IceDiveGreen 12-30-2007 1-12-08

[AandA]

Well that didn't work too well....  >  >
Operator error - I loaded up the wrong size photos... well here I'll try again.

Hopefully this time works.

[DetectorGuy]

Thanks for letting me tag along. My daughter and I had fun and I learned a lot. Last night during supper my daughter got up and gave me a hug and told me thanks for bringing her with. That makes it worth it in its self. I think the pictures you took are great. I have a 4 cylinder Chevy/Mercruiser in my boat and I think the one at the bottom of the lake must be a OMS or something as it has the alternator on the opposite side. Here are two photos from above the ice (If I can upload them on my rickety old dial-up connection)...

[Shooter]

After we couldn't get the wheeler running we debated on aborting the dive. The scubaru is fairly light weight.  After flipping a coin we left the trailer and gear and slowly ventured towards the shipwreck.  When we got to the spot where the vehicle traffic ended, proceeded on foot to verify ice conditions went back to get the car.  It was all clear good ice.  We went back hooked up the trailer and the rest of the gear and started diving.

My camera wasn't working very well.  But I did manage these videos before the batteries died.

[Shooter]

It was a pleasure having you.  Thanks for all of your help and hard work.  You're welcome to join us any time.  Look forward to diving with you under the ice soon.

;D PS as far as I'm concerned, you've already passed the line tender test  ;D

[DetectorGuy]

;D PS as far as I'm concerned, you've already passed the line tender test  ;D
[/quote]

You guys are both great teachers. Shooter, I was nervous when you were at the end of the rope and you wanted more line. I could sense the frustration all the way through the length of the rope when you were reaching for the anchor. I was thinking "a chain is only as good as its weakest link" and "a rope is only as good as its length." The rope length was set but I didn't want to be that weak link. That had to be a cool ride  coming back under the ice when you had the anchor at 100'+ away from the hole.

[AandA]

WOW
Thanks for posting the photos of the Shelter and me gearing up John.  ;D
I didn't take any photo's of the shelter, and was kicking myself 

Your assistance stetting up and tending really made our day go a whole lot better!!!  Please also tell Mattie how impressed Nate and I were with her active curiosity and patience. 

Nate I really like the videos, especially of the fish hiding under the engine.

Did someone mention Deep Sea Detectives  :  Well Chatterton and Kohler move over and make room....

Here's the "THEORY."

I added a couple more photos.

One is the lower unit which was lying a few feet from the boat in the sand.  The other photo was of the stern where you can see the lower unit broke off leaving a pretty big hole which would have been well below the waterline. 

[arcFlash]

Sounds like I missed a good time and now I'm off one anchor. I'll have to get two next time.

So detective, If the boat was cruising an tore off the lower unit, why would it only be two feet from the boat? It would have sunk faster then the drifting craft.

I think  it broke off after crashing into the bottom stern first. We'll need to get a closer look at the drain plug and keel.

ArcFlash as Peter Falk as Lt. Colombo

[DetectorGuy]

Arcflash, Until you mentioned the stearn first theory, I was leaning towards a Swedish U-Boat and that the captain of the U-Boat was all whipped up on luetefisk and torpedoed the un-suspecting fisherman (who was clearly not in international waters.) Looking at the damage I would now say that you are right, The bottom of the gimbal housing that is still attached to the stern of the boat is broken with an irregular break along the bottom edge. (crushed by the out-drive?) The out-drive pivot holes are intact and the prop looks like it was not turning when it hit the object (bottom of the lake?) I was not under the ice but from the pictures it looks like there was a fairly hard sandy bottom. Maybe there was enough momentum going down tail first in 20'-25' of water to snap it off when it hit the bottom. You have to figure that the boat is already 19' long so when standing on its end the out-drive was only 1'-6' off the bottom when the bow went under. Interesting theory...

[arcFlash]

I considered that. I don't recall the depth but I think it's even shallower then your estimates. My defense is that the pin sheared or broke the aluminium casing at the trim hinge. A twisting force would have applied considerable torque it wasn't designed to hold.

If we ever see it again we'll know what clues to look for.

We could also assume that the sea strainer hose broke. That would let in a lot of water. But would not account for the key being on.

[Shooter]

Speaking with the sheriff's deputy who handled the report we have an actual eyewitness account of the events that happened before the sinking.  The owner of the boat reported that it wasn't in the best mechanical condition.  The boat was also overloaded at the time of the sinking with up to five passengers that were all rescued.  The owner of the boat stated that he heard some cracking and crunching before the water started flooding in.  Which would lead me to believe that there was a mechanical failure, causing the lower unit to separate from the boat, not an actual impact as we had first suspected. The reason that the lower unit is still attached to the boat is that it is still attached by the throttle cable.  If you look in the video you can see the actual throttle laying on the floor with a cable extending out the back still attached to the lower unit.  At one point, I considered putting a lift bag on the lower unit,  So we could examine more closely to actually determine what happened.

As far as the drain plug and the keel, I did find a toilet plunger in the wreck, which would let a lot of credibility to the owners statement that it wasn't in the best repair..........