How to locate sunken mast in marina? sonar?

[hpeer]

I've seen a special device used for recovering lost line and chain. It would be easy enough to make yourself. It sort of looks like a plow anchor a kid tried to make.

IIRC......

Bottom is a flat plate, triangle with the point forward.

The shank is welded on but has a groove cut into it a bit above the bottom plate to allow the rope/chain/wire to slide in and catch.

Make sure there are no electric lines around, and that you can cut the damn thing loose in case you get it good and stuck. You probably want to put a small buoy on it to back it off if necessary.

[albergsailor]

i was thinking that too but the optimist in me tells me it might still be there. its impossible to know.

[TeddyDiver]

Answer, Humminbird: America Cheapest models HUMMINBIRD 598ci HD SI Combo Fishfinder/Chartplotter at West Marine

[Jim Cate]

Another factor: what sort of bottom is there in that ex-marina? I know that in two marinas (in Oz) that I have dived, looking for lost objects, the bottom is so soupy that things tend to sink well below the surface. You can literally stick your arm into these bottoms up to the elbow... yuck. If the missing spar has sunk, neither grappling nor sonaring will be much use.

Good luck... sounds like you will need it!

Jim

[albergsailor]

Hoping someone can tell me what these grooves are for at each end of the mast. That part of the mast faces forward. Those grooves that are parralel to each other. And no i didnt find my mast this is just what i have left of it. i havent looked yet althogh i think im gonna. Just found out that I can use a 40 ft mast which is standard short rig for my boat not 45 so im just gonna use that one i got lined up already with all the rigging/boom.

[Jim Cate]

Not absolutely certain, but I seem to remember that some spars had proprietary spinnaker pole cars that rode in such grooves rather than on an attached track.

Cheers,

Jim

[SecondBase]

Aqua Amigos Scuba Club in Euclid would probably enjoy the challenge along with some beverages aboard afterward. Give them a ring?

[mikepmtl]

I once lost a CQR anchor in a storm with chain and rode. My second anchor held, but the CQR chafed through during the night.

I went looking for it in the dingy with a grapnel hook for hours. No luck. I finally gave up hope of ever finding it. As I raised my remaining anchor to depart, what came up with it but my CQR! LOL.

I was extremely happy that I did not have to pay for a new one.

Just thought I would share....

In 9' of water, if the water is clear enough, I would just use a piece of glass on the water. We made them as kids, 4 sides like a pyramid and the glass on the bottom. Just silicone everything together let it dry and you are ready to go.

There are also very cheap underwater cams on Ebay. I have one and like it a lot for viewing fish and so on.

Sonar I agree will most likely be no help.

Under water metal detectors might, but in a marina there will probably be a lot of stuff down there. Lot's of false hits. And you still need to dive to see what the hit was. Really only useful if it is buried in silt or sand.

My $0.02

[sailcruiser]

I'm making the assumption you are on the southern shores of Lake Erie. I think I heard that Edgewater was closed so I'm offering suggestions on these assumptions.

To find anything a grappling hook or very strong magnet would be a good first choice. A diver will have a very hard time unless you have a general area. Even then it can be hard. I had the drum of my furler drop in at haul out and knew within 10-15 sq ft and it still took a good 20 min for him to find.

For those who aren't familiar here is a brief news clip to give you some idea. I believe the break wall failed. A friend of mine was there but already out.

http://fox8.com/2012/11/08/local-cre...rricane-sandy/
SC

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by albergsailor

Just found out that I can use a 40 ft mast which is standard short rig for my boat not 45 so im just gonna use that one i got lined up already with all the rigging/boom.

Aww man!!! I was hoping to see the youtube victory raising.....

Methinks it woulda been pretty darn hard to find anyway!

[Finistere]

Originally Posted by albergsailor

Hoping someone can tell me what these grooves are for at each end of the mast. That part of the mast faces forward. Those grooves that are parralel to each other. And no i didnt find my mast this is just what i have left of it. i havent looked yet althogh i think im gonna. Just found out that I can use a 40 ft mast which is standard short rig for my boat not 45 so im just gonna use that one i got lined up already with all the rigging/boom.

Looks like an Isomat mast, see link for spinnaker car that fits.
http://www.rigrite.com/Spars/Isomat_...spin_cars.html

[ssanzone]

you can try a magnet on a line. obviously the aluminum wont attract it but the rigging and winches etc will.

i dont really get how you dont know where the stick came down...

[rebel heart]

I think you'll need a diver eventually unless you're planning on using some Jedi technique to get it out of the water. You'll need a strong line properly tied to a proper place and also the whole thing needs to be cleared so that you don't rip a bunch of stuff apart as you pull or float it up. A 45 stick in anything other than silt should be easy enough.

But maybe talk to a local fisherman in a skiff who has a kickass fish finder. The new ones tend to have very accurate seabed imaging.

[Andrew Troup]

Originally Posted by ssanzone

you can try a magnet on a line. obviously the aluminum wont attract it but the rigging and winches etc will.

The usual grades of stainless used for marine rigging and hardware are not magnetic enough that you'd notice.

If it's magnetic, it's either really classy strong stuff, or cheap unsuitable stuff.

[rgscpat]

I'm wondering that, even with the marina disassembled on shore, if there might not still be various bits of anchor cable from the marina on the bottom, in which case the grapnel might want a retrieval land attached to a float on one end and the bottom of the grapnel
on the other?