New to the forum, not to the diving

[southern maine diver]

Hello all. I'm new to the forum, although I have read many of the threads, and I thought I'd introduce myself. I am a "light" commercial diver, primarily involved in hull cleaning, underwater construction and inspections and I spend my off time hunting for old bottles. I've been diving for 37 years, having been certified at 15 and have over 12,000 dives.

I am interested in constructing a "blower" prop wash deflector for my 225 hp outboard. I am looking for any info or plans for the construction. I have several shallow water areas of interest and would like to build one over the winter before the boat goes back into the water. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wayne

 

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[Darren in NC]

Welcome to the forum, Wayne

Check this out for your blower plans...

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,48219.0.html

 

[wreckdiver1715]

Wayne, welcome aboard!

Tom

 

[southern maine diver]

 

[southern maine diver]

Tom and Darren...

Thank you both for the warm welcome. I look forward to chatting with you all. As soon as I dig out my digital camera and change the batteies, I'll be posting a photo of the Iberian Olive Jar/Spanish Storage Jar I found last year in about 55' of water here in northern New England. It is whole, no damage and was found lying next to a granite mooring block covered mostly in mud. I just caught a glimps of the lip and a bit of the shoulder and dug out a beauty!

It was found in the Piscataqua River which borders New Hampshire and Maine and it was located about 7 miles inland from the mouth of the river. I have checked the immediate area and have found no other pieces, fragments , but the visibility is terrible and the current is very strong, so I will return this spring.

I was interested in the threads about the Hummingbird 987-c. I have a Fisher Drop Video camera, but the visibility was so bad, I didn't see much. I thought the Hummingbird would do better. Any ideas about this?

Anyway, thanks again for the warm welcome and I look forward to sharing some thoughts with you all.

Wayne

 

[ScubaFinder]

Welcome Wayne, nice find on the olive jar! If I were you, I'd get down there with a metal detector! No telling what was stored in those jars, and that's an odd location, I'd say chances are it's never been worked.

On the Humminbird unit, it will see very well through murky water, but obviously will only show what is protruding above the surface of the river bottom. Anything heavy...like say.....non-ferrous metals, would most likely sink into the mud. I think you might do better to rent a magnetometer for a weekend. If there were any concentrations of metals (spikes, anchors, cannon, rigging) they would show up quite well on a mag. The Humminbird might put you on the wreck location, but the lip of an olive jar would be awefully hard to distinguish from side scan sonar.

Another option would be a sub-bottom profiler, but these are tricky to learn and a lot more expensive. I'd probably try a mag first and see what you get, you can rent one for a few hundred dollars for a weekend. Keep us posted man, that sounds very interesting.

Best of luck, and welcome to TNet!

Jason

 

[southern maine diver]

Hi Jason...

Nice meeting you and thanks for the kind words. Yea, I thought about the Mag, but this area is fished very heavily by lobstermen using wire/steel traps. These traps lie abandoned along the bottom and will most certainly spike the mag. Also, discarded chain from the moorings, shackles etc. It is a thought though. I might just get the drop video out again because the visibility improves to about 6 feet in the winter, so maybe that is the route I will take. I own the drop video, so there is no cost in using this other than the fuel.

My dive boat is out of the water getting a new engine, so I'm down for a short while anyway. But hey, I appreciate your time and input. If I ever get down to warmer waters I'll be sure to look some of you guys up. I forget what it's like to dive in warm water. Up here, the temps get to 60 -64 degrees in the summer. Right now our water temp is 36 - 38 degrees, so my bottom time is a bit shorter.

Well, take care, stay warm and be safe.
Chat with you soon,

Wayne

Now, where did I put my camera...

 

[rgecy]

Wayne,

Welcome to the forum. No better place to make friends and enjoy this hobby.

I have the Humminbird Side Scan and can tell you it is perfect for shallow waters and finding wrecks. But as stated above, it is not going to see the smaller items with any clarity. But it will help locate the larger items associated with shipwrecks that are typically going to be sticking above the surface. Excellent buy for the money!

As Darren posted above, I am currently working on a blower for my Yamaha 225 with a 16" prop. If you would like to talk, PM me and we discuss what needs to be done.

Keep us up to date!

Robert in SC

 

[southern maine diver]

Hi Robert...

Thank you for welcoming me aboard. I had no idea that there were this many people actively involved in wreck hunting/treasure finding activities as posted here. Both on a professional and amateur level. It's great to throw some ideas around with the people who actually get in the water and use this stuff.

Are you using the plans that Darren directed me to? How is it comming? Are you finding that you will have to add on an "arm" on both sides of the lower end of the blower to attach it to the stearn? I would think it would help stabilize the unit.

Also, I was looking at a product called the "Pro Guard" which is a circular protective shroud that surrounds the outboard prop like a Kort nozzle. I was thinking that the blower could be attached to this in some manner as well. Just a thought. I like the idea of the blower on my outboard because I can attach it underwater, out of sight from prying eyes. Some of the places I intend to work are within close proximity to several populated areas and my 4" suction dredge would draw a lot more attention.

I am happy to just quietly slip beneath the surface, do my thing, get out of the water and back to the dock before going through my goody bag. If I could, I'd cover the whole boat with a tarp when I'm operating my equipment! I hate drawing a crowd...

Thanks again for your thoughts. It seems like I have truly found a place where I can get some good advice and some well thought out answers. I surely appreciate it. Thanks.

Wayne

 

[rgecy]

Hi Robert...

Are you using the plans that Darren directed me to? How is it comming? Are you finding that you will have to add on an "arm" on both sides of the lower end of the blower to attach it to the stearn? I would think it would help stabilize the unit.

Wayne

Wayne,

I designed the plans from the pictures Pete (salvor6) provided and used a cad program to scale the dimensions for my prop. There will be of course arms to attach it to the motor, but the construction and design of the tube itself was what was important. Each motor is different and a custom fit is needed for each application.

I do like the Prop Gaurds you mentioned. It would surely stabilize the blower, and provide for a fairly easy attachment point. Not to mention it acts as corts nozzle and directs the flow of water better.

The one modification I need to make to the blower plans is that the elbow does not need to be 90 degrees, 80-85 degrees would be better. You could also and an extension tube to the lower output for blowing in deeper water.

Good Luck and keep us informed.

Robert in SC

 

[southern maine diver]

Hey Robert...

Thanks forthe input on the blower. About how deep do you think an "Outboard" blower could operate? What kind of increase in operational depth could I expect with an extension?

I am realistically working in 20 to 25 feet of water, but there are a few places that are only 10 - 12 feet deep, pretty shallow as compared to what you pro's are usually diving in. A lot of mud, silt, sand and rubble up here where I go.

Anyway, thanks for your input. You guys are terrific. I can't wait to post some of my finds. I dug out my Iberian Olive Jar yesterday and got some fresh batteries in the digital. Now if I can figure out how to load them into the computer...

Have a great day,

Wayne