Classic wooden speedboat build , sink, search for, recovery and rebuild.

fergal.b · 07-07-2016 5:11pm

VisionaryP wrote: »

Very sad to read this, Fergal. Is there anything we can do to help? I dunno, maybe if there was some specialist gear you needed to hire I'd be happy to donate a few quid to the cause (and maybe a few others here would too?).

Thanks for the offer

the new boat will be fitted out with all the gear to keep up the hunt for her.

.

fergal.b · 23-12-2016 2:59pm

Another boat found by Pat McManus that the Athlone sub Aqua club are going to dive on, it's 5 miles from where I thought I went down but you never know it would make a nice xmas present

It certainly looks like her.

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HeidiHeidi · 23-12-2016 3:00pm

Wow, fingers and toes crossed!!!

fergal.b wrote: »

Another boat found by Pat McManus that the Athlone sub Aqua club are going to dive on, it's 5 miles from where I thought I went down but you never know it would make a nice xmas present It certainly looks like her.

23-12-2016 3:12pm

Wow! It really would be a Christmas miracle!!

wheelo01 · 23-12-2016 3:51pm

Best of luck Fergal, hopefully it is it and the lake has been kind to it.
Keep us informed, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Odyssey 2005 · 23-12-2016 5:28pm

I'll say a prayer to St.Nicholas:). Fingers crossed.!

Thargor · 23-12-2016 6:49pm

Any estimate on when they'll dive?

fergal.b · 23-12-2016 7:16pm

I'd say it will be sometime in the in the new year before they get out again they have a few boats to dive on and some they have already done.

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Thargor wrote: »

Any estimate on when they'll dive?

Conchir · 23-12-2016 8:11pm

I know this is all off one very blurry picture and it may not even be her... but she looks upright at least!

demanufactured · 30-04-2017 12:57pm

Any new developments?

fergal.b · 30-04-2017 1:07pm

No nothing yet I will be launching the new boat on the 20th and will spend most of my time looking for her. The blue marks are the boats that have been found so far.

HeidiHeidi · 30-04-2017 1:12pm

Awww jeez poster, my heart leaps every time this thread gets bumped for a new post.... dont be giving me false hope like that!!!

Nice to get the update all the same, even if it's not good news

You'll have a great sense of purpose with that new boat of yours Fergal - best of luck with the launch and continuing hunt!

fergal.b · 28-05-2017 4:56pm

Latest wreck dive at Quakers Island turned out to be a Carrick craft that had gone missing 25 years ago. Video thanks to Pat McManus blog, worth following if you are interested in this type of stuff. http://reelaxfishing.blogspot.ie

Odelay · 28-05-2017 5:12pm

fergal.b wrote: »

Latest wreck dive at Quakers Island turned out to be a Carrick craft that had gone missing 25 years ago. Video thanks to Pat McManus blog, worth following if you are interested in this type of stuff. http://reelaxfishing.blogspot.ie

How did the CC go missing? What was the reving at the end of the video? Signal to come up? Why was his time up or was something coming? This diving is new to me.

HeidiHeidi · 28-05-2017 5:17pm

That video gave me the creeps just watching :eek:

fergal.b · 28-05-2017 5:24pm

Odelay wrote: »

How did the CC go missing? What was the reving at the end of the video? Signal to come up? Why was his time up or was something coming? This diving is new to me.

Not sure what happened the boat probably ran aground as it's only 4.6mtrs deep. Yep 3 revs of the engine is the signal to surface.

.

28-05-2017 10:04pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

That video gave me the creeps just watching :eek:

Me too!!!
I was waiting for a big prehistoric eel like creature to suddenly appear. Id shît myself diving I reckon!!

Tow · 30-06-2017 9:48am

I came across this salvage operation and the first thing crossing my mind was you board Fergal.

https://youtu.be/DXKQ-NQBCaI?t=4s

fergal.b · 01-07-2017 9:25am

Tow wrote: »

I came across this salvage operation and the first thing crossing my mind was you board Fergal.

https://youtu.be/DXKQ-NQBCaI?t=4s

I think I watched that video the day after my boat sank as I was researching different ways of salvaging a boat thinking I would find her in the next week or two.:(

.

Kerryman79 · 14-07-2017 12:52am

Hi Fergal if you do find her which i sincerely hope would you not consider using an old rib or dinghy to bring her to the surface ? After this long she may have to be dug out and inflating one of them below would provide enough lift ?

fergal.b · 14-07-2017 11:16am

Kerryman79 wrote: »

Hi Fergal if you do find her which i sincerely hope would you not consider using an old rib or dinghy to bring her to the surface ? After this long she may have to be dug out and inflating one of them below would provide enough lift ?

Not sure a rib or dinghy would stand up to the pressure of being blown up under water also the air needs an easy escape as it rises with a rib it could fold and trap the air, it might work just to have a rib as a raft with a hole in the middle and a winch on timbers across it.

.

fergal.b · 25-08-2017 8:14am

Another boat found by my friend Giles it's the right size and shape but a lot further down the lake than I would have thought but still worth asking the divers to have a look I'll also have a look over the weekend and see if I can get a better image.

The red line A is the line I used going down the lake using the mast in Athlone as guide.

25-08-2017 11:34am

Here's hoping Fergal.

This has the makings of the continuation of an epic thread.

There could be movie rights yet!!!

fergal.b · 29-08-2017 7:52am

Not her

on to the next one, it's not a bad way to spend your days

.

HeidiHeidi · 29-08-2017 8:24am

fergal.b wrote: »

Not her on to the next one, it's not a bad way to spend your days

.

