Patent ID: 7824238

Claim:
A marker buoy of the self-setting type for marking selected locations on a body of water, said marker buoy comprising: a floatation unit further comprising an upper member and a lower member, said floatation unit being substantially air-filled to cause it to float; a line storage spool comprising an upper flange, a spool body, and a lower flange axially centered on and integral with said lower member; a line-trapping element selected from the group consisting of at least one slot, at least one spoke, and a plurality of at least one slots and at least one spokes, said line-trapping element being integral with said lower flange and being radially disposed along the periphery of said lower flange, said slots and said spokes being uniquely shaped and adapted to allow an anchor line to deploy by slipping in and out of each said slot and over the end of each said spoke, progressing in a circular path around the perimeter of said lower flange, when said floatation unit is in a substantially tilted attitude while an attached anchor descends toward the bottom of said body of water, said slots and said spokes also being shaped and adapted to come into effect to trap said anchor line, thus preventing the release of additional said anchor line when said flotation unit returns to a substantially upright attitude after said anchor reaches the bottom of said body of water; a counterweight of ballast axially centered and fixedly attached within said lower member, said ballast being of sufficient weight to cause said floatation unit to right itself after the tension in said anchor line is substantially reduced when said anchor reaches the bottom of said water body; a length of said anchor line having one end thereof attached to said floatation unit, and being normally wound around said line storage spool; and said anchor attached to the other end of said anchor line, said anchor having sufficient weight to cause said floatation unit to tilt substantially allowing said anchor line to overcome the effect of said line-trapping element and thus to release said anchor line from said line storage spool by pulling said anchor line off of the edge of said lower flange and out of said line-trapping element while said anchor drops downwardly from the water surface, said anchor further being of sufficient weight to maintain said floatation unit at its position on said water surface after said anchor has reached the bottom of said water body.