How Mailbox blowers work?

[Tom2hunt]

I would like to find out if any one knows how those mailbox blowers work. Maybe a underwater shipwreck hunter can answer this question in more detail. I would also like to know if it is possible that I could make mailbox blowers myself. I would like to make it as cheap as possible if that is reasonable.

Thanks

Tom.

 

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[wreckdiver1715]

Tom, first off Welcome Aboard TreasureNet. Send a PM "RGecy", he has a good set of plans on how to build a blower. The original concept comes from Mel Fisher, who wanted to force clear water at the surface to increase visibility on the bottom. However he soon realized that it did much more by forcing a jet of prop wash to the bottom and removing centuries of overburden from the shipwreck buried in the sand.

Tom

 

[FISHEYE]

Tom,

Welcome to the forum.What size is your boat and prop/s?It would be cheaper to buy a blower thats already built then to have one built from scratch.I have a 30 inch blower that i can sell you and also custom fit it to your boat.

 

[macblastr]

This is a mailbox Fisheye put on the back of my boat. You can see the swivel point on the back of the boat which allows it to swing 180 degrees so that it covers the propeller and allows it to redirect the prop wash straight down. The force it generates is quite impressive and can actually lift the stern of the boat. This particular boat weighs 12,000 pounds.

 

[Capt Rodney]

The mailbox was first built to uncover shellfish beds in the Chesapeake bay area then were adapted for use in uncovering treasure.Still none the less it is the best tool in are line of work.Just a little more info on how they work is the boat is first anchored in a 3 or 4 point angle.Bow,stern etc. .Then the mailboxes are pinned in the down position.At this time after being put in the spot you plan to uncover the boat is then put in gear.This then directs the prop wash down and removes the sand from over the nice piles of long lost goodies for you to collect and enjoy. Thank you Capt Rodney

 

[Mackaydon]

Tom:
And if you become operational with the mailbox, I offer you these suggestions:
1. No divers allowed below in the immediate area when the blower is operating
2. Blow slowly at first
3. Blow for short periods of time
4. Inspect the blown area frequently
5. Log your time of each activity
Don.....

 

[ivan salis]

basically its just a tiltible metal cage the goes behind the ships prop area and deflects the prop wash towards the bottom -- the size of the props and the speed their run at will of course affect how deep and how strongly they will reach downward .

run slowly --check your holes often -- no divers down while prop washing (for safety reasons) -- of course log what areas you do and what finds you find in your scour holes.

word to the wize. ---due to the high stress put upon it by the prop wash --it needs to be made strongly -- not cheaply

 

[theseeker]

Tom,

Welcome to the forum.What size is your boat and prop/s?It would be cheaper to buy a blower thats already built then to have one built from scratch.I have a 30 inch blower that i can sell you and also custom fit it to your boat.

Fisheye, what prop size and engine capacity will your 30 inch blower handle? Is it still available?

 

[mad4wrecks]

Fisheye, remember this boat? Didn't Mike use this in NC (with blowers?)

We were at the Stock Island docks recently and saw it was being prepped for some type of joint venture between Seatow and Tow Boats US.

Also tied up at the old shrimp docks were a couple of other boats you may recognize as well.

Tom

 

[vacavala]

Tom I dont want to hijack your thread but I am still looking for a used blower, 20'-23' for my boat a few people have come foward but so far to no avail, why dont you call me maybe we can go together?.............John

 

[mad4wrecks]

Here is the 30" blower I think Fisheye was referring to:

http://www.ioffer.com/i/TREASURE-HUNT-BOAT-MAIL-BOX-PROP-WASH-DEFLECTOR--61779721

Also, I found some smaller ones but don't know if they are still for sale (see attachment)

Tom

 

[theseeker]

Hi All, from anyone's practical experience, what minimum engine size, prop size and blower size would allow one to blow holes to bedrock in say 30, 40 or 50 ft. of water. I know this is a subjective question and there are far more factors to consider that I am unaware of such as depth of overburden above the bedrock, etc., etc. I have no frame of reference or experience to pose this in any other way. I am looking to buy a boat and outfit it to hunt here in Florida. I appreciate any opinions or thoughts on this. Thanks.

