Florida East Coast trek and stealth scoop review.

[Hopster]

I took my new Excal II out Sunday am determined to find a spanish half-reale coin or two.
I arrived at my spot at 530 am (North of Sebastian Inlet) and started detecting using headlight and a small LED light on my detector shaft.
I had not been to that area since about 2009 and was shocked to find the whole beach was about 4 or 5 feet higher than last time I had been there.
Apparently they had replenished the sand since I had last found two spanish 1715 half-reales there in 04 and 05.
Nothing but a few newer nickles and some fishing tackle. The old coins from the 1960's were deeply buried and not to be found, so no reason to waste too much time there.
The Spanish coins, I believe, were washing out of the dunes, but only during extreme tides/surf/hurricanes.

Headed to Cocoa Beach and water was too rough for wading so I stuck to the beach.
Using all-metal mode I found a few pennies and the usual trash along the waterline.
After an hour the new stealth 8 classic scoop began to feel like a sledge hammer.
But boy does it ever dig !
I was used to swinging my other scoop one-handed over my shoulder, but this thing is heavy !
I would gladly pay the extra cost for one made of Titanium instead of the heavy stainless.
Thats the only bad thing to say about it though, its really nice to work with otherwise.

I gave up on the beach and hit a volleyball court there in the sand.
It had obviously been picked clean of all coins but I decided to try around the outer perimeter of the court where rings might fly.
Sure enough - a big ring. Bad thing is it was titanium.
I will try the west coast this next weekend - Clearwater beach - if the thunderstorms don't stop me.

 

[scubadetector]

n/t

 

[triplehooked]

I'm happy with my new Stealth, but can you believe I've put a dent in it already? I must have found a big rock somewhere...

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

I'm thinking about replacing my RTG Beachmaster scoop with a Stealth. I've heard that they are great scoops. Just cannot decide which one to get. The Stealth Classic or the SugarSand.

 

[triplehooked]

If all I did was ocean beaches I would definitely go with the sugar sand scoop. I've already had a few smaller targets drop through, mostly sinkers, but a couple of earrings, too. Some of the lakes I hit are rocky so the Classic works well for me. I might put a small screen and magnet on mine to help with the smaller stuff....

 

[Hopster]

I have a beachmaster and it is better for wet sand due to it being a screen.
4 or 5 shakes and its strained the sand out.
The stealth doesn't "like" wet sand - you have to really spend time shaking it out.
The stealth is best for in-water or dry sand BUT it is a fantastic digging tool in wet sand if your goal is to remove lots of sand fro a hole as quickly as possible.
If you mainly do dry sand only the stealth "sugar sand" model would work great, but don't expect it to strain wet sand at all (waterline sand).

I would like to see a hybrid scoop made from the stealth - stainless outer frame with screen sections where it matters.

 

[EdwardH]

Just like scubadetector said the stealth is a tank, i would love to be able to use it in the ocean sand everyday but here in TN I use it in the rivers and streams which is usually mud and rocks... talk about building muscles

 

[clearwatermike]

I'm happy with my new Stealth, but can you believe I've put a dent in it already? I must have found a big rock somewhere...

Don't know how bad you dented it, but if you send it back to Chuck, he'll fix it and send it right back to you. He even modified mine with extra supports for added strength.

 

[E-TREC-Virginia]

I have a beachmaster and it is better for wet sand due to it being a screen.
4 or 5 shakes and its strained the sand out.
The stealth doesn't "like" wet sand - you have to really spend time shaking it out.
The stealth is best for in-water or dry sand BUT it is a fantastic digging tool in wet sand if your goal is to remove lots of sand fro a hole as quickly as possible.
If you mainly do dry sand only the stealth "sugar sand" model would work great, but don't expect it to strain wet sand at all (waterline sand).

I would like to see a hybrid scoop made from the stealth - stainless outer frame with screen sections where it matters.

I'm pretty happy with my RTG Beachmaster as it is very good in the wet sand. The only complaints that I have is volume of sand dug and the smaller items fall through the screen. Is there anything made today that would be considered a "hybrid" scoop that does well in dry and wet sand?

 

[Hopster]

Tried out the Stealth in the water finally, FL west coast south of Clearwater Bch. (Belleair Beach)
Conditions were lousy due to dredging/ beach replenishment just to the north of me, but I was impressed each time I went after the few targets there were.
2 or 3 tries maximum and I had it in the scoop. Under these same conditions I figure it would have taken 8 or 9 tries with the beachmaster.
This was "blind" digging, visibility no more than 18-20 inches, feeling the coil edge with my toe and then taking a scoop.
I used the wooden handle on this trip and the scoop was a lot easier to swing over the shoulder when needed.

Again on the dry sand further south at St Pete beach, the amount of shells mixed in with the sand made it necessary to use the scoop as a shovel -
just dumping each load out next to the hole and re-checking the hole.

Did 4 volleyball courts there and found only clad and lots of aluminum shards. Area was obviously picked clean by someone ignoring foil signals.
To the north for 20 miles there is a undercut bank along the beach and full of bottlecaps and clad. No gold yet .....but should be holding some.

 

[Hopster]

Stealth or not - this coming weekend would be a good time to hit any beaches from St Pete northward to Belleair Beach where they are dumping sand.
I left the area just before they closed the bridge for this storm and I heard they had huge waves, so who knows what got dug up.

