Could a sailboat be a decent working platform for salvaging 1715 sites?

[BeginAgain]

Random question, I know. I'm moving to Florida soon and would like to live aboard a boat. It's just something I've always dreamed about doing. I'm single and I study online. I have about $3500 in savings and a car I can sell for about $10,000 once I get to Florida. I've seen a lot of nice sailboats for sale on craigslist for around the $5,000 range that would make an excellent liveaboard boat. My question is, has anyone ever done treasure salvage from a sailboat? I'm thinking a hookah rig setup (that I'm building) and maybe an airlift? I imagine putting a mailbox on a 9hp outboard would not only look ridiculous, but probably would not even begin to blow a hole at 10-15 feet of water. So is an airlift an option then for a sailboat salvage platform? The boats I'm looking at are between 25-40 feet. I learned how to sail when I was a teenager, haven't done it since then. But I'm confident I'd learn fairly quickly. Yes, I know the sublease contracts cost $1,000 from Taffi Fisher. How much would liability insurance run for a small operation like the one I'm describing, for a, say 33 foot sailboat?
Thanks everyone.
Jake

 

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[ivan salis]

well the 1715 era salvors used small sailing sloops to do their salvaging from with native indain divers *
ps taffi fisher and the family sold out the leases to the 1715 fleet --amigo

 

[BeginAgain]

well the 1715 era salvors used small sailing sloops to do their salvaging from with native indain divers *
ps taffi fisher and the family sold out the leases to the 1715 fleet --amigo

Interesting, are they now owned by 1715 Queen's Jewels then?
As far as 18th century sloops go, I doubt they had hookah rigs and airlift suction dredges. I'd like to know if anyone has ever seen divers working the 1715 sites from a sailboat. How many people without mailboxes/prop wash deflectors to dig holes are working the sites with any success?

 

[ivan salis]

just saying it could be done --not that it might be profietible . -- even with "big boy" toys and gear , treasure hunting is a rough gig to turn a dollar on.

 

[Trembull]

like the one I'm describing, for a, say 33 foot sailboat?

Would the keel be a problem, Or is it a Raiseable Daggerboard.. to get back over the Brim

 

[stevemc]

You could dive out of a sailboat, but most are not built for it. You really have to look at them and find one that you can get back into. Most have a transom that doesnt really allow for diving, some have a nice transom called a sugarscoop, open, and the edge is right down by the water, and it is made for people wanting to get in and out of the water. Sailboats really arent made for scuba diving. Most have a fairly small cockpit area. Do a lot of looking before you make up your mind. Just liability ins should be about $150- $200 per year. Maybe less seeing that it is a sailboat and not much power. If you want boat replacement coverage, it goes up.

 

[Bum Luck]

just saying it could be done --not that it might be profietible . -- even with "big boy" toys and gear , treasure hunting is a rough gig to turn a dollar on.

I think it's safe to say that if the site could be profitably hunted, it would be - and not with a sailboat.

Stick very few dollars in it and look at it as a hobby and fun.

 

[Salvor6]

An airlift dredge will not work on the 1715 fleet wrecks. You need at least 30' deep water for them to work.

 

[FISHEYE]

Get a twin hull or triple hull sailboat like what was in water world.You will have a nice dive platform to work off of.You could build a blower with a tube and a prop and engine on it and mount it to the platform.

 

[BeginAgain]

like the one I'm describing, for a, say 33 foot sailboat?

Would the keel be a problem, Or is it a Raiseable Daggerboard.. to get back over the Brim

Didnt see this post until just now. The keel is retractable. I thought of the same thing while searching for boats to live/work on.
Jake

 

[BeginAgain]

Get a twin hull or triple hull sailboat like what was in water world.You will have a nice dive platform to work off of.You could build a blower with a tube and a prop and engine on it and mount it to the platform.

I'd only buy a "water-world" boat if it came with Kevin Costner's urine purifier and an anti-Smokers harpoon gun!!! just kidding, A Tri- or Catamaran is a great idea actually! Hadn't even considered those.. I wonder what the cost difference is between those and a decent shape single hull? I'll have to look that up.
As far as a blower goes, can you provide a link or pictures of the kind of setup you are referring to? I'm a competent welder and am taking my oxy/acetylene torch-welder as well as a small inverter arc/tig welder with me next month when I move. I've seen blowers and deflectors and their designs before and I feel confident I could rig something together myself provided I had some good pictures to look at as I draw up a design. Cutting aluminum is no big deal for me, done it a hundred times. Bending is another issue though and would probably take that somewhere to be done professionally.
I could always also weld up some kind of platform to get back on the boat after diving.

Anyone else have pictures of the kind of blower that would work on a 30+ foot sailboat that Fisheye was talking about?

Jake

 

[Salvor6]

Here is a vertical blower I built for a Hobie Cat.

 

[BeginAgain]

Here is a vertical blower I built for a Hobie Cat.

