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

fergal.b · 15-10-2018 12:22pm

bilbot79 wrote: »

Beautiful boat. Can I ask, what kind of a sander and what kind of epoxy is best for a wooden boat?

Random orbital sander gives the best finish, and I used West systems epoxy it's not cheep but it's easy to work with and there are lots of videos online to help you out.

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bilbot79 · 15-10-2018 12:24pm

fergal.b wrote: »

Random orbital sander gives the best finish, and I used West systems epoxy it's not cheep but it's easy to work with and there are lots of videos online to help you out.

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Thanks! It looks superb

Bigus · 15-10-2018 11:36pm

fergal.b wrote: »

Random orbital sander gives the best finish, and I used West systems epoxy it's not cheep but it's easy to work with and there are lots of videos online to help you out.

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If it comes up looking good after a year under water, west epoxy will have one hell of an advertising platform.:D

SCOL · 16-10-2018 9:53am

At this stage you could probably sell tickets for the lifting of the boat.

Hope we all get to see it soon.

fergal.b · 06-11-2018 6:12pm

Last weekend was probably my last chance to get out there was only 3 foot 2 inches of water going through the markers at Coosan point :eek: and thats taken from the skimmer transducer on the surface not the one on my keel.

Also my jetty is on the bottom and I'm not too far away form it.

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The levels are looking to keep on dropping

on the up side I may be able to see the boat when all the water is gone

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AdrianLM · 06-11-2018 6:22pm

Hi Fergal,

Judging by the amount of rain we've had up this way today and yesterday (and it looks like it's set to continue) the water levels will probably start rising again.

fergal.b · 06-11-2018 6:32pm

AdrianLM wrote: »

Hi Fergal,

Judging by the amount of rain we've had up this way today and yesterday (and it looks like it's set to continue) the water levels will probably start rising again.

I believe it's the ESB that are controlling the levels and they still have all the sluice gates open in Athlone so even with a month of rain I don't think it will make any difference

It's probably more to do with flood protection and that's fair enough but I have never seen the water this low I think they are also draining Lough Allen.

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AdrianLM · 07-11-2018 11:48am

Ahh Gotcha, I assumed it was a symptom of the dry spell during the summer.

Understandable then as the ESB got a lot of flack a few years ago when they hadn't done this before the winter when Athlone last got flooded. Still a gamble though as we can end up getting very dry winters every few years.

I was wondering, Is there a current through Lough Ree from North to South as it's effectively a wide section of the Shannon?

fergal.b · 02-12-2018 9:06pm

So for my black Friday Christmas present I got one of these

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A quick check of the prop, I think I need a bit more training

What it should look like.

FanadMan · 02-12-2018 9:19pm

That's going to be fun to use.....and really useful for the search

wheelo01 · 02-12-2018 9:20pm

Best of luck with that one mate, that looks like quite the toy.

josip · 03-12-2018 1:38am

Are you getting a fake shark fin for Christmas?

fergal.b · 02-01-2019 5:05pm

First image of 2019 taken on New Years day, has the look of her and possibly the two trim tabs I will send the drone down to have a look next time I'm out.

knucklehead6 · 03-01-2019 12:30pm

This should give you some hope Fergal

Teen’s abandoned round-the-world boat found after eight years
via The Irish Times
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/teen-s-abandoned-round-the-world-boat-found-after-eight-years-1.3746689

AndyBoBandy · 28-02-2019 11:26am

How are we doing Fergal? have you been back down there yet with the drone?

That last image looks quite positive!!

sailordog13 · 04-03-2019 10:09pm

I can't hold my breath any longer !
Any update?

fergal.b · 07-03-2019 10:57am

Sorry all been stuck in Beaumont ICU for the past few weeks with the young lad and will be here for a few more yet so life is on hold for the moment, somethings I can't fix with WD40 and Duct tape.:(

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quietsailor · 07-03-2019 11:02am

fergal.b wrote: »

Sorry all been stuck in Beaumont ICU for the past few weeks with the young lad and will be here for a few more yet so life is on hold for the moment, somethings I can't fix with WD40 and Duct tape.:(
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I won't like that post because it feels wrong to do so, but I hope the young fella gets better soon.

And the best of luck finding the boat as well.

HeidiHeidi · 07-03-2019 11:04am

quietsailor wrote: »

I won't like that post because it feels wrong to do so, but I hope the young fella gets better soon.

And the best of luck finding the boat as well.

I thanked it and it feels all wrong!

Best wishes to you all, Fergal, hope you're out the other side of it all soon.

