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By the end of this topic, you should be able to answer these questions: 1 What are reels and spools used for in open water diving? 2 What is the difference between a reel and a spool? 3 What are suitable reels and spools, and how do you stow them prior to use? 4 How many cutting tools do tec divers carry? 5 What are suitable cutting tools for tec diving and where are they usually carried? Reels and Spools Reels and spools are considered mandatory equipment as a tec diver because they are used for a variety of tasks. Most commonly, reels and spools are attached to a DSMB/lift bag to create an ascent line. For wreck and cave diving, reels and lines are crucial for maintaining navigation in the overhead environment. Photo credit Halcyon Dive Systems In open water, reels/spools are used to provide reference lines for navigation, mapping or surveying. Your instructor may use a reel/spool to lay out a line for some skills during training. Reels Reels have a drum and handle plus a winding mechanism. There are two main types: Close up of tec submersible pressure gauge without book 1 – Free Spooling Reels Do not have a restrictor on the line. The diver controls the tension on the line to avoid entanglement. If the diver does not control the line sufficiently, it will slip off the drum and tangle. Free spooling reels are more difficult to learn to use, but are usually easier to reel in than a ratchet reel and can be used in a wide range of applications. 2 – Ratchet Reels As the name suggests, use a ratchet to control the amount of line that is loose at any time. Line can still slip off the drum and get tangled, but it’s easier to control. Reels of either type are difficult to untangle underwater, so you don't try to. Wind line around the reel as you retrieve it and untangle everything later at the surface. If you still need to deploy line, use a backup reel. Spools Spools are made up of a simple drum with line wrapped around it and no mechanism. Although the diver needs to control the line there are no moving parts, so it’s easier to recover loose line and continue. While slightly more difficult to initially master than a reel, they are far less likely to tangle. CAY07_1101_Stingrays Photo credit Aqualung/Apeks Features A suitable reel/spool is compact with ample line to reach the surface from below your planned deployment depth. In some environments, water movement makes a completely vertical line unlikely, so allow for additional length of line. Reels and spools are usually attached to the DSMB/lift bag by a loop in the line or by using a bolt snap. Using a loop, the reel/spool is passed through to create a secure connection. Bolt snaps make it easier to attach the DSMB/lift bag, but line can be pulled out of a bolt snap, so the connection is less secure. Stowing If they are compact enough, you may stow your DSMB/lift bag with the reel/spool attached. This may work for smaller back up DSMBs and spools, but for a primary DSMB or lift bag and reel it usually makes them too bulky. Reels and spools are usually clipped to a hip D-ring, a rear equipment rail or stowed in a pocket, if small enough. Cutting Tools You always dive with at least two cutting tools. Although rarely required, these may be used in an emergency to cut equipment free or release a diver from entanglement. Carry at least one in a spot that you can deploy it with either hand. Suitable cutting tools are small, sharp and easily accessible. Small dive knife – typically worn in sheath on the harness waist band. Z-knife – a small hook with a blade especially suited to cutting fine line. It is usually worn on the harness at chest level or on the strap of a dive computer/timer so that it sits on the opposite side to the display. It should be oriented to be released by the other hand. EMT shears – heavy duty shears that cut rope (some will even handle cable). These are popular in dive locations where other cutting tools won’t work or are not permitted. They are usually stored in a sheath attached to the harness or carried in a pocket. Folding knife – very sharp for cutting line, often carried with clip or lanyard in a pocket or under instrument wristbands. Multi-tools – as well as a cutting tool they usually have other tools such as allen keys and small wrenches, suitable for making repairs underwater. They are sometimes carried to meet specific dive objectives, usually in a sheath/pouch on the waist band or in a pocket with a clip.