Holy crap I've never seen anything like that! Does the engine have to be a vertical shaft lawn mower type engine? Reason I ask is I have 2 new horizontal shaft engine still in the box. One is a 6.5hp and the other is 11hp. 4 strokes, same brand, 11hp has electric start. Could the 11hp work? Have any pictures or drawings of how the internals work? What is the maximum effective depth?
Thank you!
Jake

 

[maipenrai]

Definitely not for treasure hunting!! I am a scuba diver, and sailor, and the two do not really go together, except maybe on a holiday. Especially if you are recovering lots of junk, not just gold coins. Besides having rusty iron destroying your fiberglass, mud and coral will turn your boat into a wreck, not to mention what your lines and sails will look like after handling them with your rusty hands. You need a stable platform, for any kind of work, a clean deck, free of all the junk that comes with a sail boat. Get a good used trawler, the uglier the better, then you can get on with the treasure hunting and worry about your beautiful gel coat.

Good luck!!

 

[BeginAgain]

Definitely not for treasure hunting!! I am a scuba diver, and sailor, and the two do not really go together, except maybe on a holiday. Especially if you are recovering lots of junk, not just gold coins. Besides having rusty iron destroying your fiberglass, mud and coral will turn your boat into a wreck, not to mention what your lines and sails will look like after handling them with your rusty hands. You need a stable platform, for any kind of work, a clean deck, free of all the junk that comes with a sail boat. Get a good used trawler, the uglier the better, then you can get on with the treasure hunting and worry about your beautiful gel coat.

Good luck!!

Haha! Thanks for the advice! I just keep hearing nightmares about buying used boats and all the engine troubles with inboard engines. I'm definitely not looking to get rich, I'm not THAT naive. But I suppose I am naive enough to want to try to survive on student loans and salvaging for the next few years. I know its a hard business to break int, especially in Florida. But everyone's got to start somewhere, right? How's this for naiveté; I'm almost as excited at the prospect of living aboard a boat full-time as I am at trying my hand at treasure salvage.

 

[signumops]

Ted Falcon-Barker sailed from Europe to the Silver Banks near the Dominican Republic on a sailboat along with two crewmembers and allegedly salvaged some goods from the Concepcion. Read "Devils Gold". Other hunters have also used sailboats for expeditions, but, once again, they are only suitable for certain locations. If you plan to dig along the Treasurecoast in Florida, you would have to be satisfied with minimal airlift or hydrolift/jetting methods to do any excavation from a sailboat, mainly because they draw so much water, and are not prone to take a beating along their keels.
Generally, you want to get close to shore and dig in shallow water, moving considerable amounts of sand. The typical dig boat is not a piece of junk, cobbled together from parts found in the junkyard, and you would find contractual obligations mean that you have to have caged blowers, fixed GPS and abundant anchor gear if you want results. No way to get around it... it's real work, and if you plan to stay onboard, you need a dry bunk and dependable bilge pumps. You sink near shore and you will have to remove your own hulk at your own expense, pronto. The dig boat featured below can work in six feet of water (and does).

 

[Hangingfor8]

Well said Terry. I might add that twins are desirable. Although there is the extra fuel cost I know from personal experience that an extra engine makes a big difference blowing holes and I love having that extra safety factor for getting home. I have twins on my blow boat and I can work in 5 foot on the good days. It's all about moving sand. Here's our blowers being installed last year to give you some ideas.

 

[BeginAgain]

Ted Falcon-Barker sailed from Europe to the Silver Banks near the Dominican Republic on a sailboat along with two crewmembers and allegedly salvaged some goods from the Concepcion. Read "Devils Gold". Other hunters have also used sailboats for expeditions, but, once again, they are only suitable for certain locations. If you plan to dig along the Treasurecoast in Florida, you would have to be satisfied with minimal airlift or hydrolift/jetting methods to do any excavation from a sailboat, mainly because they draw so much water, and are not prone to take a beating along their keels.
Generally, you want to get close to shore and dig in shallow water, moving considerable amounts of sand. The typical dig boat is not a piece of junk, cobbled together from parts found in the junkyard, and you would find contractual obligations mean that you have to have caged blowers, fixed GPS and abundant anchor gear if you want results. No way to get around it... it's real work, and if you plan to stay onboard, you need a dry bunk and dependable bilge pumps. You sink near shore and you will have to remove your own hulk at your own expense, pronto. The dig boat featured below can work in six feet of water (and does).

Awesome post and images Signumops! I've found a few liveaboard candidates with twin inboards that fall into my budget. As far as blowers and racks and winches are concerned, I can build those myself for the most part as I am a very competent welder. I'm not looking for a turn'key digger boat. I'm looking for something to live on and dive off of while i work on someone else's boat for a season and slowly get mine ready for next season. Here's a few pictures of some of the boats on Craigslist that have piqued my interest...
Jake

Here's a 36' that's at the top of my list so far...
" has 360 Chrysler's run great has 2baths 2bedrooms all mahogany inside has new fridge, 20 gallon waterheater. All decks have been replaced. Has new carpet and raw water pump. Has 2 a/c units.Everything works in the boat. Still needs some tlc. $7500 OBO "

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[CaribbeanDiver]

No.

 

[birdman]

I think sail boats are fairly high maintenance. A friend of mine went that route and followed his dream and bought a sail boat to live on and it nickle and dimed him to death untill he got tired and sold it. No good for the shallows either.It always looks good on TV but it would take a lot of maintenance to up keep and being on a budget might be rough.
The hookah system would work well in the shallows and not cost so much long term. Good luck and follow your dream while you can. Your only young once, as they say.