but during check out process there is no shipping option for Greece or elsewere. There is only "pick up from the store" option. Have send message to them with no response.

Do you have any idea?

 

[pingshui]

Thanks Tody!
I have seen the Reactor on ebay already, but isn't it too big? 75cm in diameter is a lot to transport compared to 58cm from the Czech site. And where did you get the tube from?

@dimitris: I am not sure about the shipping yet and also wondered about it. I guess I have to find out

 

[trux]

I have tried to buy rope through apneaman but during check out process there is no shipping option for Greece or elsewere. There is only "pick up from the store" option. Have send message to them with no response.

I am just in Prague and see Martin Zajac frequently, so will ask him. However, he is in Dahab right now (until Sunday), and the girl who cares about the stone shop is rather busy in such situatitons, so an instant reply is difficult to expect. Yes, the online store is relatively freshly made, and not yet perfectly configured for many destinations. I told them already myself, and they work on it. I'll stop there this afternoon (the store is near the home of my parents), and will ask for you.

 

[Tody]

You get the tube from every shop which sells tires. the bigger the float the bigger the possible max weight. May be yu want to do FI later on, who knows.


Tobi

 

[pingshui]

As I know my dive buddy, he'll get the big one anyway I will think about it a couple more days, Christmas is still a few days away.

Trux, thanks for asking!

 

[Apneaddict]

Does anyone know the approximate buoyancy of the 2 inner-tube floats?

 

[octopus]

It is a little bit awkward to pull someone up balancing only on one float.
Therefore, we use two floats with the bar in between.

These floats in the photos are made by Chris (yorkfish here on Deeperblue).

They are the best value for money I have seen by some margin.
Good quality, durable, with the design that evolved over prolonged usage.
Good service as well and you can negotiate with Chris exactly what you need.

 

[trux]

@Dimitris, I went to the Apneaman store today, and spoke to Jana. She did not receive any message from you. She checked the online store settings, and changed the destination email address, because the one used there was likely routed only to Martin who, as I wrote, is in Dahab right now. The online ordering to some countries is not yet completed, because the shipping charges system of the Czech Post is very complex, and no automated API is available, so it will take some time to enter all the rates into the system. But if you write her what exactly you want to order, she will look up the freight cost manually and tell you how much it costs.

 

[dimitris33]

Ivo thanks for your kind help! As fas as I remember I have sent msg to Martin through the apneacz site and on his fcb page with no return. I imagined that he was busy so no problem at all. I will send again a msg to Jana for her attention.

Appreciate.

 

[Shark2307]

Hello!

I don't want to confuse you, but maybee my experience is useful to you.

I own the Beuchat buoy

Beuchat Lange Boje mit doppelter Blase | Bojen | Spearfishing

and was able to attach at least 7-8 kg of lead to it and was able to hold myself up without completely pushing it under water.

Nevertheless i would recommend after all the bigger float as it offers simply more handles for more divers.
but the simple solution also works.

As i see you are from germany.
on ebay germany you can buy good ropes for sailing which are very good for free immersion and better than the simple one.
(Which by the way you also can buy in german apnea online shops,regarding shipping costs)

10mm Schot,Flechtleine,Seil,Festmacher,Reepschnur,60m | eBay

Its not really more expensive so i would recommend to invest in a good rope right from the beginning on.

 

[pingshui]

Thanks for the help! Makes the decision now even harder. I guess I am going for the big ebay-buoy, as they can also send me the inner tube. And for the rope... I'll flip a coin!

 

[pingshui]

I finally finished my buoy today. I took some time to figure out a design that suits all my wishes, but its done now.

I got the ReactorPro Instructor Buoy, a 12mm yellow floatable rope on its roll, 1m laminated cable, a piece of copper tube, a couple carabines, some tape and some kind of clip. Here are some pictures:

 

[dimitris33]

Nice one but I fail to understand how you will roll back the rope with the bottom weight, especially if it is a 10kg for free immersion...

 

[dimitris33]

Imo best seen set up for buoy upto now is that one. I'm planning to make this one for my set up too.