Boo! :mad:

fergal.b · 25-12-2017 8:34pm

Santa was good to me

Going to up the game in the new year with this HDS carbon and a 3d structure scan module. At the speed technology is moving the boat won't be able to hide for much longer.

embraer170 · 25-12-2017 8:37pm

I'm still following this thread. Fingers crossed for 2018.

Nekarsulm · 25-12-2017 8:42pm

I don't know Fergal, never met him or anything, but whenever this thread gets an update, my heart leaps with hope that a v8 cigarette boat has been found ......

Hifive · 25-12-2017 9:47pm

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I don't know Fergal, never met him or anything, but whenever this thread gets an update, my heart leaps with hope that a v8 cigarette boat has been found ......

Me too! But doubt is beginning to creep in. �� After all this time, will it be saveable? I know it's fresh water and all but it's been down a long time.

Fergal, when you do find it, and I really hope you do, my offer of parts to help with the rebuild still stands. I have a good few spares for the 5.7 in the shed after my engine swop, (cracked block) to which you are welcome. I still have a starter, alternator, ignition system, coil, leads etc. Even have a couple of pistons, rods, oil pump, etc. I also have a good few drive (alpha 1 g2) parts too which you can have, although, I've used all the consumables.

I really, really hope you find it.
Mark

fergal.b · 25-12-2017 10:18pm

Hifive wrote: »

Me too! But doubt is beginning to creep in. �� After all this time, will it be saveable? I know it's fresh water and all but it's been down a long time.

Fergal, when you do find it, and I really hope you do, my offer of parts to help with the rebuild still stands. I have a good few spares for the 5.7 in the shed after my engine swop, (cracked block) to which you are welcome. I still have a starter, alternator, ignition system, coil, leads etc. Even have a couple of pistons, rods, oil pump, etc. I also have a good few drive (alpha 1 g2) parts too which you can have, although, I've used all the consumables.

I really, really hope you find it.
Mark

Thanks Mark I might take you up on that when the time comes

The first thing I need to do when she is found is get the engine running hopefully on the same day she is lifted out of the water so being able to swap parts instead of trying to dry them out will help. Cheers

sogood · 27-12-2017 1:48am

That's an interesting looking piece of kit fergal. I hope it pays dividends. Still looking forward to a happy outcome, like everyone else. Happy hunting and a happy new year to you and yours.

mufflets2 · 16-01-2018 1:02am

Amazing piece of scanning equipment there, Fergal
I look forward to a happy ending in 2018

fergal.b · 02-05-2018 9:14am

Two more boats found by Pat McManus that warranted sending the divers down to have a look but unfortunately not mine

one was a lake boat and the other an aluminium one, the count is up to 19 now :eek:

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I just finished installing my new sonar and did the first test recording last week, quite happy with the image and the map tracking.

fergal.b · 06-05-2018 7:32pm

I found this one on Saturday looks promising

Conchir · 06-05-2018 7:34pm

Fingers crossed! What's the next step?

fergal.b · 06-05-2018 7:38pm

Conchir wrote: »

Fingers crossed! What's the next step?

Hope to get the divers from the Athlone sub Aqua club to dive on it next week.

.

iano.p · 06-05-2018 7:45pm

Fingers crossed fergal. Looks to be a close match hopefully it's yours

Thargor · 06-05-2018 9:27pm

Out of all the sonar images posted in this thread that looks the best in my completely amateur opinion, its nice and compact looking.

BowWow · 06-05-2018 9:57pm

How far from where it went down?

fergal.b · 06-05-2018 10:07pm

BowWow wrote: »

How far from where it went down?

That could be where she went down , I thought I had most of that area covered but I must have missed a spot

BowWow · 06-05-2018 10:10pm

fergal.b wrote: »

That could be where she went down , I thought I had most of that area covered but I must have missed a spot

Sounds even more hopeful so. Best of luck.

boombang · 07-05-2018 12:34am

An astonishing thread. My heart goes out to you Fergal. I read the build with such admiration. It's clear that many others enjoyed watching your progress greatly. When I say you lost her I couldn't believe it. I hope you find her soon.

fergal.b · 07-05-2018 12:59am

Going through the sonar recording from today I am getting excited.

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fergal.b · 07-05-2018 11:49am

Looking at the photos now with fresh eyes it looks like it might have a bow rail

although I did have a rope tied to the bow handle I'm not sure it would look like that, we shall have to wait and see.

.

josip · 07-05-2018 1:26pm

Do you have to wait for the sub aqua?
The depth is just over 6m.
How about a weighted GoPro on a string?
Or a Wavin Pipe, Cling film and a torch ?

Nekarsulm · 07-05-2018 1:31pm

josip wrote: »

Do you have to wait for the sub aqua?
The depth is just over 6m.
How about a weighted GoPro on a string?
Or a Wavin Pipe, Cling film and a torch ?

Or a deep breath, and a cavity block?

fergal.b · 07-05-2018 2:32pm

If I had the time I might have jumped in and had a look or at least dropped the underwater camera

When your out on the water the image is like this only on a 7" screen so it's hard to see what your looking at it's only when I get home and blow the up on the computer that I can see what I'm looking at.

sogood · 08-05-2018 3:54pm

Keeping the fingers crossed for you fergal. Hope you finally have a good result.

Ferris · 08-05-2018 4:11pm

fergal.b wrote: »

Looking at the photos now with fresh eyes it looks like it might have a bow rail although I did have a rope tied to the bow handle I'm not sure it would look like that, we shall have to wait and see.
.

Hope I am wrong but it looks like a small yacht to me, j24 maybe which are sailed on Ree.