Pete

 

[FISHEYE]

Tom G,

The ocean star was used on the El Salvadore wrecksite for about 2 years.Heres some pics when me mike and frank went up to blow some 100 foot holes in november of 2006.Also Greg Bounds and Rodney Grambo came up to look at the ship.Jim Sinclair was there to,to identify the wood we brought up as dated 1750.The capt at the helm is Craig Boyd,the other guys running around were investors.We were out on site for a week.We had to blow our way to the sandbar and blow our way out.The weather started to get bad so we had to go.We had a few mishaps while there.The props almost ate the jet ski when the bow line got wrapped around one of the shafts and sucked the ski under the ship and the bow anchor cable snapped.Had to use the crane to pull the 3000lb anchor back up.The wood was found 30 feet down in the sand.The 100 foot hole we blew put a 5 foot sand berm all around the ship.


The 30 inch blower that i can sell is off the former HRD r/v Deep venture.Toms favorite boat.This blower can handle a 24-28 inch prop and a engine from 150hp to 400hp.

 

[mad4wrecks]

Pretty cool pictures John. Any updates on Mike?

The Rodney you have pictured is Rodney Grambo, who now works for Seafarers.

Jim Sinclair must have been impressed with the Ocean Star.... we looked it over as a potential dig boat for the deep Juno beach site in the fall of 2008 when it was dry docked at the time.

Tom

 

[FISHEYE]

Tom,

Mike has 9 more years to go in prison.He was going to appeal his plea deal but found out that if he loses,then hes looking at life,so he says he will just do the remaining time.

Thanx for pointing out the typo i did on grambo,i knew he was grambo but typed bishop for some reason,lol.

Last i heard on the ocean star was that the homeland security gov people hired the ship for 3 weeks at 10k a week to go look for narco subs coming from Columbia or south America.One of the people involved called me and asked me how i would search for them.I told them to use thermal imaging an since they had access to all the sat systems they could use them as well.Last info i got was the ship had mechanical problems and the people at homeland security bailed on them.And that capt Boyd wanted to buy the ship.It costs a lot to have a ship that size sitting idle at a dock.Plus costs a lot to run it.1 diesel tank on it is 5000 gallons.Jim liked the ocean star.I liked it too.The only thing bad about that ship is the toilet is a incinerator.It doesn't flush.Fire burns up the waste.Doesn't smell very good on deck afterwords.Craig said he was gonna deep six the toilet and put a holding tank in with a house type of toilet.

The ocean star can blow holes in 60 feet of water.

 

[Tom2hunt]

Thank you everyone for posting information. It is well accepted. I been on and off the treasure net site but could not remember where and what I posted. Thanks again.

 

[stevemc]

A friend has a blower he wants to sell, it was built for an 18" prop. The boat was sold, and he needs to sell it. I think it is about 22" wide, has a cage, nice welding. Really wasnt used much. Doesnt look like any use on it. Let me know via PM if you want to look at it. I can post pics. like I said, it's not mine, but I can go and take pics, and get exact measurements. It was a bolt on underneath, so it would need to have a couple alum bars of I beam going up, to hinge from the transom.

 

[shellfisher]

Hi chaps,
I'm coming into this topic rather late, but could I ask if it would be possible to make and fit a mailbox blower to an outboard motor as small as a Yamaha 4/ 8HP?

Is it realistic to expect such a unit to be able to direct a flow of water onto a small area a few metres below the boat? Would an extension hose be able to be fitted to take the flow down and with a narrow nozzle?

If anyone has a images or ideas for a robust and cheap unit, it would be great to get some ideas of what to make. The unit I have in mind is like the 'stinger' used to harvest Geoducks.

 

[Au_Dreamers]

Mostly with outboards you will be limited to more shallow water and shallow sand depth.

This is because outboards exhaust through the prop, which disturbs the water column that you are pushing towards the sand. The water column maintaining uniformity is actually what determines all blowers working ability.

BUT do not be shy from using outboard blowers if that is your current option.
We worked a fulltime operation with twin 150 Yamaha’s in the late 90’s.

We could work effectively in about 12’ water with about 3-4’ of sand. 15’ of water was more or less an effective limit. You can move deeper sand in 10’ or less it just takes longer than an inboard setup.

 

[Tattooed Crew]

Mailbox blowers for sale or plans for building a set

When I was 12 years old ,I wanted to hunt treasure from the 1715 Fleet, so I got my scuba license at Jim Hollis scuba world in Orlando Fl. Now I'm almost 47 years old and I feel, it's time to put in some work, on these wrecks. I would like to know if any of you guys have a friend or know of someone who has a mailbox or two for sale. Thank you in advance for your help. Scotty