RECOVERING SHIPS LOST AT SEA

There it is ... that old empty feeling. Just like the one you had when you lost your wallet. You're standing on the shore looking at the spot on the lake where your battleship was just a few moments ago. It's still out there, or course. It's just that it happens to be 8 feet below that very spot!

Now that your unsinkable ship has sunk, it's time to fetch it back. There are two ways to do this, and they depend on the depth of your lake.

1. If the lake is shallow enough, you simply wade out into the water to the sink site and haul the wreck up.
2. If it is too deep for that, you'll need the services of a "recovery vessel".

THE RECOVERY VESSEL

When choosing a recovery vessel, keep in mind that it will likely do all the recovery work for the entire local club. As such, it should be able to support the retrieval of the largest ship your club expects to allow in the game. The South Coast Battle Group uses a fiberglass "dingy". It can handle the weight of 2 men, and is long enough to transport any of the ships. The dingy is about 6 feet long, 4 1/2 feet wide, and is stable enough to allow a big man to lean over the side and haul up a 45 pound ship. It is powered by oars, and has wonderful open top air conditioning.

THE VESSEL BEING RECOVERED

When your ship sinks in deep water, it is generally lost to sight. Even if you were courageous enough to dive for your ship, you may not be able to see it. We recommend the following arrangement for all deep water combatants.

Attach one end of a strong nylon line to a "float", and the other end to the ship. The line I use supports 175 lbs (strength when new). This is more than 4 times the weight of my battleship, yet the line is only 1/16" thick. This line is your ship's "lifeline".

The attachment point should be a major structural member inside the hull, or in the superstructure. If the "hard point" is in the upperworks, those upperworks need to be FIRMLY attached to the deck / hull, so as not to rip off when being used to support the weight of the ship. Typically, the line is anchored to one or more ribs through a hole in the deck or superstructure.

The float serves two purposes. It marks where your ship when down, and it allows you to nab the recovery line. Floats are made from anything that will stay on the surface, naturally. And they are disguised as superstructure or decking. Some captains glue foam to the underside of a piece off decking as a float. Others just use a balsa wood block. Use your imagination.

As the ship sinks, the water filling the vessel raises the float away from its resting spot, and its stays behind on the surface. The recovery line that is coiled up inside the ship starts to uncoil and pays out behind. When you have paddled out to the ship, all you need to do is grab the float, pull in the line till it feels snug, and then carefully haul the ship to the surface.

Things to remember...

1. Mount the float in a position so that it does not entangle itself in the ship's rigging after it deploys. Some ships have come close to being eternally lost because the float line got tangled up with the rigging on the masts.
2. Mount the float loosely so that it can freely disengage from the hull, but not so free and conspicuous that it can be shot off in battle. A shot-off float can pay out 15-25 feet of line to become entangled in props and weeds.
3. Be sure you have more line coiled up inside the float chamber than the depth of your lake. Double it if you can. This keeps snags in the line from making this sink your last...
4. Pull on the line gently so it won't break off.
5. When the ship is at the surface, pull it into the air slowly enough to let the water drain out. You can hurt your back by working too quickly, cause your recovery vessel to roll over and join your ship, or the water inside the model can press against the already damaged hull skin and cause it to blow out. If you have a partner with you in the dingy, he can help you bear the load of the model until it drains and becomes light enough to handle.

* * * * * * * Don't forget THIS! * * * * * * *

When that ship comes up, it is most likely armed and powered. This means that if the watertight box for the electronics did its job, you have a "live" ship in your hands. Be sure to turn off the guns system pneumatics and electronics IMMEDIATELY. As soon as you have access, shut the ship down, you'll be working on it on the bench for a little while anyway. Go ahead and save your batteries, but most of all, think safety first!!