Scuba diving old reservoir home sites

[bell47]

I have recently moved near Table Rock Lake in Missouri. I have not been diving in the lake yet but I have noticed that there are alot of "foundations" on a map of the lake that I purchased. I know the lake was made in the fifties so there seems to be quite a bit of "stuff" to look at and explore there. Had anyone been diving here. Also I would like to find an old map of the area from around the 40's to help locate homesites, any ideas?

 

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[lostandfound]

Awesome idea...thats what I love about this site, every once in awhile, some one has a great Idea!

My hat off to you, my friend...Randy

p.s. good luck

 

[JakePhelps]

This is a popular trend back when resovours were being created, they just bulldozed the houses and made the resovours over all the foundations, its a very good place to hunt, especially with an underwater detector. I knew someone whos uncle dived in one without a metal detector and found lots of bottles and farming equiptment.

 

[Sandman]

I'd check with the Corps Engineers for maps of the area before the lake filled. Santee-Cooper is the same way and many old farms, etc are now covered with water. Some foundations are shown on my maps and would be a great place to check out. But I wouldn't waste my time with scuba. A hookah system is the way to go as you can stay down for lots longer for less money.

 

[bell47]

I'd check with the Corps Engineers for maps of the area before the lake filled. Santee-Cooper is the same way and many old farms, etc are now covered with water. Some foundations are shown on my maps and would be a great place to check out. But I wouldn't waste my time with scuba. A hookah system is the way to go as you can stay down for lots longer for less money.

Hey thanks. Do you use a hookah system. How deep and long can you dive? A hookah system is a ways off for me right now as I already have all the scuba gear, but I did look them up on the net today....VERY INTERESTING! If you spend a while down deep do you use decompression tables or a computer? If you need to decompress from deep do you just use the hookah system or other gases(nitrox or O2) with a tank? Does the compressor have to be something special or can you just use a gas powered compressor with a hookah regulator? Thanks, bell47.

 

[mvSWAT]

I took a ride on the "Ducks" at Table Rock. It was told to us that they actually flooded the area before they were supposed to and people were forced to evacuate their homes. I understood them to say that because of this mistake the government paid a lot of money out over this error and many poor people cashed in on it. There must be attainable maps as the tour guide pointed out the area to us. Happy Hunting. Dan

 

[bell47]

yeah, I don't know what to believe with those guys. They also told us the water came up so fast that some people left their lights on in their houses and if you were on the lake after dark you could see the lights under water. If you only knew right where to look.......

 

[diggummup]

I'd check with the Corps Engineers for maps of the area before the lake filled. Santee-Cooper is the same way and many old farms, etc are now covered with water. Some foundations are shown on my maps and would be a great place to check out. But I wouldn't waste my time with scuba. A hookah system is the way to go as you can stay down for lots longer for less money.

Hey thanks. Do you use a hookah system. How deep and long can you dive? A hookah system is a ways off for me right now as I already have all the scuba gear, but I did look them up on the net today....VERY INTERESTING! If you spend a while down deep do you use decompression tables or a computer? If you need to decompress from deep do you just use the hookah system or other gases(nitrox or O2) with a tank? Does the compressor have to be something special or can you just use a gas powered compressor with a hookah regulator? Thanks, bell47.

Good questions,anybody out here know about hookahs? I've thought about getting one myself.I only need it for depths down to 30 feet though so many of your questions I can't answer.PS- I knew you'd find something to search for in those manmade lakes and resevoirs in Missouri.Good idea!

 

[Stroover]

If I may put in my $0.02 CDN cents worth, for the price of a hookah compared to scuba, which is pretty much similar (I'm a diver, by the way), I personally would feel much safer with bottled air then a gadget that might malfunction and pump me tainted air in my lungs, or quit all together with no warning. At least with bottled air you know what's in there is good stuff. But hey, that's just me. What do I know?

 

[bell47]

The Hookah system seems like a good reason to get a "spare air" bottle, at least big enough to get a short deco in before you surface. How deep can you dive on one of those hookah systems?

 

[Jeffro]

Hookah systems are safe, I've been using them for years. They have an upright "snorkel" for air intake that is mounted a few feet and opposite side of the motor from the exhaust for the fresh air. Low pressure systems require a special low pressure regulator that is really cheap to buy comparitively. They have reserve air tanks in line that give you maybe a minutes air after the motor shuts down, plenty of time to get back up from thirty feet. Considering that they run for several hours on a tank of gas, this is generally not a problem.

