If anyone knows a more correct name for what I call a line spool please let me know and I'll change the thread title.
This is my float rig, it includes a line spool that I made which I wanted to get your opinions on. The purpose of the line spool is to hold excess line while in the water. I carry enough line to allow me to do my deepest dive, this means the actual depth plus 30ft. The deepest I will go is 90ft so the line is 120ft long. It is an orange RA line but another polypropelene line of similar diameter and weave will have similar properties. The purpose of the spool is to hold unnecessary line; if I'm diving in 30ft I don't want 120ft trailing behind me. This makes stringing a fish faster as the float is closer, and together with coiling the line between dives helps avoid crossing lines with other divers.
I was not satisfied with any of the available line spools, they all look like this with some minor variations.
The problem with this design is that as soon as you cross another diver's line you're almost guaranteed to catch his line with your spool. So I made something that's tangle free. I think it's obvious from the pics how it works but if there's a doubt I can elaborate. Basically with this spool the only way my rig will catch on another diver's line (without a spool) is because of my flag if his line goes over mine. If there was no flag in my float his line would slide over the top of my float. If both divers had my line spool their lines would never get tangled. The spool is made from a teak board and a smaller piece of teak board glued in the front, with the grain in a different direction to add strength. The finish is two layers of penetrating epoxy. The spool floats with all the line wound on.
I also made a modification to the RA float as I don't like their flag holder. I used an automotive fuel line of the right diameter for a conventional flag pole. I plugged one end of it with a small piece of pole, glue, and a crosswise placed SS pin. A hole was drilled into the center of the RA float that was a little bigger than the hose, and I used epoxy to set the hose in the hole. It's very solid and the flag pole is retained in there by friction and suction, it is not coming out on its own.
This design has worked flawlessly for me so far and I would like to mass produce it, or something similar to it. If you guys can see an obvious flaw or an improvement please point it out. It . The only thing better I can envision and would very much like to develop is an integrated float & spool system.