slimdigger
Well-Known Member
Wayne , Did you purchase the mask lights or rig them yourself. Hands free lighting would help me out alot.
Cold water
- Thread starter mrbottles
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It is a river, Wayne. I was just foolin' around, is all. It's the mighty Sacramento, a bloody artifact heaven. Everything from Mammoth parts to Budweiser bottles. The bottom used to be full of slickens from the hydraulic mining that took place until the early 1880s. That has finally been swept to sea, leaving a mostly clay bottom to find the artifacts restin' on.
I have used the hood mounted lights, but mostly carry a rechargeable Princeton. When the light dies, it's a weird feeling. LOL Never thought about commo under water. That's a heck of a good idea. I gotta look into that, for sure. Yeah, plantin' 'yer face on the bottom is a must.
I collect Indian artifacts as much as bottles, so the only way to get them is to dive. CA is so freaky about lookin' at Native American stuff that we are afraid to walk around searchin' for points these days. Nobody can see 'yer butt under water, so what you find is yours to keep.
Stay safe, Wayne, and great huntin' to y'all.
Mike
I have used the hood mounted lights, but mostly carry a rechargeable Princeton. When the light dies, it's a weird feeling. LOL Never thought about commo under water. That's a heck of a good idea. I gotta look into that, for sure. Yeah, plantin' 'yer face on the bottom is a must.
I collect Indian artifacts as much as bottles, so the only way to get them is to dive. CA is so freaky about lookin' at Native American stuff that we are afraid to walk around searchin' for points these days. Nobody can see 'yer butt under water, so what you find is yours to keep.
Stay safe, Wayne, and great huntin' to y'all.
Mike
southern Maine diver
Well-Known Member
HeyMike...
That's one of the best things about diving for bottles and artifacts. My goody bag is kinda like Los Vegas, but with a little twist, "What goes in there... stays there." and you better be bigger and badder if you want to take it away from me.
My NiteRider lights last a long time. The last time we dove in Conn, I did twenty tanks!! eight of which were my steel 3500's and the batteries in the light lasted the whole trip. The comm units are pricey, But I have to have them for my work, so I get to write them off as well.
I just saw an EXO-26BR complete with OTS wireless comms go for a little over a thousand... That's a bargain cause the mask usually goes for nearly that much and the com system can go for between $1200 and $1500 bucks depending on what options you get with it. I also saw the same twin beam (high and low beam) headlight set go off on E-bay for about $170.00 bucks! That too is a bargain cause they retail in the $500 dollar range.
Believe me though (you too Steven) I didn't just go out and buy this stuff to play around with... I'm not into buying all the new and fancy gadgets to look cool. I use this stuff to make a living, I just happen to have a bottle obsession, so I use my gear to feed that habit as well... kinda neat in a way.
Well, sorry to be so long winded, stay safe and keep warm,[&:]
Wayne
That's one of the best things about diving for bottles and artifacts. My goody bag is kinda like Los Vegas, but with a little twist, "What goes in there... stays there." and you better be bigger and badder if you want to take it away from me.
My NiteRider lights last a long time. The last time we dove in Conn, I did twenty tanks!! eight of which were my steel 3500's and the batteries in the light lasted the whole trip. The comm units are pricey, But I have to have them for my work, so I get to write them off as well.
I just saw an EXO-26BR complete with OTS wireless comms go for a little over a thousand... That's a bargain cause the mask usually goes for nearly that much and the com system can go for between $1200 and $1500 bucks depending on what options you get with it. I also saw the same twin beam (high and low beam) headlight set go off on E-bay for about $170.00 bucks! That too is a bargain cause they retail in the $500 dollar range.
Believe me though (you too Steven) I didn't just go out and buy this stuff to play around with... I'm not into buying all the new and fancy gadgets to look cool. I use this stuff to make a living, I just happen to have a bottle obsession, so I use my gear to feed that habit as well... kinda neat in a way.
Well, sorry to be so long winded, stay safe and keep warm,[&:]
Wayne
southern Maine diver
Well-Known Member
Hey Slim, how's everything goin down your way?
The NiteRider lights were a purchase and you can find them on the internet. I get mine through a commercial dealer, so we get a bit of a discount on them. They come with a neoprene and velcro adjustable head strap that you can use with reguler diving gear. The sell optional light clamps and adapters for different style commercial diving masks and you can wear the battery pack on your weightbelt, backpack or dive harness. It works out real well for me. I keep two around all the time just in case one blows out, then I can go to my back-up that I keep on the boat.
