Guys,
I'm a newbie. Sorry. I have a problem that I bet you all could give good advice on. A friend's $5000 rolex came off while kneeboarding last week in a small fresh water lake. We used landmarks to remember the location. I'd imagine we have reasonable confidence that it's in a 50 yard x 50 yard area (maybe 80% confident). 100 yards x 100 yards at the most (95%+ confident).
We have been racking our brains concerning the best way to attempt to retrieve the watch. We do have basic scuba gear but would need lights. I tested the depth at 21'. Mud bottom. Still water in a typical MS ski lake. I don't know what the bottom topography is (stumps or the like,etc). We have a pontoon boat, ski boat, and bass boat.
Here are some of our thoughts I'd like you experienced guys to comment on if you will. First I guess we'd use some buoys and mark off the outer limits of the search.
1. go to Harbor Freight or other industrial supply company and buy strong strip like magnet. Drag the lake with it for a few hours and hopefully get lucky
2. get a piece of metal about the size of the watch and throw it in the lake and see if it reflects on a fishfinder. Does metal show up?
3. Hire a local diver who said he and a buddy would dive whatever area we want and would spend as much time searching by feeling along the bottom. $200 first hr and $100/hr after that.
4. Dive it ourselves and do the same. Would have to rent lights. i imagine the viz is utter crap and we certainly dont have experience with underwater searches.
5. Buy an underwater metal detector and either get hired divers to use or do it ourselves.\
6. can one rent underwater metal detectors? how much, where, what model/type? I'm clueless.
7. buy a standard $200-$300 metal detector that states "waterproof 8" coil" or the like and basically patch in 20 odd feet of wire into it and detach the coil for underwater use, leaving the guts of the detector in the boat. Dreg with it basically. Have the wires secured to steel cable and try to balance out the coil on something that hopefully will maintain appropriate configuration and not flip all around
Should we attempt diving before dregging to keep from mucking up the bottom and covering the watch further. We are 1 full week out now.
Do underwater searches need to have a bottom grid placed in addition to the buoy grid on the surface?
I'd guess we'd be willing to spend a full weekend time wise with maybe 4-5 guys assisting. And wouldnt want to spend more than $1500 trying to recover it. The absolute worst scenario that we want to avoid is not finding the watch after wasting $1500. The lost time, well, that'd be OK for us.
Thanks in advance,
Houston Hardin
Jackson, MS
I'm a newbie. Sorry. I have a problem that I bet you all could give good advice on. A friend's $5000 rolex came off while kneeboarding last week in a small fresh water lake. We used landmarks to remember the location. I'd imagine we have reasonable confidence that it's in a 50 yard x 50 yard area (maybe 80% confident). 100 yards x 100 yards at the most (95%+ confident).
We have been racking our brains concerning the best way to attempt to retrieve the watch. We do have basic scuba gear but would need lights. I tested the depth at 21'. Mud bottom. Still water in a typical MS ski lake. I don't know what the bottom topography is (stumps or the like,etc). We have a pontoon boat, ski boat, and bass boat.
Here are some of our thoughts I'd like you experienced guys to comment on if you will. First I guess we'd use some buoys and mark off the outer limits of the search.
1. go to Harbor Freight or other industrial supply company and buy strong strip like magnet. Drag the lake with it for a few hours and hopefully get lucky
2. get a piece of metal about the size of the watch and throw it in the lake and see if it reflects on a fishfinder. Does metal show up?
3. Hire a local diver who said he and a buddy would dive whatever area we want and would spend as much time searching by feeling along the bottom. $200 first hr and $100/hr after that.
4. Dive it ourselves and do the same. Would have to rent lights. i imagine the viz is utter crap and we certainly dont have experience with underwater searches.
5. Buy an underwater metal detector and either get hired divers to use or do it ourselves.\
6. can one rent underwater metal detectors? how much, where, what model/type? I'm clueless.
7. buy a standard $200-$300 metal detector that states "waterproof 8" coil" or the like and basically patch in 20 odd feet of wire into it and detach the coil for underwater use, leaving the guts of the detector in the boat. Dreg with it basically. Have the wires secured to steel cable and try to balance out the coil on something that hopefully will maintain appropriate configuration and not flip all around
Should we attempt diving before dregging to keep from mucking up the bottom and covering the watch further. We are 1 full week out now.
Do underwater searches need to have a bottom grid placed in addition to the buoy grid on the surface?
I'd guess we'd be willing to spend a full weekend time wise with maybe 4-5 guys assisting. And wouldnt want to spend more than $1500 trying to recover it. The absolute worst scenario that we want to avoid is not finding the watch after wasting $1500. The lost time, well, that'd be OK for us.
Thanks in advance,
Houston Hardin
Jackson, MS
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