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Diver1111 · 08-13-2006, 06:47 PM

Hi All,
I have been out of the Forum loop intentionally while planning additional scans of the Island. As I don't know who else might be viewing this web site, and I need to choose what I write carefully, and when. Thanks Rattlesnake Gal for your offer of help-if, as and when I need it I will let you know. Very kind.

In a prior posting I mentioned trying to bring in heavy duty commercial-grade side-scan equipment (my side-scan is dynamite, but its out of its league here for technical reasons I won't bore you with). I did just that, with the best equipment available, connecting with a real expert in this field, and spent about 7 hours today on his boat scanning the east side based upon information I have gathered (for those who might be curious, the equipment was worth a fat five figures). Our scan field was 1,000 feet north and 1,000 feet south of the prime search point I identified. We have one "target-of-interest" we need to get back to. Problems today included heavy wind-at some points pushing 25 mph-white caps of course pretty much the whole day, and some swells that more than once had us surfing down the face of waves.

We used a towfish-based system (the thing we lower into the water that looks like a Sidewinder missile), so its not as vulnerable to "heave", the technical term for what happens when the fish is jerked by movement of the boat due to wave action. I learned alot, and was extremely impressed with this equipment, as well as the operator-the man I hired to do the work. All of the days scans will be given to me on DVD for my use (about 6GB of data).

I will return to continue the work one more time with this equipment, as we need to re-scan and triangulate some targets to fine-tune the position, and possibly expand the area a bit. Weather permitting we may use a drop camera to look around those targets. Most importantly I need to get flatter water-today was brutal but we actually did OK considering.

One thing I could use-if anyone knows anyone-is an ROV with a camera (Remotely Operated Vehicle). We would use this to go down and view targets. As I am out of my mind anyways, I was actually checking them out on the Net recently. As if I didn't spend enough on my own SSS. I saw a snappy little unit called a VideoRay on TV the other night, used on Lake Champlain by a charter outfit to show people shipwrecks-it was terrific. About $6,000 for their low-end model. If I have a good year I will buy one, but one thing at a time...maybe next year.

Lastly, I am in touch with the family personally-no need for anyone to call any of the Surettes for any reason.

Still in the game...

08-13-2006, 06:47 PM	#50
Diver1111 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Exeter NH Posts: 596 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,027 Times in 224 Posts	SSSUpdate Hi All, I have been out of the Forum loop intentionally while planning additional scans of the Island. As I don't know who else might be viewing this web site, and I need to choose what I write carefully, and when. Thanks Rattlesnake Gal for your offer of help-if, as and when I need it I will let you know. Very kind. In a prior posting I mentioned trying to bring in heavy duty commercial-grade side-scan equipment (my side-scan is dynamite, but its out of its league here for technical reasons I won't bore you with). I did just that, with the best equipment available, connecting with a real expert in this field, and spent about 7 hours today on his boat scanning the east side based upon information I have gathered (for those who might be curious, the equipment was worth a fat five figures). Our scan field was 1,000 feet north and 1,000 feet south of the prime search point I identified. We have one "target-of-interest" we need to get back to. Problems today included heavy wind-at some points pushing 25 mph-white caps of course pretty much the whole day, and some swells that more than once had us surfing down the face of waves. We used a towfish-based system (the thing we lower into the water that looks like a Sidewinder missile), so its not as vulnerable to "heave", the technical term for what happens when the fish is jerked by movement of the boat due to wave action. I learned alot, and was extremely impressed with this equipment, as well as the operator-the man I hired to do the work. All of the days scans will be given to me on DVD for my use (about 6GB of data). I will return to continue the work one more time with this equipment, as we need to re-scan and triangulate some targets to fine-tune the position, and possibly expand the area a bit. Weather permitting we may use a drop camera to look around those targets. Most importantly I need to get flatter water-today was brutal but we actually did OK considering. One thing I could use-if anyone knows anyone-is an ROV with a camera (Remotely Operated Vehicle). We would use this to go down and view targets. As I am out of my mind anyways, I was actually checking them out on the Net recently. As if I didn't spend enough on my own SSS. I saw a snappy little unit called a VideoRay on TV the other night, used on Lake Champlain by a charter outfit to show people shipwrecks-it was terrific. About $6,000 for their low-end model. If I have a good year I will buy one, but one thing at a time...maybe next year. Lastly, I am in touch with the family personally-no need for anyone to call any of the Surettes for any reason. Still in the game...