Making an air LIFT

[ScubaFinder]

Those are true words...it's not easy, and there aren't any shortcuts. You could go buy the best of everything, and if your research skills were off, you'd look very efficiently...and find absolutely nothing. I still think an induction dredge is your best bet...you can sometimes find them on Ebay for under a grand. Airlifts get worse the shallower the water, and at the depths you are talking about, it just wouldn't be all that effective.

Good luck, you seem to have your head on straight...just funnel that mental energy into picking the right SPOT to hunt, and then no matter what equipment you have, you'll most likely find some good stuff. Once you've felt the hair stand up underwater as you pick up that coin...the real reason you are there becomes instantly apparent. We all want to find the mother lode, but few of us will. Done properly though, we'll have an exhilerating experience...that's what it's all about....well, that and the dream and chance of actually finding the mother lode.

Good luck!

 

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[Skimmer]

Scubafinder- Amen. You said it profoundly. My hats off to you, sir. I'm glad there are people like you on this forum.

 

[coin_diver]

Scuba is correct, only once you know the site, bottom conditions and need for discretion can you chose the proper equipment. I am constantly modifying set-ups for each new area I hunt.
I had the good folks at Keene on the phone and once I explained what I needed to do, they made upgraded version of their coin & relic dredge. Now in 30fsw, using a 4" jet tube, tied to an anchor and pointed downstream I was able to work directly in front of a park w/out anyone even asking what I was up to. The unit floated on the surface but no material came up. After moving TONs of boiler slag, concrete chunks and mud I was able to uncover the clay layer and found nice things. Don't worry about someone poaching your site, if you have questions, post them here and be specific so we can help.

 

[Whittman]

Thanks for all of the help. We've actually found our wreck but so far have only uncovered parts of her with our mailbox and that was last winter. The site is too close to shore to work during the summer months (with the mailbox). Believe it or not, she's not a treasure wreck, although there may be some salvage value involved. It is a historical wreck so we need to be careful. I'd like to work the site on the sly until we can positively identify her. After that we could turn her over to the historical society or whomever. So far we have found two anchors, a piece of china, and some hardware. We have also uncovered some of the wooden wreckage. Well, I'll keep everyone posted although it will probaly be a couple of months before we can realistically get in the water. Just thinking about the adventure of it all gets me through the winter!