One thing I've seen some other guys do is get an old helmet, football, motorcycle, bike helmet and attach two small battery powered dive lights to them, one on each side, kinda like most firefighters use. They're small, lightweight, waterproof and they put out a lot of light. Just keep plenty of spare batteries around, cause when they get dim, they go out fast. You might look a little strange underwater with a football helmet and two lights on it, but the fish don't care...[
]
Take care,
Wayne[]
The NiteRider lights were a purchase and you can find them on the internet. I get mine through a commercial dealer, so we get a bit of a discount on them. They come with a neoprene and velcro adjustable head strap that you can use with reguler diving gear. The sell optional light clamps and adapters for different style commercial diving masks and you can wear the battery pack on your weightbelt, backpack or dive harness. It works out real well for me. I keep two around all the time just in case one blows out, then I can go to my back-up that I keep on the boat.
One thing I've seen some other guys do is get an old helmet, football, motorcycle, bike helmet and attach two small battery powered dive lights to them, one on each side, kinda like most firefighters use. They're small, lightweight, waterproof and they put out a lot of light. Just keep plenty of spare batteries around, cause when they get dim, they go out fast. You might look a little strange underwater with a football helmet and two lights on it, but the fish don't care...[
]Take care,
Wayne[
]mrbottles
Well-Known Member
Hi Mike,
Most of our river ways are not so deep around here. We dived off of Jones island a local sewage district water treatment plant at the base of the Milwaukee and that was about forty five feet deep. One of the creepiest/weird dives ever. A really nice customer knowing I collect bottles brought in a dark cobalt 1870's extremely rare soda bottle from Milwaukee to my work. He gave it to me and wouldn't take a cent. He also told me when they were digging pilings for the bridge a lot of buckets full of bottle laden soil got dumped in the river. This is right next to the sewage treatment plant. My brother and I were hugely excited and went out in our dive boat and anchored in the river next to the sea wall and jumped in. I searched along the wall but not finding anything I headed out toward the middle of the river just widening my search for anything. The water in the middle was deep dark and putrid. The sewage plant dumps untreated excrement into the river whenever it rains. The water was actually thicker in the middle at the bottom. I was literally swimming in human poo. I couldn't find a thing, nothing human to get a hold of just mud as deep as I could plow. I headed back toward the sea wall and swam into a big fish. It must have been sitting on the bottom and startled away as I hit it. The fish was so big it moved me with it's thrust. Then another fish hit me in my mid section hard. I imagined prehistoric monsters and really felt sort of freaked out. I said screw it and pulled in my dive float line and started to follow it up. About half way to the surface it went from completely silent to sounding like I had my head in the exhaust of a jet engine. I realized I was coming up near a boat not a big boat but a huge one. It sounded as though it was moving away so I ascended to the surface to find a coast guard cutter towering over me. the deck was at least ten feet off the water and there were ten crew members staring down at me. I cracked a couple of jokes (Good ones/real funny) but no one even raised a corner of the mouth. They asked me who I was and wanted a photo ID NOW. Then they commanded me to get in my boat and get the other diver. My brothers float popped about for five minutes or so before he came up. They got our names confirmed them with photo ID called the police and the sheriff and told us we are forbidden to dive in the Milwaukee harbor ever again. This was the weekend after 911 and I think they may have thought we were terrorists or some thing. So anyway that's my deep river story for you. The only thing human down there was a stool and it wasn't the kind you sit on! Whats the problem about looking for American indian junk?
Wayne Bob the guy diving wet was not toasty! He was blue. You should take pictures and post them. Everyone loves seeing the images. That river from Mike is awesome! I would love to have a place like that to dive. Warm water suits? Underwater communications? What will they think of next. A headlight would be of no use for us. If the water isn't black with sediment when we get in it is right after we get in. Bottle diving here is blind mostly. Seeing is good in the rivers when you are facing upriver in current in teh winter when the algae is down and there is no surface runoff. I think the bottom structure of rotting plant material in fresh water makes it much different than ocean diving. Every year the good stuff is a little farther down covered under a little more sediment. People really started diving for bottles here in the late sixties and in the early seventies. They found tons of Hutcheds and loop seal beers but missed the early and pontiled stuff because they didn't dig. We might have to dig down three to six feet by hand. There just is no other way to get down. When you are in the current in a river I don't know how it could get any colder. The water flowing by just sucks the heat out of your body. There is no relief except getting out. Obviously a decent bottle can make it feel a lot warmer! you guys in teh salt water with your dancy fangled gadgets and pretty colored fish have it good!
