Ideas for Finding Sunken Motor

ICECOLDBEER

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Nov 23, 2017
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Long story short I lost a Honda 9.9 outboard off the back of my small fishing boat this summer. I still feel sick thinking about it. Do you guys have any ideas on ways to find it again? It's in about 40 feet of water, fresh water lake, about 100 feet straight out from the dock at my cottage. I have a pretty good idea of where it is. I had two scuba divers who live on the lake come out and dive for it but they only spent about 20-30mins looking for it. They said it was real dark at the bottom and they would need a very bright light which they didn't have. They also said the bottom of the lake was very muddy and they were up over their waists in mud. So it's most likely sunken down into the mud. I spent quite a bit of time trolling for it with a rope and nets but no luck. Looking for ideas. Is there some type of magnet that would work? Is there any type of fish finder/radar/sonar type thing that may work?
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Its gone, most likely 3' under the waist deep mud even if you did find it, months in the mud will have taken its toll.
 

alldodge

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about 40 feet of water
had two scuba divers who live on the lake come out and dive for it but they only spent about 20-30mins looking for it.

The thermocline is about 20 feet down and depending on the body of water it can get dark. If there was a chance in finding it would have been right after it happened. The bottom would have shown an indention. At 40 feet you can stay down longer but if the bottom is touched it stirs it up and gets worst.
 

Bayou Dave

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You could try a grappling hook. But you may be looking for the rest of your life. Any insurance on the boat that would cover the motor?
 

dingbat

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A decent sonar unit in the hands on an experienced user would find it no problem. The metal would light up like a xmas tree. Side or down scan would shorten the task considerably.
 

oldrem

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Lost my Dad's Evinrude about 55 years ago when I didn't tighten the clamps enough and forgot the safety chain. That was in only 18ft of water. My friend and I dove in immediately and couldn't find any trace. Scuba divers tried a couple days later with no success. In settled quickly into the silt at the bottom never to be found.
 

comstox

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Lost my Dad's Evinrude about 55 years ago when I didn't tighten the clamps enough and forgot the safety chain.

Who paid for your hospital bills? Oh, sorry... I was envisioning me if I had lost my Dad's motor! :laugh:
 

oldrem

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Who paid for your hospital bills? Oh, sorry... I was envisioning me if I had lost my Dad's motor! :laugh:

Needless to say, Dad was PO'd. I had to buy a replacement with money I earned working in the fields for the local canning company. I never left the safety chain off after that :)
 

porscheguy

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If that motor has been submerged for 2-3 months, it?s done. You?re not going to salvage much even if you find it.
 

Ned L

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Aluminum doesn’t attract magnets very well

Thank you. And it?s not a matter of ?”very well?”. Aluminum is completely non-magnetic. A magnet will not stick at all.

3ft in the mud,... I don?t know how well sound waves will pass through mud and bounce back, so I don?t know about a common fish finder picking it up.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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short of ground-penetrating radar, its gone
 

dingbat

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3ft in the mud,... I don?t know how well sound waves will pass through mud and bounce back, so I don?t know about a common fish finder picking it up.
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.
 

Ned L

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Ahh,...... thank you,...... learn something new every day.
 

Lowlysubaruguy

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Here lies an opportunity. My brother in law gave me one piece of good advice. What ever project you take on make sure it requires you to buy a new tool. So youll need a high end fish finder to help look for this. Scuba classes and dive gear.

At 40 feet twin tanks bottom time for a diver with breathing skills can hang for almost two hours. You?ll also need a stellar flashlight and maybe a water proof metal detector. If you do find it youll then need a winch as well.

All in all a great opportunity you have for sure. Option two hit up the closest dive club and see if you can inspire them to do a weekend dive to find your OB. Maybe there board enough to want to dive a dark muddy freshwater dive. You get ten divers in one spot they might have some luck. Id probably go just because I like being in the water.
 

jimmbo

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Sounds like a new motor would be cheaper. Once it is recovered, that is if it is recovered, there still the expense of a tear down, inspection, and rebuild.
 

Sprig

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May 2, 2016
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That motor after being submerged in water and buried in silt for a couple months is toast. You are never going to find it and if you did it?s still toast. Time to move on and learn from the incident. Get a new motor and go fishing.
 

garbageguy

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..its more silt than mud...

Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz
Mud is a mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay

sorry, it's the geologist in me, and no boating these days
 
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