What's
the advantage of having the reel travel with the buoy instead of remaining
with the sub and unreeling from there?
Hi JT.
I don't see any advantage in having the reel attached to the buoy either.
It will just add weight and entanglement hazards to the buoy. Good idea on
marking the line to show depth.
Alan: My little sketch didn't show the release mechanism very well. My
thought was to use a spring loaded pin that keeps the latch on the buoy closed.
The "entrapped" pin in the thru-hull would push out the spring loaded pin in the
release mechanism, providing a positive lock on the buoy. The thru-hull just
needs to be a small one. I think a 3/8 inch nipple would be fine with a 1/4 inch
rod trapped inside with "O" rings to seal.
The valve would only be open for a few seconds to activate the
release.
Magnets might work but you still need a release mechanism of some
sort.
Lots of guys use a small hydraulic hand pump to activate the drop weight
latch. It would be fairly simple to add a valve and line to the pump to activate
the buoy release.
Frank D.