Edition 15-11.html

December 4, 2011

There are still a couple of lakes still open but with the weather those should freeze over shortly. There are people out on some of the area lakes so ice is being made.

In October I assisted in taking out the Yacht, Miss Brenda Dae which spends it summers anchored at the Holiday Inn in Detroit Lakes . Rocky, the owner of the boat, bought a Travel Lift out east this summer and brought it back in pieces and it took about 5 days this fall to put it together. It is a self propelled unit, weighs about 35,000 pounds and can lift up to a 50 ton craft. We had to lay sheet pilings on the bottom for the wheels to ride in to keep the travel lift from sinking into the soft bottom of the lake. The Travel Lift did not have enough power to make the slope coming up the access so we had to hook a front end loader on to assist. Once on the pavement it could travel under its own power. The day before this we took out the big house boat out of the lake so it turned out to be an excellent trail for bringing out the yacht. Here are some pictures of the job.

Yacht lining up to come into lift. Getting the yacht centered to start the lift.

Shows yacht raised and the sheet piling it will travel on. Yacht ready to be loaded on Semi Trailer

In Nov. Pat Johnston and I traveled to Pelican Rapids to work in one of their waste treatment tanks. The tank was 20 feet deep, about 30 feet in diameter, and the water was 34 degrees. Their crew was great to work with. I had to find and inspect the outlet pipe to see if it was plugged. The visibility was zero and I could smell the odor of the water through the mask. The only place that I might get water being I did not use a dry hood is under the hood. I was glad to get home and take a shower. Just as I had put everything away and headed to the house the power went out for three hours. Lucky me. Here are some pictures of the job.

Seal moving above were pipe is located Seal getting ready to descend. Seal's bubbles rising through the sludge

Pat helping me ascend the long ladder.Their staff hosing me down with hot water. Pat helping me out of my gear

Jim Grier does a lot of diving in our area and has almost as many dives in Lake Six as I have. He found a trolling motor this fall and I am sure that many divers have gone over that spot and not seen it. It is an older style motor so it probably has been on the bottom for awhile. Here is his story and picture about finding it.

Hi Seal,

I found the motor buried in the sediment (only a very small corner portion of the top section was visible) in Lake 6 this fall. I was crossing the lake and was cruising just a few feet above the bottom when I came across it, in about 30 ft of water.

I find the secret for finding things that are mostly buried is to be alert to things that look slightly different from the normal bottom, sometimes just a slight bump or small object that seems odd or out of place. A lot of times the "small" objects that are barely visible are just a small part of something much bigger. I usually check such things and nudge or pull at them to see what they are.

I've found lots and lots of items through the years. My best find was a large, 6-7 ft long, wooden, antique airplane propeller, with a brass hub as I recall, a few years ago in a lake in Ontario . I didn't have a lift bag and it was too heavy for me to get out with the gear I had. So I came back later with a rope, went back into the water and tied into it, then went ashore and pulled it out with some effort. It was too large to bring home so I gave it to a friend who lived nearby (and whose ancestors might have originally lost it off a large float plane a few decades earlier). I've found lots of other antiques, including a light from a steamboat, plates and pottery, plus the usual tools, anchors, and golf balls, etc.

Cheers,

Jim

The trip in January to Fiji is filled and the group is excited about traveling to one of the top five dive destinations in the world. Hopefully we will bring back many memories and pictures to share with you.

We have had quite a few people stop in and pick up scuba items for their dive buddies or friends and we would like to help you in your selection of dive items for your dive friends wither it be a large item or a stocking stuffer. We can guide you in what that diver might need working within your budget. If you are not sure what they might need you can always give them a gift certificate. If you have someone interested in taking training we can also do a gift certificate for all or part of the class for them. Please call this time of the year as we are only open by appointment

Sea You on the Bottom

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