- Jun 3, 2007
- 1,190
- 1,998
- Detector(s) used
- A sharp eye, an AquaPulse and a finely tuned shrimp fork.
- Primary Interest:
- Shipwrecks
If money is no object...or if it is your money I'm spending...a 12' or 14' rib would be my choice for an anchor boat..with an electric start 40 hp 4 stroke motor, a nice new high quality battery and a clean gas tank with filters, (thus eliminating most all the anchor boat problems I have witnessed, including banging on the dig boat when the weather kicks up.)
It seemed like during last season, every day or two we'd get those classic coastal Florida summer afternoon thunderstorms that would blow up about 2 or 3 PM and just kick the crap out of the guys working close in. Few people are fond of working during a t-storm. Two divers I know of were witness to lightning hitting the water near them while underwater.It is reportedly quite a sight. If the storm that day happens to be blowing a gale out of the west instead of east, and you want to stay in position so you can work after the storm passes, you are going to really, really want a decent cabin that provides adequate protection. Huddling under a blue tarp waiting for the tempest to abate is no one's idea of a good time.
AU Dreamer....It is indeed 20/20 hindsight...as you know better than I, it all comes down to blowing a hole in the right place. Truly the vessel carrying the blowers just needs to be safe, dependable and seaworthy. Lucky doesn't hurt, either.
A couple of years ago we had a nice fellow approach us through a mutual friend about hiring our little dig boat for a week. I talked to him a time or two and he never could quite come up with the cash to rent the boat or even pay the fuel for the trip to his location...then it became one of those "percentage" offers. I did check his status with the permit-holder and he was allowed to work in those waters. His offer became a proposition that we could work for him for a percentage and he would share the magic numbers. He claimed that the particular precise GPS location he wanted excavated contained no less than 9 lbs of gold coin located less than 1000 feet off a pretty popular beach in 9 feet of water under 4 feet of sand. <<are you detecting the familiar odor of grass after it has been processed by a male bovine?>> My firm belief was and is that if a man truly believed that there were 150 or so gold coins in water of that depth and under a mere 4 feet of sand he'd be out there with a water pump strapped to a surfboard blowing a hole in the bottom. It ain't about the boat, it's about the hole.
It seemed like during last season, every day or two we'd get those classic coastal Florida summer afternoon thunderstorms that would blow up about 2 or 3 PM and just kick the crap out of the guys working close in. Few people are fond of working during a t-storm. Two divers I know of were witness to lightning hitting the water near them while underwater.It is reportedly quite a sight. If the storm that day happens to be blowing a gale out of the west instead of east, and you want to stay in position so you can work after the storm passes, you are going to really, really want a decent cabin that provides adequate protection. Huddling under a blue tarp waiting for the tempest to abate is no one's idea of a good time.
AU Dreamer....It is indeed 20/20 hindsight...as you know better than I, it all comes down to blowing a hole in the right place. Truly the vessel carrying the blowers just needs to be safe, dependable and seaworthy. Lucky doesn't hurt, either.
A couple of years ago we had a nice fellow approach us through a mutual friend about hiring our little dig boat for a week. I talked to him a time or two and he never could quite come up with the cash to rent the boat or even pay the fuel for the trip to his location...then it became one of those "percentage" offers. I did check his status with the permit-holder and he was allowed to work in those waters. His offer became a proposition that we could work for him for a percentage and he would share the magic numbers. He claimed that the particular precise GPS location he wanted excavated contained no less than 9 lbs of gold coin located less than 1000 feet off a pretty popular beach in 9 feet of water under 4 feet of sand. <<are you detecting the familiar odor of grass after it has been processed by a male bovine?>> My firm belief was and is that if a man truly believed that there were 150 or so gold coins in water of that depth and under a mere 4 feet of sand he'd be out there with a water pump strapped to a surfboard blowing a hole in the bottom. It ain't about the boat, it's about the hole.
