salvage operation

[vinnie1234]

Long story short, my 4hp Johnson is at the bottom of the lake in 30-50 feet of water. Water is very clear and there is a fair amount of sediment on the bottom, so before I write it off - get a new one and install a safety chain (this time).... I figured I would throw it out there and see who has been in my shoes before and successfully retrieved the goods.
I have a hummingbird 561 fishfinder I was thinking I could use to pick up the motor on the bottom. then perhaps a rope and a hook? Feel free to laugh at me. pretty stupid situation - but it is what it is...
thoughts? advice? ridicule? :facepalm:

 

[GA_Boater]

Hope you marked a way point or Man Overboard. Either you snag the motor or you don't. Can't hurt to try.

 

[alldodge]

Long story short, my 4hp Johnson is at the bottom of the lake in 30-50 feet of water. Water is very clear and there is a fair amount of sediment on the bottom, so before I write it off - get a new one and install a safety chain (this time).... I figured I would throw it out there and see who has been in my shoes before and successfully retrieved the goods.
I have a hummingbird 561 fishfinder I was thinking I could use to pick up the motor on the bottom. then perhaps a rope and a hook? Feel free to laugh at me. pretty stupid situation - but it is what it is...
thoughts? advice? ridicule? :facepalm:

Well if you were close to me I might be persuaded to put on scuba gear and have a look. Look in the local yellow pages for a dive shop in the area. Maybe for $50 to 100 someone would be willing to have a look. The fresh water lakes have a thermocline about 20 to 25 feet and it gets dark down there. So they may not find it, but may be worth a try.

 

[fishrdan]

If you can see it, you can probably snag it,,,,, (with some effort).

I helped someone retrieve their 35HP outboard in 40' of water. It only took about 10 minutes to snag it with an anchor I had on my boat. This was in a gin clear river and the toughest part was keeping the water's surface clear so we could see what was going on, 40' down.

If you get it out of the water, immediately take it to the launch ramp, get it running, then run it for 1/2 hour to clear the water out of it. The worst thing you can do is to retrieve it, then let it sit.......

 

[2 Eagles]

I helped a friend retrieve alot of gear and motor after a tip over, (that we wont get into). We used a magnet to help find things, before we retrieved with a rope and hook.