Blower (Mailbox) Construction for Our New Boat

[stevemc]

Borg Warner Velvet drive 1.5 to 1.

 

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[diverlynn]

Hey Guys,
I looked for you coming south but didn't see ya. We will be around Sebastian Inlet taking on fuel and some maintenance. Could be for only a couple of days if the weather holds or more if the weather turns ugly. Plans change over night sometimes but if you see us, come visit. I am taking some days off, been off shore for over a week. I should be back down by Thursday. Would like to meet you all. Doug loves to do the boat tour.

Diverlynn

Our deck looked somewhat like a hurricane hit for a few days as you can see below

 

[rgecy]

Am I looking at this wrong?
How can the Mailboxes be lowered with the dive platform there?
The boat looks great,you guys have been working your butts off on that baby.

NCHermit,

If you see some of the later pictures, the platform actually has a slot for the bowers to lower. I designed the platform with this slot and a folding piece on hinges that closes when the blowers are down to make the platform solid across the length. The slots are covered so no one accidentally steps into the gap. When the blowers are raised, the folding piece just flips to the side and is out of the way.

 

[Chagy]

Scott, Peg, Leebo, Skip, Blacksheep and evryone else, thanks for your comments and your support......
I also want to thank the entire crew for their hard work.......Steve you are the man!!!!! Thanks for your hard work!!!t

Lynn we did come across your vessel..we called you on the radio but you were off duty...Next time

We also came across John Brandon who came over to give us some tips of the site.....
It was or first day out.....Kinda like a test ride....everything went well, the blowers worked great!!!!!....we still need to work on some things and there is still lots to be done in the boat, but we are happy with what we have acomplish so far.......

All the best,

Chagy......

 

[SEAHUNTER]

Hi Chagy
Tell us about it. How deep was the water you were blowing holes in? How much deeper till you reached the bottom? How many rpm's were you running the engines? How fast does the boat go and at how many rpm's? Was the berm around the hole equal all the way around or larger in the back and smaller in the front? Did you remember to position the props half way in and half way out of the tubes? I have a million questions. Can't wait to check out you guys boat.
Best of luck to you all !!!!!
Seahunter

 

[diverlynn]

By the looks of the Polly L, we were under way. No one is off duty when under way, sorry I missed you. It was later in the morning when I jumped on treasure-net to check out the posts.
Catch you all at the expo.
Diverlynn

 

[Trez]

Great Spot..............stay on it, dont give up to quickly on it.
line yourself up with that last house, single chimney next to the house w/ the double chimney...south of second flagpole...then work in a line going towards the 1st flagpole north of the second one...photo with Brandon in it.
If the waters dead flatten...move in to first flagpole and blow directly off beach, tie off on beach...you will find dozens of small denomination cobs, it's just a start till you start finding the 4's & 8's

You will loose your "Spanish virginity soon".....

Good luck an have fun....

Trez

 

[Chagy]

Hi Chagy
Tell us about it. How deep was the water you were blowing holes in? How much deeper till you reached the bottom? How many rpm's were you running the engines? How fast does the boat go and at how many rpm's? Was the berm around the hole equal all the way around or larger in the back and smaller in the front? Did you remember to position the props half way in and half way out of the tubes? I have a million questions. Can't wait to check out you guys boat.
Best of luck to you all !!!!!
Seahunter

Hi Scott,

We were working on the fist reef at Corrigans, not much sand there its kinda like a hard pan bottom so we were dusting the reef with the blowers and reef roaming.....We did position te props half way in and half way out of the tubes.....
I am back home today, but the boys are out there again....this time they did look for a sandy spot to blow, so they will be able to give you a better report tonight.....

All the best,

Chagy........

 

[Blacksheep 6]

Chagy,RGecy,Scuba,Stevemc and crew (from here on out I'll refer to ya'll as Conquistador Crew, if you don't mind, less typing...) Anyhow, good to hear things are going well on the "shakedown cruise"...you guys just don't know how some of us are dying to be in your shoes...a heartfelt CONGRATS to all involved, you've all really done a great job on the boat, and I just don't see how success, at whatever level, can't be just around the corner...

Secondary to the Kudos, I figured I would post a pic over here of who should be the "poster boy" for all of us with the 1715 Fleet needle in the arm...without him, his sex drive, and his bitchski second wife, all the hidden goodies in such a small area wouldn't be here (see Perdido Bay thread for backround info)...Our Buddy, King Phillip V of Spain...