Take care,
Steven
Most of our river ways are not so deep around here. We dived off of Jones island a local sewage district water treatment plant at the base of the Milwaukee and that was about forty five feet deep. One of the creepiest/weird dives ever. A really nice customer knowing I collect bottles brought in a dark cobalt 1870's extremely rare soda bottle from Milwaukee to my work. He gave it to me and wouldn't take a cent. He also told me when they were digging pilings for the bridge a lot of buckets full of bottle laden soil got dumped in the river. This is right next to the sewage treatment plant. My brother and I were hugely excited and went out in our dive boat and anchored in the river next to the sea wall and jumped in. I searched along the wall but not finding anything I headed out toward the middle of the river just widening my search for anything. The water in the middle was deep dark and putrid. The sewage plant dumps untreated excrement into the river whenever it rains. The water was actually thicker in the middle at the bottom. I was literally swimming in human poo. I couldn't find a thing, nothing human to get a hold of just mud as deep as I could plow. I headed back toward the sea wall and swam into a big fish. It must have been sitting on the bottom and startled away as I hit it. The fish was so big it moved me with it's thrust. Then another fish hit me in my mid section hard. I imagined prehistoric monsters and really felt sort of freaked out. I said screw it and pulled in my dive float line and started to follow it up. About half way to the surface it went from completely silent to sounding like I had my head in the exhaust of a jet engine. I realized I was coming up near a boat not a big boat but a huge one. It sounded as though it was moving away so I ascended to the surface to find a coast guard cutter towering over me. the deck was at least ten feet off the water and there were ten crew members staring down at me. I cracked a couple of jokes (Good ones/real funny) but no one even raised a corner of the mouth. They asked me who I was and wanted a photo ID NOW. Then they commanded me to get in my boat and get the other diver. My brothers float popped about for five minutes or so before he came up. They got our names confirmed them with photo ID called the police and the sheriff and told us we are forbidden to dive in the Milwaukee harbor ever again. This was the weekend after 911 and I think they may have thought we were terrorists or some thing. So anyway that's my deep river story for you. The only thing human down there was a stool and it wasn't the kind you sit on! Whats the problem about looking for American indian junk?
Wayne Bob the guy diving wet was not toasty! He was blue. You should take pictures and post them. Everyone loves seeing the images. That river from Mike is awesome! I would love to have a place like that to dive. Warm water suits? Underwater communications? What will they think of next. A headlight would be of no use for us. If the water isn't black with sediment when we get in it is right after we get in. Bottle diving here is blind mostly. Seeing is good in the rivers when you are facing upriver in current in teh winter when the algae is down and there is no surface runoff. I think the bottom structure of rotting plant material in fresh water makes it much different than ocean diving. Every year the good stuff is a little farther down covered under a little more sediment. People really started diving for bottles here in the late sixties and in the early seventies. They found tons of Hutcheds and loop seal beers but missed the early and pontiled stuff because they didn't dig. We might have to dig down three to six feet by hand. There just is no other way to get down. When you are in the current in a river I don't know how it could get any colder. The water flowing by just sucks the heat out of your body. There is no relief except getting out. Obviously a decent bottle can make it feel a lot warmer! you guys in teh salt water with your dancy fangled gadgets and pretty colored fish have it good!
Take care,
Steven
southern Maine diver
Well-Known Member
Hey Steven...
I tell one of our "rookie" dive tenders, "This isn't my first dance" I dig DEEEP holes to do pipeline repairs, salvage, work type stuff, so I know a little about what you're talking about.. I have a nice, powerful jet nozzle and a real beauty of a 4inch underwater suction dredge that'll break your fingers if they get sucked in. I've dug 10 foot holes with this stuff. I am well aquainted with black water diving, believe me.[&:]
I dive a lot of fresh water as well and I know what you mean about zero visibility and "finger walking" along the bottom using the "brail" method of diving... It's great isn't it? Stirring up the mud, mucking around you get a real "feel" for the glass when you dive in this stuff.
