Ideas for Finding Sunken Motor

[Silvertip]

When doing a dive search, first sink a line straight out from the point you took your bearing. Extend the line a bit past where you think the motor lies as distance is very deceiving. With that rope on the bottom, have the divers follow the rope (yellow or white) and armed with a metal probe, have them probe along the line. Then move over a couple feet and repeat. Without a line to follow, the search can be very disorganized. Even if the engine block itself is destroyed, there will be parts that can be re-used/sold. If you happened to mention to others that the motor was lost, chances are someone has already recovered it. I've had experience in such matters and am currently dealing with one although it is not an outboard motor. Unfortunately, people we consider to be honest sometimes become opportunistic..

 

[ICECOLDBEER]

if the motor “sank”, its more silt than mud. No problem seeing thru 2-3 feet of silt.

A 600w sounder running 50 kHz has a good chance of seeing it. I would very surprised if my 1kW running the same 50 kHz didn’t pick it up.

Where can I find something like this? And what is it?

 

[ICECOLDBEER]

When doing a dive search, first sink a line straight out from the point you took your bearing. Extend the line a bit past where you think the motor lies as distance is very deceiving. With that rope on the bottom, have the divers follow the rope (yellow or white) and armed with a metal probe, have them probe along the line. Then move over a couple feet and repeat. Without a line to follow, the search can be very disorganized. Even if the engine block itself is destroyed, there will be parts that can be re-used/sold. If you happened to mention to others that the motor was lost, chances are someone has already recovered it. I've had experience in such matters and am currently dealing with one although it is not an outboard motor. Unfortunately, people we consider to be honest sometimes become opportunistic..

I was thinking the same thing. Those divers probably saw it and came back later and scooped it up. But I can't be sure. I don't really care if it runs or not. I still I want to find it if its out there. It's a Honda I think there is a chance it runs again.

 

[JASinIL2006]

If that motor could be found, retrieved and made to run for less than the cost of a new motor, I’d be amazed.

 

[Scott Danforth]

It's a Honda I think there is a chance it runs again.

I also think I am a french model and I will win the lottery...... neither of which will happen. be a realist. if the motor was submerged for a week or less, yes, you could get it running. being 3+ months, it will need a rebuild, new crank, new rods, new pistons, etc.

not to mention its in silt in 40+ feet of water, so the chances of finding it are slim.

regarding the 600 watt sounder with a 50khz transducer, your looking at about $500

 

[QBhoy]

Literally just the other day, I was in a marina chandlers looking at the new dragonfly chart plotter/fish finders. The guy told me a story about a guy who bought one...
The fellow went out to his usual fishing grounds and actually found an anchor he has lost at the start of the year...he wasn?t looking for it...just that it came up that clearly on the screen profile. Amazing if it?s true.

If you can find it quick enough..I wouldn?t rule out it running after some careful work. If it was sea water...it?s a gonner.

 

[porscheguy]

I was thinking the same thing. Those divers probably saw it and came back later and scooped it up. But I can't be sure. I don't really care if it runs or not. I still I want to find it if its out there. It's a Honda I think there is a chance it runs again.

This post takes this from hopeless optimism to outright delusion.

Lifting a 100lb outboard 40? off the bottom takes a lot more than a couple of divers in full scuba gear.

Do you really think a Honda has a better chance of starting than a yamaha or mercury?

If you don?t care if it runs, why go through the hassle and expense of recovering it? The only thing I can conclude is that you do think it can run and be salvaged. See my above comment on delusional.

Take all the money you want to flush down the toilet to recover this motor and go buy a new one. Look at a mercury. Their prices are actually within reason.

 

[fishrdan]

Lifting a 100lb outboard 40? off the bottom takes a lot more than a couple of divers in full scuba gear.

Easy peasy for a diver, tie a bag to the outboard, air-up the bag, then it's simple to move in the water.

I helped someone retrieve their 35HP outboard from 40' down, crystal clear water and we could see the OB, so it only took a couple minutes to hook onto it with an anchor. Bringing it up to the surface was easy, getting it into the boat, that was another story. We had to tie the OB off to both boats, putter over to a cove, beach the boats, then wrangle the thing into a boat. An hour later at the launch ramp it was fired up and running, then some runs to get it hot and evaporate the water. The OB was in the water for a month or 2.

Sunk in mud, that's a different story as mud is in every crack and crevice of the OB. Probably ruin the motor if it was fired up when removed from the water, Need to pickle the motor when it's pulled from the water, then tear it down.

 

[Grub54891]

My neighbor retrieved an old evinrude from the lake, been there 6 months in muck. Got it going, stuck it in the shed, 2 years later gave it to me. I ran it for a couple Seasons, gave it to someone else. It ran great! But was not running when it fell

 

[oldjeep]

This post takes this from hopeless optimism to outright delusion.

Lifting a 100lb outboard 40’ off the bottom takes a lot more than a couple of divers in full scuba gear.

All it takes is 50 feet of rope and a guy standing on the swim platform of a boat to hand the rope to. Not too tough to pull 100lbs from a standing position

 

[BRICH1260]

You might try trolling the area with a strong magnet. It might hit on enough non-ferrous metal to stick, perhaps the mounting bracket? Not sure what those are made of. Or perhaps a grappling hook drug across the bottom.

 

[Chinewalker]

I've received two motors that spent a winter on the bottom of the River over the years. Last one was a 1960s era Evinrude 18hp that had been down for 10 months. Took me about 3 hours to get it going again. I did a partial teardown to clean the crud out, flushed it several times with kerosene poured through the powerhead, then reassembled it. I pulled the flywheel to dry out the magneto and clean the points. Lower unit was fine as it was. I let it run on the boat, in gear, tied off to the dock for two hours to let it build up heat and dry out any residual dampness. Ran it off and on for several seasons before letting it go. Last I knew, it was still getting used for a couple weeks a summer...

 

[Davetowz]

Where are you located?

 

[Davetowz]

No Title

I recently recovered this boat with a 9.9 Honda 4 stroke. The motor was running within 2 days. 2d Sonar will look into the silt, Low freq and tight lanes. Then a competent diver experienced in dark water work can get on it and bring it up for you. That might not be cheap.

 

[ahicks]

Many times the damage doesn't start until the engine is removed from the water. Some, myself included, are of the opinion you should leave the engine submerged until you are ready to go to work on it. Oxygen is required for corrosion, and there's a lot less of that underwater than there is above it....

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that engine was running soon after it came up....

The bigger problem here is still finding it.