New Home · 07-03-2019 11:14am

Best wishes for your son, Fergal. ICU is a circle of hell for both patients and their families.

Tabnabs · 07-03-2019 11:19am

All the best of luck with your son Fergal, hope he makes a strong and speedy recovery.

embraer170 · 07-03-2019 11:19am

Best wishes, Fergal. I hope he gets better soon.

AndyBoBandy · 07-03-2019 12:00pm

Best Wishes Fergal, hope all is well soon.

fergal.b · 16-04-2019 11:52am

Another cruiser found by Pat McManus off Quaker island, I think it's a powles 33 Carrick craft. In the video you can see just how dark it gets in only a few feet of water.

quietsailor · 17-04-2019 11:09am

Do ye plan to raise this one or are you just testing out your gear?

fergal.b · 17-04-2019 1:35pm

quietsailor wrote: »

Do ye plan to raise this one or are you just testing out your gear?

It's been down for 30 years so it will be staying there, it was just a test dive for the Athlone sub aqua team.

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fergal.b · 26-04-2019 9:00am

A bit more running around over the Easter and found another boat but this one seems to have something looking over it :eek: I didn't get to send the drone down on any of them as my back is not great and I don't think it would handle 30 = 50 foot of anchor and chain

might have to look at getting a powered windless or find a fit young person to bring with me each trip

Steve · 26-04-2019 10:12pm

:eek:

New Home · 26-04-2019 11:20pm

Yep. That's not spooky. No siree bob. Not one bit.

fergal.b · 03-06-2019 3:25pm

A bit wild over the weekend to use the ROV but I did pick up what looks a yacht just off the hexagon shoal.

fergal.b · 11-06-2019 12:29pm

Weather was not great at the weekend so I stayed on the inner lakes and found another old yacht just off Temple island, back in the 1800's Lough Ree yacht club was divided into two political groups and one of them setup their clubhouse on the island where there are still some remains.

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Thargor · 11-06-2019 8:03pm

How did that underwater drone work out in the end?

fergal.b · 11-06-2019 8:16pm

I haven't used it yet that is why I put in the windlass in my other post so I can just drop anchor at each wreck, I also need calm water and we haven't had much of that so far this year, hopefully summer will be along soon.

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fergal.b · 17-06-2019 8:47pm

Another one for the list. I'll go over again next time I'm out.

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And just a little video of what a boat looks like on the 3D sonar.

The One Doctor · 19-06-2019 8:59pm

Surely you've spent all the insurance money just looking for the wreck by now?

fergal.b · 19-06-2019 10:22pm

The One Doctor wrote: »

Surely you've spent all the insurance money just looking for the wreck by now?

I also spent more time and money building her than she was worth

it's more about the story than the money, sure I could have built another one but I had already done that challenge now I have a different challenge finding her and rebuilding her I thought I would have done it by now but I'm not writing the story she is

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20-06-2019 11:49am

Think of the skills you've acquired along the way too OP.
Why don't you do some filming with your water drone on above the waterline - like I've done, my first Youi video ever was filmed on my radio controlled rnli lifeboat on the lower lake in Sean Walsh park

The One Doctor · 30-08-2019 7:38pm

fergal.b wrote: »

I also spent more time and money building her than she was worth it's more about the story than the money, sure I could have built another one but I had already done that challenge now I have a different challenge finding her and rebuilding her I thought I would have done it by now but I'm not writing the story she is

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Apologies, you're right of course.

gutteruu · 31-08-2019 9:09pm

All these wrecks are really putting me off the idea of getting a boat

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Joking aside, would your boat still be in decent shape giving its been submerged? Assuming no big damage done.

fergal.b · 01-09-2019 6:59pm

gutteruu wrote: »

All these wrecks are really putting me off the idea of getting a boat .

Joking aside, would your boat still be in decent shape giving its been submerged? Assuming no big damage done.

Your guess is as good as mine

The hardwood and all the metal fittings should be ok but the marine plywood might not stand up to being under water for so long, depending on how deep she is down the engine could be full of mussels but other than that should be an easy enough fix. :pac:

It's not been a great summer almost every weekend I get down the wind seems to be blowing too hard to get any searching done

We did get out to spread Kyle's ashes maybe he will point me in the right direction next time I'm out.

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Odelay · 01-09-2019 7:12pm

The sunflowers are a lovely touch.

