Lost prop

Yes I would go into the water although you might need a wet suit. A scuba tank will really help.
The procedure with scuba is to drop a heavy weight with 2 ropes onto the cente of your best guesstimate of location. One rope goes to the boat or a bouy.
The diver goes down following the other rope. If snorkelling you can use this rope to pull yourself down to then grope around.
If scuba then with suitable weight belt you proceed to swim around in a circle at a range dictated by visibility. You need a compass to confirm when you have done a full circle. You then let yourself out another metre or so on the rope (depending on visibility) and do another circle. This will work even if you can't see anything by groping.
Never underestimate your likely hood of getting lost underwater. (As in not looking in the right place.) Diving in 2.5 metres of water has to be safe but certainly easier with a weight belt if snorkelling. (especially if you have a wet suit on) You could need about 10kgs or more.

Some time back I was aked in a hurry to retrieve a jib sheet someone had thrown overboard from a friends boat. (it was in a bucket of water soaking.) The boat 40ft was in a marina with posts into the bottom in about 12 metres of water.
No problem says I and leaps into the water with tank on. There was a post nearby and I went to that for reference as I descended.
Somehow I managed to move around the post as I descended such that on moving the 2 metres away from the post I went in the wrong direction and searched the wrong place. All this in clear water.
I came up to get more directions only to find I was under the jetty searching. Those on the boat could see the bubbles and knew I was in the wrong place.
A rope with a weight on going to the right place and the sheet was recovered in minutes.
The moral is don't just leap in the water and look. Have a plan.
good luck and just do it. (Even if only for your own peace of mind that you have tried) olewill
 
How about a local sub aqua club or will the health and safety Taliban scupper that? I live too far away or I'd do a sneaky dive in the dark!
 
Good point. Of course it's bronze but it does have three large stainless steel pins (about 10mm dia by 50mm long from memory) that the blades pivot on. Maybe that would be enough for a magnet to get hold of.
 
Many thanks for all the suggestions. I'm certainly up for going in after it. I think the marina would have a problem with me groping about aimlessly for any period of time. But if I know where it is, I can't see how they could object to a quick dive to attach a rope.

So, dragging something over the bottom to find it (assuming the water isn't clear) will probably be my starting point. Then as William says, a weighted rope to mark it before a quick swim. The magnet might be worth a try before that if only to avoid getting wet though!

Thanks again.

Simon
 
Stainless varies in its magnetism but most is only very weakly ferromagnetic. The chances of recovering a bronze prop with a magnet, relying on stainless parts within the construction are low. Before trying it, take your magnet to a yard where there is a boat out of the water with a similar prop and check it out.
 
Ooh. I have vast experience of chucking things in the water and getting them back sometimes.

The magnt things are a bit hopeless IMHO - it needs a diver, which may or may not be you. As others say, it is darned difficult to find things though.

One method i used successfully was to have a mate on the surface with a v long hosepipe - not for supplying water but to coil down on the sea bed - you lay a bit of pipe in a little circle, and then expand that circle, and you as diver obviously circling around and groping just inside the expandig circle. This way you know where you've searched and not searched.

400 quid for half an hour is an utter ripoff, several times the price of st tropez in high season (flat rate of 110 euros to free tangles anchor) and he drives a nice mercedes. Quietly going in a much better idea. Contacting a local dive club might be aother idea and offering tons of free beer, with more beer if they find it.
 
When my mobile phone went for a swim, doing a twist and pike out of my top pocket when I was stepping off the boat to the pontoon, I used underwater video camera head on a long pole. The pole also had a kids fishing net cable-tied on. That got the phone but a rope could be substituted for a heavier item.
The camera head came off Ebay (£56-ish) and was originally bought for hull inspection.
The phone, BTW was a goner but the simcard was ok.
 
2.5 m is hardly deeper than the deep end of a swimming pool. Would anyone notice if you just slipped quietly over the side? You'd be going mostly by feel I imagine, rather than using the full Jaques Cousteau lighting kit.
 
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Costs around £400 for half and hour with no guarantees.

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Ouch! I was quoted £60 for an underwater anode replacement in my part of the Solent, this was not from a regular diving firm.

I thought a full underwater hull scrub would cost less than £200?
 
Premier have an underwater scope/camera. I saw it at Gosport a couple of weeks ago and they told me that it normally "lives" at Swanwick. Have a chat to them folks in the office and I'm sure that they will be able to get hold of it.

It was on the end of a long, extendable pole.

Cheers

Wayne
 
Port Solent did mention a camera. The water on Saturday was very murky, but it might clear a bit mid-week., Certainly worth a try. As I say, once found, a quick dive should do the trick.

No-one has commented on my idea of dragging a rake over the bottom to find it. I guess that means it's not too sensible.

On the charge for a diver, this was hearsay from some people who've used one rather than a quote. I understand the apparently high price is because it's in a marina. I guess there are some "Diving in Marina" Regulations somewhere....
 
Simon,

PM me if you need a diver, my dive buddy and I are local and would be quite happy to get wet on your behalf for the cost of an air refill, providing you can get the marina to authorise a dive in their facility - it's difficult to be unobtrusive with loads of dive kit!!!! We probably wouldn't be able to do it until next week though.
 
Good result there then /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

We lost a Gameboy in 3 foot

Still looking /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

cheers Joe
 
Hi, Props are rather larger but last summer my water tank filler cap fell off its chain in Bembridge marina - into 2 feet of mud. A kind and courteous neighbour with a truly huge shrimping net on an aluminium extending handle located and retrieved it. That net would have picked up one of my duo-props. Two bottles of wine was a very small price to pay...

Martin T
 
I got one of these to find items lost but I am a bit far from you to help.

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Found on E-Bay here
 
I've used RS Divers (Ruben on code 07939 number 533881) for a bottom scrub. Very competitive and able to dive in marinas (I mean that they've already sorrted out the paperwork).

('code' and 'number' there to avoid the bots).
 
Thanks for this info. RS Divers have quoted £125 if they find it and £50 if they don't. Even better, they're working in Port Solent tomorrow. Needless to say, I have instructed them to go fetch!

I agreed with Goldie to turn down his kind offer as he's not a commercial diver and therefore would struggle to meet the draconian requirements of the Diving at Work Regulations. Health and Safety? It'll be the death of us all....

Thanks again

Simon
 
Hope you get a result.

I have to say I would think twice about swimming in a locked in cess pool like Port Solent /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
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