weasel in the deep

[STAURHEIM]

I got it from the former driver/owner,paid him 2 dollars and now i own a weasel safely at 32 meters deep.It was a clean working machine when breaking through the ice one winter 15 years ago.in a far away small lake....perhaps deep in mud
.
So now i ask you all for advice, where to tie the cables /chains prior to lifting it up...whats the estimated weight , anyone with experiences lifting in water ?we need lifting baloons ,boats ,diving equipment, air compressor etc etc,
it is far from dry land..


hmmmmm.....



and when ashore....how to take care of it before it rusts solid in one piece, soak it in diesel?

well i need a bit of planning

 

[patracy]

Wow, underwater for 15 years in 32 meters of water? You've got your work cut out for you. It will be interesting to watch the progress. But IMO, you're going to look at a total rebuild IF the hull is still in good shape.

 

[Flyingvan911]

Wow. That is an ambitious project. Good luck.

 

[STAURHEIM]

Maybe its no rush . 15 years 16, 17,........my family situation (wife and 3 kids 13,11,6)tells me its not quite the right time yet.

 

[STAURHEIM]

i must point out that the former owner will most likely be participating in any of future recoveries....

 

[Wildchild467]

well there was a tank that was burried in the mud since WWII that was recovered not too long ago too.... i heard they got it running.... so who knows. then up here in NY, there was a '72 cougar found on the bottom of a small lake that was reported stolen around 1976... not much left of that car.... it still had an 8-track tape in the radio and the ignition switch was still in the "on" position. i guess the guy couldnt make his payments so he drive it in the lake and got the insurance money for it.

so who knows what you'll get... hope everything goes well with the recovery! how cold is the water up there??

 

[timntrucks]

wow we will need full documented pics to go along with this one. i dont have a clue as to were to start but im ready to watch. i have heard back from the tank that was pulled out the mud after 50 plus years and it didnt look to bad at all. when was the last time anyone has seen it or like put hand to it underwater. is he sure he knows where its at.. with in reason so to speak.. i would love to see some under water pics too. with i we closer i would lend a hand.. sounds like a great adventure

 

[atankersdad]

Man I wish you were closer. Weasels are lighter than they look but you need to think about 15+ years of silt which may be its savior but will add more weight to lift. You will have to get to the tracks to run cables throuh the tracks and around the body. We lifted a truck out of 40 feet of water, in a quarry, using 5 lift bags and once off the bottom we were able to swim/pull it into shallow water. Then used a backhoe to pull it out. Here is a picture of one we recovered after being parked, deep in the woods 35+ years ago. Much easier that 30 meter below the surface.

 

[atankersdad]

One more thing, at 100 feet you are pressing the limit on sport diving and will have very limited down time.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I don't know that it's a good idea to run the retreival cables through the tracks, it might put too much strain on them with the silt, and water weighing down the vehicle. I just picked up a pair of Weasel tracks a few weeks ago and they are not as stout as one would think. Hopefully there are some lifting eyes on Her somewhere. This recovery project requires a lot of text and photos, and it sounds like fun.

 

[Sephirothq]

like 5 minutes at a time to avoid decompression.

 

[spicergear]

After you find it...you'll need a barge with lifting derrick or large crane. Expect it to get heavier as soon as it breaks the surface of the water. There have been people using large heavy duty bags full of diesel fuel to float things. Of course that's been about 10 years, I think, since I saw that so that much diesel would be better spent to get the barge out.

 

[srodocker]

thats crazy im defiantly wanting to watch this thread

 

[quickfarms]

You need to locate and survey it first before you worry about the lifting method.

The water temp will have a big impact on your dive time.

To bad it is not in 90 feet of water than your bottom time would be 30 minutes.

 

[jamesfrom180]

I think staging it at least once would be the best bet.

Lift to free from mud. Then land it in the water at a depth you can seriously work on cleaning debris and mud out. Look up air lift suction dredges they will be your friends. That and make sure, REAL DA*( sure you will be comfortable in silt out and black out conditions.

This looks like one heck of an adventure. I would be really curious about the condition before even starting.

 

[doghead]

Is an ice/wintertime recovery an option? Might be easiest.

 

[shotgun3030]

100 feet down and real possibility of black water. Not a job for amateurs, Real easy to get disoriented and right at the limits for scuba. Can get a little more time per dive with nitrox, but would build in some decompression stops at 30 and 10 with enough air. Water temp will have a lot to do with ease of recovery. Too cold and you will need dry suits.

 

[R Racing]

I'm wondering if you could use compressed air and pump it into the cab to force the water out so it would weigh less when lifting it out ??

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

Subscribed and munching popcorn.... the suspense is awesome.......

 

[mkcoen]

A dive shop owner in Coeur d'Alene, ID lifted a '32 Ford Coupe off the lake bottom back in the early '80s. He floated it to just below the surface then used his boat to tow it back to the boat ramp and pulled it out there. If I recall correctly it still had air in 3 of the tires. It was in about 75' of water when he found it. It had been in the lake for over 30 years (wasn't new when it broke through the ice) but still had oil and NO water in the crankcase. It took less than a week to get the engine running. It's amazing what cold (fresh) water will do to preserve mechanicals.