Need help finding sunkin' ski (Not Anymore!!!)

[PancakePete]

Man.. I really hope you get that thing back.... :hail:

I think there is alot of great info on this thread.. I am wondering if the thing just sunk right to the bottom when this happened or did it slowly go down and then hover in the water with some bouyency... This part stumps me.. I think it would be narrowed down if you said exactly what the boat did when you lost it.

If it went down that fast and did not float at all... I would go with the Diver circle tech. and then go bigger and bigger from there....

Good luck and we are all pulling for you ! :biggthumpup:

 

[norcal ex]

when my ski sunk the rear end stuck out of the water 3 inches.... it is renforced and everything, but the rear end was not.

 

[Freestyleriverrat]

Good call slut.......I did not think about it being neutrally boyant. However if it sank it more than likley is straight down from where it went down, or close to that point. b/c it is a lake and there is such a silty bottom I would imagine it did not move far.............or worst case cinario it is burried depending on how thick the muck is. How is visibility down there........about 10 ft or so?

 

[superramjet]

the 800 motor is also heavier. We are convinced it went straight down. the guy who had the rope tied to his ski claimed it was trying to pull his ski down too. We've had divers out already but our search area is about the size of football field because of the drift,It took us about 30 min to get back out with the gps. The water is so dark and murky at 35ft that the is absolutely no visability on the bottom. The divers have a hard time even knowing if they are swimming straight. We really need some better equipment to help located it first before Luke pays for more diving.

 

[yamaslut]

the 800 motor is also heavier. We are convinced it went straight down. the guy who had the rope tied to his ski claimed it was trying to pull his ski down too. We've had divers out already but our search area is about the size of football field because of the drift,It took us about 30 min to get back out with the gps. The water is so dark and murky at 35ft that the is absolutely no visability on the bottom. The divers have a hard time even knowing if they are swimming straight. We really need some better equipment to help located it first before Luke pays for more diving.

ya know, I didn't think about the different motor... that would be so sweet if it went straight down... I got my fingers crossed..

 

[Superjetjim]

Couldn't you use a weighted drag net spread between 2 x boats about 80ft apart and drag the lake bed using the GPS to ensure you don't go over old ground - this will bring everything to the surface that's on the bed depending on the size of the mesh holes - use the biggest mesh you can get and you'll only get the really big stuff... like ski's

If the vis is this bad I can't see divers being any use..

Not sure if you could borrow a net or purchase/rent a dragnet from someone/where?

This is of course assuming the lake bed is pretty smooth (the silt sounds perfect to me...)

Cheers Jim

 

[Rickster]

BTW I've loss my hood before ( right Rick!! :bad3: ) but the ski never went to the bottom eventhough I also removed the foam from the nose area to run the front exhaust. It actually floated like a buoy (rear up , nose down)

:dunno: :biggrin: :cool2:

What you talkin about Willis?:biggrin:

 

[Big Kahuna]

Couldn't you use a weighted drag net spread between 2 x boats about 80ft apart and drag the lake bed using the GPS to ensure you don't go over old ground - this will bring everything to the surface that's on the bed depending on the size of the mesh holes - use the biggest mesh you can get and you'll only get the really big stuff... like ski's

If the vis is this bad I can't see divers being any use..

Not sure if you could borrow a net or purchase/rent a dragnet from someone/where?

This is of course assuming the lake bed is pretty smooth (the silt sounds perfect to me...)

Cheers Jim

You would need a hell of a boat (2) to do that!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Superjetjim]

:silly: Not really - a couple of 30 ft' should do it!.... use a 15ft high net, big holes in the mesh for minimal drag and take your time..

 

[meatball]

Im telling you, SCUBA is the best way to find it. I've dealt with a sunken outboard, and when we found it it was sticking up about 2 feet above the ground. We tried dragging nets, tried using sonar, and also tried freediving, but we eventually rented SCUBA equipment and did the circle gig and its slow but sure.

BTW, dont be worried about the ski sinking into the silt. Our outboard was narrow as you can imagine and about 150 pounds, and it only sank in about an inch after 3 weeks on the bottom, in the same whipped cream bottom your describing, now with a hull with a wide surface area, theres no way it will sink in, it will be there. I would factor in a little drift for the wide surface area. If you had it tied to a ski when it was sinking, then yes, it hit dead bottom. Its near where you think it is, just keep looking where you think. By what your saying, I'd guess before hitting bottom, it didnt drift more then 40 feet max before hitting. This was in a creek, and before we found it, it went through all kinds of weather, ripping wind, and it didnt move at all. I think its right where it went down.

O and hoisting it up will be a breeze too, it will only be like 50 pounds, then just drag it to shore. Doing it nose first will not allow water to come out the scupper, (forget who said that) because for substance to leave an area it has to be replaced by something else, meaning there is no air down there, and therefore nothing will come out the scuppers. But I ask again, what exactly happened? Can someone recreate the story and describe what happened? Was it choppy and windy? Or relatively calm?

 

[Kny21]

But I ask again, what exactly happened? Can someone recreate the story and describe what happened? Was it choppy and windy? Or relatively calm?

I think they were trying BF's off a double wake when the hood popped.

 

[meatball]

If your divers are experienced salvage divers and arent doing an expanded circle search, then I'd fire them. They should know better, thats just what it sounds like. Even if you cant see anything, and expanding circle will guarentee you cover all the ground.

 

[SKYWALKER]

Ya, I have had a diver go look for it allready. Visibility is 6 inches or so. Its a very muddy lake. Yes I forgot to apply foam to the right side when I installed the rear exhaust tube for the 800 motor. I was learning backflips when it went down, landed upside down, took on a lot of water, decide to tie it on a friends boat, drama happened, then she took a nose dive, and that the last I saw of it. The knot came loose on the toe ski or something. "SUCKS" I am such a jack ***. Problem is that we had to go back and get the gps while abuddy floated in the water so we could mark it, he could have drifted 100 ft or so.

Later

 

[meatball]

Ok, so if you remember the current that day or the swimmer can, then mark out a 100 foot radius and get to work with the circle searches. If your tired of paying divers, rent the gear for a day and do it yourself, its really not that hard if your up to it. Yes visibility sucks, but I guarentee its there waiting for you. At that depth stuff happens slow, you can probably still salvage it in near-new condition even if on bottom for 4-6 weeks, and if you find it in 2 weeks and dissemble the engine ASAP then I'd say you dont need to rebuild it. It takes air to rust things.

 

[Matt_E]

Actually, it takes oxygen...given enough time, things will rust underwater.

 

[djkorn1]

Don't give up! The circle search will bring it back! :sneaky:

 

[kid4now]

Hope you find it .

Heres another idea, I dont know the specifics of the lake but if it gets really glassy at any time usually in the early am. try looking for a gas or oil slick on the surface.

Good luck.

 

[MADMAT]

Man I have been following this but really did'nt have any thing useful to say so I just stayed out of it but I really hope you find your ski man!! This would be a multi-season ending event for most of us.

Good luck man!

 

[Idok]

we had 2 ski's sink this weekend in st. aug....

mine came in bouncing off the bottom and the WHOLE time I kept thinking about this whole ordeal.....

 

[Ollie Rastabean]

we had 2 ski's sink this weekend in st. aug....

mine came in bouncing off the bottom and the WHOLE time I kept thinking about this whole ordeal.....

Yep, I have often thought about painting the underside of my hood and bottom of the hull some dayglo color (other than yum yum yellow) to add the the visability in case they sink.

-O