Best of luck...Safe Seas...And GOOD HUNTING Gentlemen !!!

Blacksheep6

 

[Blacksheep 6]

Hell...I'm even gonna allow him the dubious honor of being christened with a callsign...from now on I say he's "Philly5"...damn near 300 years later and he's still remembered and acknowledged...how many other former Kings can say that

Blacksheep6...

 

[ScubaFinder]

Robert, Darren and I went out again this morning, and tried another spot we wanted to check as well. We liked the bottom topography a lot better there. We didn't bring up any gold and silver, but we are very close. We found two really nice amphora fragments, some lead sheathing, and some ballast stone. The silver and gold must be close by, but at any rate artifacts were enough to really get us going. We'll be back out Thursday or Friday to get the good stuff. Thanks for all the support.

Scott, we generally blow in 15 feet at 2000 RPM for 10 minutes, and then idle them for about a minute to clear the water. She blows a nice hole, but we havenet had deep enough sand yet to make much of a berm. She has no problem clearing the bottom, on one hole we busted through a hard layer to the sand below...there were big chunks of coccina laying everywhere.

Here's some artifact pics:

Robert found both of these, I think they are lead sheathing, they have a cloth-like pattern on one side.


Here is my pottery shard, it's a complete bottom of an olive jar (amphora).


Darren found this one, it's a nice size fragment.


And here's a few of the ballast stones.


This is an unidentified object, it looks like a rock (magnetite?) and rang about a 6 on the Pulse 8X...not sure what to make of it yet.


Jason

 

[thepirate]

Hi Jason - great to see you all in business. Found this in the National Maritime archives - bet it's what you want your rock to be!! Also found reports of a shipwreck which deposited a load of iron ore on a beach here which resulted in a load of ferrous pebbles - I assume with the amount of MD'ing that isn't the case where you are. Keep the pics coming , best wishes , Mike.

 

[thepirate]

Sorry - should have mentioned that the pic was of a c.1690 lodestone used for keeping ships' compasses magnetised. The lodestone itself does look quite similar in composition to your find!!

 

[ecastro111]

Wow.... some men dream and others live

 

[Darren in NC]

Nice pics, Jason. What fun we had this week, eh? (How's that sunburn doing?) You didn't mention or even show a picture of Robert's coin! The first coin found by the Conquistador Crew was a 1989 quarter!

I'd love to find out more about Robert's lead sheathing and the cloth pattern on them. It appears that it may have been a mesh used between the wood hull and the lead to provide adhesive or protection for any chemical reactions. Anyone here on the forum familiar with this?

 

[stevemc]

Yes, they put on a tar soaked cloth first, then nailed lead sheathing on. Should be lots of nails. These are usually about 1"- 1 1/4" long.

 

[ScubaFinder]

Yep Darren, Steve is right on the money, I showed Bill Moore the pics today, and he said the same thing. Basically a coat of burlap covered in tar, and sheathing nailed down over that. The black rock that rang on the Pulse is probably a ballast stone, apparently many of them will register on a metal detector. He complimented us both on our pottery shards, and commended us on our location as well. Hopefully, Luis, Chris, and I will get out Friday and return to find the silver that Robert missed.

I had an unexpected treat this afternoon too. Scott, Scotty Lee, and Doug were up this way picking up a new toy and stopped by to see the Conquistador in all her unfinished glory. It was a pleasure seeing them again, and a welcome break from diving under the boat in this Indian River muck. Luckily, they got here right after I showered, otherwise I would have smelled like a toilet. ?It was great to see you guys, maybe you all can come dive with us someday? We'd gladly repay the favor and hospitality you have extended to us.

Afterwords, the Conquistador and I were blessed with another beautiful sunset, so I had to snap a picture.

 

[Darren in NC]

Sorry guys, but the sunset is prettier

I knew about the tar, but never realized that burlap was used...interesting. At least we know we're in the right area. Steady and methodical searching will allow us to bring up more wonderful finds. Can't wait to see what you guys find this weekend!

 

[Chagy]

Well we didnt get to go out this weekend.....We are still working in the prop..... anyways we got allot done in the boat, the fiberglass work is almost done and the cabin feels like home already.....We are trying to have it ready for next weekend...Will keep you posted.

 

[Chagy]

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