Dive Report & NEED HELP to ID rudder found in Dublin Lake (Dublin, NH) Sept. 19, 2009

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dave4868

Old diver
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
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Location
Vero Beach, FL, USA
# of dives
500 - 999
It has taken me a couple months to finally get around to this report because I wanted to clean and then include pics of the unidentified rudder/tiller assembly I found at 89' in Dublin Lake, Dublin, NH, back in September. Cleaning the rudder was a job well worth procrastinating over.... :wink:

Hopefully, someone will see the pics and be able to identify it, so I can SELL it! Please see below.

Dive Report for Dublin Lake dive September 19, 2009

Easy to get to via major highways, less than two hours northwest of Boston, scenic Dublin Lake (or Pond) lies right next to Rt. 101 in Dublin, NH, in the shadow of Mount Monadnock. This dive may have some appeal to divers wanting easy access to a deeper freshwater shore dive in clean, clear water.

Link to NH Lake Depth Maps webpage:
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/bathy_maps.htm

Dublin Pond Depth Chart:
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/bathy_maps/dublin_dublin.pdf

Dublin Lake (Pond) is a 240-acre body of water about 0.8 miles long and 0.6 miles at its widest point. Maximum depth is 110 feet. It is mostly spring-fed. It has very little plant life and only a few fish, including small-mouth bass, brook trout, minnows and smelt.

There are three or four good access points along the northeastern shore with easy parking on the road shoulder. The water’s edge is less than 30’ from the road.

In this area of the lake, sandy shallows 10-15’ deep extend out about 75' from shore. Then the bottom slopes down more steeply to depths of about 60’, at perhaps a 1:3 ratio. In some spots, this slope is occasionally sprinkled with glacial boulder fields before giving way to a featureless silt-jello bottom barely sloping at about 1:10 until reaching 90-100' depth.

Lat. and Long. Coordinates for this particular entry (B on the maps) are:

42°54'24.11"N
72° 4'35.09"W

That day in September had bright sun and clear skies, air temps of 65 degrees and moderate wind from the west.

ScubaBoarder, trappist, his friend, J, and I were looking for a deeper dive so they could tune up prior to diving the U853. Unfortunately, trappist had to cancel, so J and I had to fend for ourselves. :wink:

J and I got into the water with bright noontime sun lighting things up nicely. A light chop pulled slightly on the dive flags/floats perpendicular to our heading. In the sandy shallows, water temp was 62F, typical of early fall. Vis was about 15 to 20’. I took a heading for the relatively small sliver of 100’ depths that I'd seen on sonar when I’ve fished this lake.

We soon reached the edge of the steeper slope and began to descend at a faster rate. I barely felt the sharp thermocline through my heavy drysuit insulation. The temp at the first thermocline was probably 55F at about 30’ and it steadily dropped to 40F by the time we got to 75'. As we passed 80’, the bottom was really flattening out, and our computers were approaching the non-deco limits, making it less likely we would meet our goal of finding the 100’ depths, since we wanted to have minimal deco obligations, if any.

J’s canister light lit up the silt bottom nicely, but there was little to see. No fish, not even a “dust-up” from a spooked trout. Lateral vis was probably still 5-10’, perhaps a little more. Shutting my light off demonstrated that ambient light was still adequate to see objects close by, but too dim for me to actually read my gauges.

I altered course slightly to follow what appeared to be a slightly greater downward slope, but couldn't go far because J’s more conservative computer was about to give him some deco. As we were about to turn the dive at 89' depth, I saw just up ahead the easily recognized shape of a sailboat rudder/tiller assembly lying flat on the silt a few feet ahead. Carrying it back wasn’t going to be good for my air consumption, but I LOVE salvage! Grabbed it! (I've sold 3 of these in the past to the local sailboat club who lost them years before!)