10-01-2020 11:56am

Its been a while,
Have you given up or are you gearing up for the summer?

fergal.b · 10-01-2020 12:26pm

Still looking been out twice so far this year

, this is a map of the area I covered last year the tracks are uploaded here as I go you can use this link to zoom in. https://www.genesismaps.com/SocialMap?fbclid=IwAR2c78bWhr2fXTY20C2k_orEHY-VDWz6rAK2prx_eoy0GKMCWPzhiCw_4sU when I get a bit more Tech savvy I will also be able to make a sonar mosaic of the lake showing all the boats found.

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10-01-2020 12:58pm

Fair play,
I wish you the best of luck.
Keep us posted if you have time !!!

Muahahaha · 14-02-2020 5:46pm

Fergal I admire your persistence and hope it pays off. I hate to be the one to ask this but its been on my mind- is there any possibility that someone got to your boat soon after it sunk then raised it to the surface and effectively stole it? In the area where it went down would someone have had the opportunity to do that without being seen?

Other than that you've checked a very large area of the lake, Im wondering how far a boat of that size could move with undercurrents? Like can they gain momentum in stormy weather and move say 100m in the space of a couple of days? Or is it a slower process where it just does a single flip every now and again?

Thargor · 14-02-2020 7:11pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Fergal I admire your persistence and hope it pays off. I hate to be the one to ask this but its been on my mind- is there any possibility that someone got to your boat soon after it sunk then raised it to the surface and effectively stole it? In the area where it went down would someone have had the opportunity to do that without being seen?

Other than that you've checked a very large area of the lake, Im wondering how far a boat of that size could move with undercurrents? Like can they gain momentum in stormy weather and move say 100m in the space of a couple of days? Or is it a slower process where it just does a single flip every now and again?

I think he said before there might be inflated lifejackets or some kind of bladder in there that would have let it go wandering with the currents.

fergal.b · 15-02-2020 12:30am

Muahahaha wrote: »

Fergal I admire your persistence and hope it pays off. I hate to be the one to ask this but its been on my mind- is there any possibility that someone got to your boat soon after it sunk then raised it to the surface and effectively stole it? In the area where it went down would someone have had the opportunity to do that without being seen?

Other than that you've checked a very large area of the lake, Im wondering how far a boat of that size could move with undercurrents? Like can they gain momentum in stormy weather and move say 100m in the space of a couple of days? Or is it a slower process where it just does a single flip every now and again?

I feel if someone had lifted her I would know about it I have eyes everywhere :cool: also she is not worth a lot of money to anyone else it's not like she is a Chris craft or a Riva the cost of raising and rebuilding her would not be worth it to anyone else.

As to what happens on the bottom of the lake I have no idea I have been on it for a few years now and still don't trust what the water is like on top, on the day she sank I hit some waves that were out of sync with the others possibly a wake moving up the lake and getting bigger with the conditions its something I have seen since but its not as big a problem in a larger boat as I can ride them where in the fifteen foot I was up on one and smack down on the next, I'm sure some of you have felt this in a boat before it's hard last time it happened to me I landed my back on a railing and got winded thought I was done for as I tried to catch my last breath :eek: When I do find her I wouldn't be surprised if the motor stringer went through the bottom of the boat as I hit it so hard and she went down so quick. Time will tell hopefully

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FintanMcluskey · 17-04-2020 9:37pm

Fergal this thread is an outstanding read during times of limited entertainment.
You're patience is limitless.
Hope your find your vessel.
And keep posting about it!!

check_six · 17-04-2020 10:23pm

FintanMcluskey wrote: »

Fergal this thread is an outstanding read during times of limited entertainment.
You're patience is limitless.
Hope your find your vessel.
And keep posting about it!!

Yep, it's an amazing thread, and one day, one day *shakes fist at sky*, we (and Fergal!) are going to get one hell of a pay off!

The safe in the garage thread kinda fizzled out a bit at the very end, but this one is going to be a longform masterwork of a thread.

One day...
One day....!

FintanMcluskey · 17-04-2020 10:46pm

check_six wrote: »

Yep, it's an amazing thread, and one day, one day *shakes fist at sky*, we (and Fergal!) are going to get one hell of a pay off!

The safe in the garage thread kinda fizzled out a bit at the very end, but this one is going to be a longform masterwork of a thread.

One day...
One day....!

It reads like a thriller. This thread could be a film.
Guy spends years building a boat from ideas and drawings. Powers and sails it!
Then in a plot twist it sinks out of the blue and so begins a search!
BTW I struggle assembling Ikea bedside lockers so I appriciate how talented this guy is

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

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