Ocean $hity, MD, lives up to its name

[Steve and Bia]

Bia and I visited Ocean City over Labor Day weekend so we could try out the new Excalibur. We had great expectations but never got our hopes up thinking we'd be rich...

we were in for a surprise...

we didn't even come close!

Welcome to "Skunksville Ocean $hitty"


Bia walked the shore while I took my first trip to the surf lane. No one was in the surf and I only saw 2 dry sanders. I lugged the hip mounted Excal and sand scoop eagerly out to sea only to find there was no bar. The slope of the surf was very gradual and the waves broke everywhere at random. It really kicked the crap out me. I could not find the happy medium that max had dubbed "The Lane". At least not here.

The first thing I learned, being a newbie, was to watch your back! I was knocked over by a wave shortly after I slipped into a rut formed by a rip current. I fell forward over the balance shaft and stepped on the blade of my sand scoop with my bare foot. It hurt like hell but I managed to get back up and continue (I cried to Bia about it later). Shortly after, I dug a penny and a quarter and then, I could not find anything at all. I checked the detector, tested it and I went back and forth, side to side and no avail. It was so worthless we decided to hit the wet sand. For hours of work we yielded another quarter and two pairs of glasses.

When we returned to the hotel after the first day of surf hunting, I noticed the shaft of my sand scoop was bent. I remembered the guy at KellyCo saying, "Instead of the stainless, go with aluminum. It's basically the same scoop just lighter." I will surely call him and send a nice picture of the bent scoop handle and mention the things he didn't mention to me. Such as, how my hands turned black and the scoop oxidized from the saltwater.

For two nights we dry sanded the beach. Bia used the XLT for the first time and I used the Excal. She's a quick learner! She dug two spoons and a bunch of other stuff but overall she did better than me. Shamefully I have to admit that...

Our total ticket was close to $11. What a weekend huh! "Bartender, two pinacoladas please!"

The spin down this lane turned out to be an out of control spiral...

 

[Bobbie]

We visited Kellyco last year........the people behind the phones are clueless as far as how something really performs. They are only sales people, not detectorists. I have a stainless steel scoop and yes it is a little heavy but the performance out weighs the weight especially in wet sand and surf.

 

[David from Suffolk]

Every night is not a gold night the good ones will come.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

No way the handle should bend like that. I got suckered into about 4 cheap scoops that fell apart before I purchased a Babbs Backhoe scoop. Its aluminum but its a brute. I can stand on the back of it with all my weight, sink it flush with the beach in the NJ hard packed wet sand and yank out one giant sized scoop.

Beachcomber has a big stainless scoop, well its puny compared to mine it weighs more than mine but he's had to have it rewelded a number of times. Stainless is no guarantee.

 

[therick]

never had a problem with it. It'll hold about a gallon of material per scoop and is made out of 3/4 in. aircraft aluminum. I also have a large stainless one but I bought it mostly for a backup piece. Buy some detector books that are dedicated to beach hunting and learn to "read the land". You'll learn a lot and can quickly look at a beach and tell where the best opportunities are and where you should be hunting. My beach bible is "Treasure Recovery from Sand and Sea" by Charles Garrett. It is 450 pages of wonderful information about all types of water hunting. Once you get started you'll have a hard time putting it down. Good luck and don't get discouraged. Even the most experienced hunters get skunked regularly.

therick

P.S. Very important that you buy a pair of water shoes of some sort. I use diver wet boots but others adapt different types of foot gear in the water. I prefer wet boots because they zip up snuggly against my shin so the sand and shells that I'm shaking out of my scoop don't fall inside my shoes. Shoes will also protect you from the sharp stuff you may uncover while digging. And crabs. Never lived until a crab pinches you on the toe.

 

[VaBeachRon]

leave your hand black. To stop that, you'll have to take some NeverDull, Semichrome or Wenol polish and polish the handle then put a good coat of wax on it. That stops the aluminum from turning your hand black. Now, the scoop does oxidize. That's life with an aluminum scoop. It does not hurt anything. I would be concerned why it bent so easily.

Hang in there and the gold will come. It takes going to the beach everydau for hours a day then suddenly.....boom. Gold in thr scoop.

Va Beach Ron

 

[Woods Walker]

ya know one section of beach can mean a world of difference from another. What street were ya hunting? Looks by the picture that you may have been at the teens or up from there. Nice looking couple of rug rats! that boy looks like he could give you a run for your money

 

[Steve and Bia]

We hunted the surf from 16th street all he way to 6th. Yeah, I was in the water the whole time. I walked a line of broken sea shells from ankle deep to chest deep. I even wore a hole in my arm from a phillips head bolt that holds the forearm cup to the shaft. It still hurts!

An older couple that lives their told us how they hunt the hell out of the dry sand. They said two months ago they found two diamond rings in the dry sand just a few feet apart. I asked if they thought that was good. Apparently, that was a huge find for this beach but two months is a long time. They also told me about an 8th gold piece that was found near the pier.

I agree that the beach has a lot of coins in the dry sand but the surf is super tricky for me to read. I could not figure it out. I went in a zig zag from shore to surf all the way up and down the coast!

 

[Steve in PR]

n/t

 

[Low Tide Tim]

Steve:
I have an alluminum scoop made by Bill Babb that I have been uning for about 3 years now and it is great everywhere except in the waves, only because it is too light and gets moved around a lot. I have put a lot of pressure on it and it is still true. The lip of the scoop does get a little bent up from time to time but a good hammer and a file take care of that. I think it is one of the best scoops out there when it comes to alluminum. Just my opinion
LTT

 

[Steve and Bia]

I talked to Bonnie at KellyCo, who asked me nicely to post this because they read this board, and she saw the original post already.

Bonnie, my KellyCo rep was "Really Nice" and "Treated me with excellence" as I griped about the handle. She quickly accepted a deal for an exchange. I will send her the aluminum scoop and they will send me a 40", 12x6, stainless as a replacement. Because of the $75 dollar price difference, they will have to use my gift card and refund from a previous gripe I had. Oh well... Win some... Lose some...

How do they put up with people like me?

 

[Woods Walker]

n/t

 

[Steve and Bia]

They look the same anyway

 

[Woods Walker]

n/t

 

[Steve in PR]

It does pay to buy from reputable sources.

 

[Steve and Bia]

I don't know about you but this part of my thread is starting to sound like a commercial.

Even my SPAM-o-Meter is clicking to the far right of the scale.....

 

[Steve in PR]

I have not even bought from them....yet. But, I will consider in the future. I have had enough negative experiences with people and companies who either don't stand by their product or believe in customer service to give kudos to a company that does.

It's the way things should be. I have seen a few complaints on this forum about people who were left high and dry.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

[Steve and Bia]

OK Ok, quit hogg'n the microphone!

Yeah, KellyCo is good but the accessories are twice as much as other places.