I lost a 25 Merc in Lake Dardanelle Sunday. Anyone got any good ideas on how to make a drag to try to find it? Fortunately, it is in only 8 or 10 feet of water without many stumps.
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I lost a 25 Merc in Lake Dardanelle Sunday. Anyone got any good ideas on how to make a drag to try to find it? Fortunately, it is in only 8 or 10 feet of water without many stumps.
If it was running not worth it otherwise hire a diver ? Someone with a under video camera might hook it with a drag made of rebar . Can you pin point where it is ?
I'm with nimrod, if it was running it just ain't worth the effort. If you can get in the area you should be able to locate it with a pole no deeper than it is and then hook it and pull it up.
Get someone with some side imaging to see if they can put an exact locate on it. Person may take a long piece of rebar and put a bend on it and try to hook some part of the motor.
Dropped a chainsaw in about 6 fow in the river. I had a long paddle with a hook so I tried to snatch the saw out with the paddle, but the saw was running on the bottom and cut my paddle off:Rofl (not really). I did hook the saw and pulled it out. Drained all the fluids out and pulled the spark plug. Cranked it until it quit foaming the loaded it back up with fresh oil/gas and it was just fine.
Steve48 on here recently lost a rod and reel at Dardanelle and found it with side imaging and recovered it. A motor shouldn't be too hard to spot with side imaging if you can get close to where you lost it. Hope you marked the spot with gps or landmarks on the bank. Good luck.
Side image can find that no prob. May need to go swimming with rope or long pole as others said. Need them motors bolted on the transom.
I would defiantly go get it running or not. I rebuilt a 250 Suzuki that was in the ocean for 6 months after Katrina. Ran fine after we got her refurbished.
If you can find it, a good log net grab would most likely hook it. I'd go get it.
It was running about half throttle or better. I made a drag of old 2 inch mesh military camo stretched between 2 metal T fence posts and drug for 2 hours without handing it, I do know within 30 feet of where it went under coz I was going through a narrow cut in the strip pit area. A buddy came out with HB side imaging and could not find it.
I helped a guy clean on out a few years ago hat had ben under for four days-running when it went in- and it has run for several years with no problem. I am definitely try to get it !!!!
Best way is to hire a diver. If you are reasonable healthy, you could buy a snorkle and work your way around the bottom in the search area and find it yourself.
You may get lucky and use a grapple hook. It needs to be fairly big and could be made from rebar, you need about a 12" Throat opening.
Heres a couple links
Make a Grappling Hook
Make your own grappling hook
Good luck! Motor may be OK
Use some braid fishing line. That crap will hang on Everything!!! [emoji2]Quote:
Originally Posted by goblerblaster
It is for sure worth retreiving..........makes no difference if it was running or not, any decent back yard mechanic can do whats necessary to get her running fine........
Do as others said and Hire a local diver, call the local dive shop and ask if they know a diver that finds lost items..........
I drowned a 40 hp mariner years back...........was running just fine when I sold her 5 years later
I don't mind diving in if I have to once I hang on it, but snorkeling around ain't my idea of fun when the water is 60.4 degrees as it was yesterday !!! I have called some divers to see if they are interested in looking for it. Our county "search and rescue" guys will sometimes look for them as a "drill" and not charge to do it. Thanks for the input.....
Be careful involving the county........... If the wrong person finds out you could be subject to clean up fines and a big bill for all gov workers involved..........NOT KIDDING
Couldn't find it with side scan? The operator must not be proficient at using it then. Shouldn't be a problem with my lowrance!
ABH go find his motor for him.
SI should pick it up unless it is totally buried in the mud. I would find another person to SI before you have the expense of a diver.
Cray unfortunately I am two hour drive from there. Cost me $100 round trip in gas and deer season is upon my girls. If he hasn't found it when I can get up there and fish be glad to have a look. Sure I could find it if he knows general area. Hopefully someone else closer can get with him.
If it hasn't been found by next summer when the water hits 90 deg, give me a general area and I will drag cranks over it. Guarantee I can get 5 of 6 cranks hung up in it, especially if it is a windy day.
VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! Follow these instructions. I did this a few years ago with my Zuki DT25. I have a buddy that has scuba gear and he went diving for the motor, found it, and then we got to work ASAP! You only have 2-3 hours before rust starts forming on the cylinders after removal from water. Its the oxygen that causes rust, not the water. If you find it, be prepared to get the alcohol and oil in the cylinders as soon as possible. If the cylinders move freely, and it won't start, chack electrical connections, they usually get unplugged or burn a fuse with the water (my case). and if its a 2 stroke, oil injected, drain the oil and run premix at double oil for the hour. My mechanic said that he would have ran it longer, 2-3 hrs to make sure all water was burnt out. Good luck and I hope you find it... And bolt that thing on when you do find it!!!
http://www.backwaterrecovery.net/doc...tboardCare.pdf
When you find it stick it in a barrel of water til you can work on it. Needle bearings go bad quickly.
Check your PM box. I can come up and hunt it most anytime after tomorrow.Quote:
Originally Posted by goblerblaster
Divers found the motor, now to see if I can get it to run again...........thanks for all the help.
glad you found it
I follow a thundercat (inflatable catamaran style boat) forum over in australia and new zealand and they sink motors all time and get em back to running condition so i dont think all is lost. I understand H20 doesnt compress like air and if you were at 6,000 RPM's when she went under that your engine may need some experienced attention but I'm bettin she runs again.
And just how do we lose a motor in the lake?
It's a long story, but the exterrmrly short version is,,,, I had a 40 hp rude 2 stroke on a ski boat and flipped it upside down going wide open. No one was hurt, thankfully. Took about an hour to get it recovered and to the bank. Pulled the spark plugs out, turned the motor until all the water seemed to be out, put some oil in the cylinders and ran it some more till all that seemed to be out. Replace the plugs, cranked it up, went back to pulling some skis. Ran it several more years without incident.