I still use the light so I can at least see the bottle when I hold it a few inches from my face.
Now as far as the "poop diving" goes, that stuff is real dangerous. They have commercially certified divers who specialize in that type of "Environmental hazard" water and they make BIG BUCKS. They actually dive in the sewage tanks and replace parts, valves stuff like that. They come out covered, litterally covered with s..t! The bacteria can survive for quite a while in, deep, cold water. Look at the bottles that come up... pristine for the most part. Am I right?
Anyway, just be careful and wash yourself off good. You might want to look into getting a nice full face mask... AGA, ScubaPro, EXO-26, Widolph all good masks and they will keep your face warm in the winter and keep the crap out of your mouth when you're "poop" diving.[]
Stay safe,
Wayne
I tell one of our "rookie" dive tenders, "This isn't my first dance" I dig DEEEP holes to do pipeline repairs, salvage, work type stuff, so I know a little about what you're talking about.. I have a nice, powerful jet nozzle and a real beauty of a 4inch underwater suction dredge that'll break your fingers if they get sucked in. I've dug 10 foot holes with this stuff. I am well aquainted with black water diving, believe me.[&:]
I dive a lot of fresh water as well and I know what you mean about zero visibility and "finger walking" along the bottom using the "brail" method of diving... It's great isn't it? Stirring up the mud, mucking around you get a real "feel" for the glass when you dive in this stuff.
I still use the light so I can at least see the bottle when I hold it a few inches from my face.
Now as far as the "poop diving" goes, that stuff is real dangerous. They have commercially certified divers who specialize in that type of "Environmental hazard" water and they make BIG BUCKS. They actually dive in the sewage tanks and replace parts, valves stuff like that. They come out covered, litterally covered with s..t! The bacteria can survive for quite a while in, deep, cold water. Look at the bottles that come up... pristine for the most part. Am I right?
Anyway, just be careful and wash yourself off good. You might want to look into getting a nice full face mask... AGA, ScubaPro, EXO-26, Widolph all good masks and they will keep your face warm in the winter and keep the crap out of your mouth when you're "poop" diving.[
]Stay safe,
Wayne
cowseatmaize
Well-Known Member
Just a tidbit off the topic but kind of cool. Try holding the "Alt" key and type 0176. You get 35°. Fun huh, there's a bunch I use. ©®™¢£¼½¾
aussiebottlo
Well-Known Member
Oh I dont mind zero viz diving but not keen on diving in poop. I have large fish hit me in the dark is kinds scary even though I know there is nothing down there that is going to hurt me.
I have tried using a light but it seems to reflect off all the particles in the water and all I get is a yellow glow.
It is amazing how your fingers can "see the bottles" I wear glove on left hand and use a probe or rake with my right this way I am able to feel the bottle with my right hand.
Keep blowing bubbles
John
I have tried using a light but it seems to reflect off all the particles in the water and all I get is a yellow glow.
It is amazing how your fingers can "see the bottles" I wear glove on left hand and use a probe or rake with my right this way I am able to feel the bottle with my right hand.
Keep blowing bubbles
John
mrbottles
Well-Known Member
Hey it's Cowse again!
Good to see you. You really need to get out and find some bottles. Even if it's just at an antique shop. Exploratory research on keyboards is not good for a hard core bottle hunter. Next you'll get all excited about Pepsi bottles and that sort. Where is Maize, New England again?
Hahahahahahahaha... Oh I love that one!
Hey Aussie I've always wanted to go to Australia. It's just such a long trip. You think you could mount an outboard motor or one of your coasts and start working on that? It would be much appreciated! Oh,and as far as i know Michael Jackson doesn't visit this site.
Steven
Good to see you. You really need to get out and find some bottles. Even if it's just at an antique shop. Exploratory research on keyboards is not good for a hard core bottle hunter. Next you'll get all excited about Pepsi bottles and that sort. Where is Maize, New England again?
Hahahahahahahaha... Oh I love that one!
Hey Aussie I've always wanted to go to Australia. It's just such a long trip. You think you could mount an outboard motor or one of your coasts and start working on that? It would be much appreciated! Oh,and as far as i know Michael Jackson doesn't visit this site.
Steven
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