They also make high pressure systems as well, for diving to depths greater than thirty feet. Or for two or more divers.

The TR-80 unit (low pressure) can supply enough air for two divers, if they're not working hard and starving each other for air. I've done it with mine, but I have also heard from others that theirs wouldn't, so its pretty tight as far as enough air for two divers.

If money is tight, I would look for a used unit and get a rebuild kit, which should cost (if you get lucky) less than the cost for getting SCUBA certified and buying your own regulator. They are simple units and easily rebuildable.

 

[suwannee pirate]

I am with Stroover on this. I have been a diver for 35 years and have lots of equipment including two old hookahs that I haven't used for twenty years. The drawbacks to hookah systems are limited mobility due to the hose,limited depth, if there are two divers on it and one is deeper one of you is going to starve for air,having a boat come by and snag your air line, engine malfunction,not having the proper training for diving as you should have with any underwater diving system,and exhaust gas poisoning. For working a gold dredge they work pretty well but for exploring the bottom and looking for relics they leave a lot to be desired. This is only my opinion and not everyone will agree and that is their right to have their own opinion. I feel that I am a lot more able to do what I want underwater if I am not teathered to the topside. I highly recomend getting certified. Good Luck to you and have fun diving! Suwannee Pirate

 

[Jeffro]

They both have their drawbacks for sure. It would depend on what you wanna do. Me, I'm diving swimming holes on non-navigable creeks. I can work all day on a few gallons gas with no worries. Correct me if I'm wrong, but with tanks you only have a couple hours?

If you are in open water, or with boats around, or waves, or more than 30 feet, then SCUBA would work better. In the creeks around here, hookah works great and I can stay down all day. And its much cheaper. Never had a problem with exhaust getting in my air yet, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

 

[goldinmypan]

Almost every gold dredger out there is using a hookah. They seldem go deeper than 30 feet but they stay down for hours at a time. I don't think there is much consideration for decompression since they are shallow but they are usually at an altitude of more than 2000 ft. Its been a long time since I was a diver so I don't remember all the in and outs of decompression. Anyhow there are a lot of of people out there using hookahs

 

[pencil5757]

I.m not sure BUT if it is a Corp lake there are

Only a few places they will allow metal detecting. You can check with the local office and see where, and you can go to www.brokendetector.com and print off all the corp information so you can have it with you if any official is not sure of the rules. I have been stopped by several park attendants that didn't know the rules and when I showed them the paperwork had no problems. Like I said I'm not sure about Table Rock but it good to have if you hunt Corp lakes.
Pencil5757

 

[Sandman]

For your own safety you should be trained and certified for use of a hookah system. Those of us that have used them know how easy they are to use and if you use a large compressor more divers can use it at deeper depths. The air is pumped into a floating tank that keeps the air under pressure to supply it to the diver. If the engine stops you don't just run out of air and have to surface quickly, but it's wise to carry a SpareAir tank too for safety. Generally you aren't very deep and the extra time underwater for pennies a hour for the gas sipping Honda engine is worth the extra targets you retrieve. Check out http://www.airlinebyjsink.com/and Keene Engineering for Hookah systems. I made my first one from Keene parts cheaply. Brownie is another hookah supplier. If you dive with tanks, you'll soon be leaving them at home.

 

[diggummup]

Thanks for the pros and cons on the hookah's guys.I know a guy who has one,just haven't gone out with him yet to try it out.

 

[goldinmypan]

Use your tanks to explore larger areas. When you find a spot worth getting into switch to your hookah.

 

[vwayne1]

I kinda use a combination of both. I use hookah hose, running off of scuba tanks. I get about an hour and twenty minutes off one tank, between 10 and 15 feet. No motor, no fumes. No problems. I also do old swimming areas, so the tank just sits on shore, and I go in with weight belt, and SPARE AIR. Safety first. I am a diver, so I have tanks, and can leagaly get them filled.

 

[Sandman]

With the use of a re breather system you can enter marinas and remove the expensive props from boats at the piers, since there are not tell tale bubbles. It wasn't me, but I knew two guys on our team that did this to pay the rent they said.