 

[Smudge]

Between sand replenishment and the fact that Florida beaches are getting hammered on a daily basis by other beach hunters, finding decent targets is getting harder and harder.

The last few times I went I came back with less than $1.00 in change and no jewelry.

I'm hearing that from a lot people these days.

 

[Hopster]

So that makes a planned weekend at South Beach Miami sound like it wouldn't be worth the hotel .......
Anyone have any luck there lately ?

 

[Bum Luck]

So that makes a planned weekend at South Beach Miami sound like it wouldn't be worth the hotel .......
Anyone have any luck there lately ?

I'd do it, but not for the detecting........... South Beach - sigh............

 

[triplehooked]

I'm happy with my new Stealth, but can you believe I've put a dent in it already? I must have found a big rock somewhere...

Don't know how bad you dented it, but if you send it back to Chuck, he'll fix it and send it right back to you. He even modified mine with extra supports for added strength.

Nahh, not a bad dent and not worth sending in, just gives it a little character. Besides, it was my fault for reefing on it so hard. My only complaint with the Stealth is that the holes in the back allow stuff to fall through. I'll be adding a screen and magnet soon to remedy that...

 

[ROBOCOP]

I've been detecting the treasure coast also and I just started using a new scoop in the shallow (ankle deep) water.
I have to stand on the back of it and use some skateboard moves to dig in this renourished sand and shell.
It takes me about 3 to 4 scoops to get my target. I use a Detector Pro Headhunter that goes deep and I feel like I now have a scoop that can keep up with it.
The scoop has 1/2 inch holes and still doesn't drain well but I think it's the wet sand that just gums it up.
I also have a Beachmaster travel scoop with the 1/2 inch wire mesh that drains faster but just doesn't have the size to use in the wet sand.
My new scoop has a curved aluminum handle welded in place and it gives me a lot of leverage.
I don't think a hybrid scoop (large with mesh) would hold up with my skateboard moves.
Here's some pictures. Ignore the dead lawn.

 

[Hopster]

Nice looking scoop.
Where along treasure coast are you able to get in the water with a detector without the salvors giving you a hard time?
Understood not all areas called "treasure coast" are within Fischers lease area.

BTW when I first moved here in 99 I went in the water with detector and snorkel gear for a few hours right south of Mclarty museum near that the wreck site.
Nobody noticed or said anything to me ......
And it appeared that the trough right off the low tide line had aluminum shredded beer cans literally seeded there.
I mean, the scraps were cut into squares as if cut by sharp blades, and I found them under flat coral rocks, everywhere.
Only think I could come up with was that someone seeded the area to discourage shallow water hunters like myself.
Never tried it again after that but damm I'm sure that hardpan trough has got to be holding some stuff.

 

[ROBOCOP]

Yes I know what you're saying. I just go in ankle deep water and I go an hour before low tide so I could argue I'm always west of the Low tide level for that day.
As for the aluminum I agree. I can't prove it but I think when they resanded the beach a lot of the aluminum cans came from the new sand and were shredded by the drege and pump system. Maybe the guys running the dredge were drinking a lot of beer and throwing the cans in the dredge (LOL).
I know a scuba diver detector said they were running mag one time and got a large non-ferrous hit and when they dove on it they were expecting a bonanza but what they found was a large collection of aluminum cans. Apparently the ocean floor and the currents made this particular spot a can collection area.
I don't know what the answer is about the aluminum on the beach. I dig everything and I get tired.

 

[ROBOCOP]

I've already done some mods to my new scoop and I thought I would share.
I like my scoop because I can dig vertically with it as discussed above.
I can easily rotate it from the vertical position to a horizontal position with a full bucket because I have the curved handle.
To tilt it up and break the ground suction with a full bucket was difficult and a strain on my knees.
So I wanted to extend the assist handle a few inches to give me more leverage to get the bucket on it's heel and break the ground suction.
I added a 14 inch wood dowel to my assist handle , painted it silver, sprayed on plastic handle spray and added a rubber grip.
I also drilled more holes to help drain the bucket.
I added 24 more 1/2 inch holes and 34 more 5/16 inch holes in the bucket.
My bucket size is 6" x 6" and now 15 " long on the bottom after I added a stainless steel lip.
The lip was a challenge.
I went to the metal recycling yard and got SS restaurant cooking tray for $8, cut it with a jig saw and shaped it to fix the mouth of my bucket.
I overlapped the bucket mouth with 2" of stainless sheet and left a 1" SS lip.
I bonded it with JB weld and fixed 8 small SS bolts and nuts to let it set up overnight.
The next day I removed the nuts and bolts (left 3 in for sheer strength) and I trust the JB weld joint.
If anything ever loosens up I can always readd rivets or stainless hardware again.
I also painted the new bucket and lip with high temp silver aluminum ceramic paint which I hope will add to the drainability of the bucket.
Here's some pics.
I had to put my dog to sleep last month so this was a good project to take my mind off of it.

 

[ROBOCOP]

I did another mod to my scoop or my scoop handle to be exact.
I want to use the scoop with just one hand so I don't have to lay down my detector.
Since the scoop doesn't drain the sand easily I figured I needed to get part of the scoop in to the water to flush it out.
With this assist handle extension I can easily get the heel of the scoop in 2-3 inches of water and the bucket is inverted 45 degrees and it flushes instantly.
I guess you would call this a ergonomic setup.