Since we had taken a slightly angled heading away from shore going out, I shortened our return to the shallows by taking a more direct heading to the slope’s top edge. We reached it fairly quickly, then did a few minutes of swimming safety stop along the 20' depths to clear J's computer (mine had cleared as I reached the top of the slope). We swam about 150’ until the distance felt “about right”, hoping to be just off shore from the entry point. It’s at those times when you wonder if you’ll look like a genius or a fool…. Nice that it worked out this time. :D

Total dive time was 60 minutes. J had a dryglove leak, so he punted on the second dive. I would've dove a second, but just got lazy. I get lazy more often than I used to.... :shakehead:

Pics follow. If anyone can identify the sailboat make and model, I'd greatly appreciate it! :)

Dave C

Dublin_Lake_Map_Depths_120509.jpg


Satellite image
Dublin_Lake_map.jpg


J's dive-mobile! Convenient parking right on Rt. 101.
DSC04750_ACt_R1000.jpg


The water's edge is about 30' from the road! Note the "Anglers" sign at this entry. Three other entry spots are within 100 yards of this spot. Just find a convenient pull-off.
DSC04754_ACt_R1000.jpg


Nice, easy entry in a very scenic setting. Mount Monadnock in the background.
DSC04759_ACt_R1000.jpg


J waiting for his buddy. The lake is about 500 yards across at this point. The 100' depths are probably 250 yards out.
P9191065_ACt_Ro_3_R1000.jpg


J readies his reel. Bottom is sandy in the shallows (about 20' deep here).
P9191069_CCR_Flt_R1000.jpg


D carrying the rudder/tiller assembly found at 89'. (This shot is back in the shallows, 20' or so.)
P9191072_CCR_Flt_R1000.jpg


The unidentified rudder/tiller.
DSC04763_ACt_R1000.jpg


The unidentified rudder/tiller assembly after cleaning. Anyone able to identify what make and model sailboat it belongs to? The rudder is about 35x10 inches with pintles about 6 inches apart. It does not look like the rudders used by the local sailing club boats (Vanguard 420's).
Copy_of_DSC05578_ACt_R1000.jpg
 
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Cool report. I pass by Dublin on way to Keene and have always wanted to check it out. I know the local dive shop in Merrimack does guided dives there. Always looking for fresh water alternatives to Clarks point, Newfound lake when seas are pounding and I want to get wet.

I just never knew where to park, enter
 
Another good one I missed... I knew from your stories it was good, this report is stil another angle and pictures make it more living than always... I just ave the impression I was there... I wish I was ;o)
As long as there are still more real dives than missed ones, I will be happy :wink:

Great report as always !
 
Cool report. I pass by Dublin on way to Keene and have always wanted to check it out. I know the local dive shop in Merrimack does guided dives there. Always looking for fresh water alternatives to Clarks point, Newfound lake when seas are pounding and I want to get wet.

I just never knew where to park, enter

Thanks, glad it helps!

I've just added some maps that I've customized to show dive entries with descriptions.

Interestingly, the NH state depth map (c. 1976?) did not show the 110' depth, a narrow crease I noticed on sonar while fishing. I subsequently dove that hole from my boat, anchored at 50' and dropped down in 70' of water and followed the slope down. At 102', I entered a suspended, smoky layer that made my light disappear at arm's length! I went a few more yards before turning around at 106' when the vis went to less than a foot! For some reason, I no longer felt the pressing need to get to the deepest point.... :wink:

Man, that was creepy..... :shocked2:

If you're ever looking for a buddy to shore dive Dublin Lake, just holler! (Has to be from shore, since I've sold my big boat.) :)

Dave C
 
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Dave,
Great dive report! Can't help with the rudder/tiller. Definitely not a Sunfish or Laser.
Thanks for the post.
Jim
 
You've perfected the art of dive reports: Maps, above and below water photos, links and detailed descriptions!

The only thing you forgot was to upload a graph of your dive profile downloaded from your dive computer! But nobody's perfect! :D

The thing that always strikes me is how barren freshwater environments tend to be compared to diving in salt water.
 
If you're ever looking for a buddy to shore dive Dublin Lake, just holler! (Has to be from shore, since I've sold my big boat.) :)

Dave C[/QUOTE]

Absolutely! I would have loved to have gone out today but youngest one had b-ball game in middle of day. Ping me anytime you want to get out and vice versa. Will PM you with my coordinates
 
reefseal:
Absolutely! I would have loved to have gone out today but youngest one had b-ball game in middle of day. Ping me anytime you want to get out and vice versa. Will PM you with my coordinates

Will do! :)

Dave C
 
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Another good one I missed... I knew from your stories it was good, this report is stil another angle and pictures make it more living than always... I just ave the impression I was there... I wish I was ;o)
As long as there are still more real dives than missed ones, I will be happy :wink:

Great report as always !

Thanks! If you get a chance to come up this way, we can try the entry further east (A) to have a better shot of finding the hole. :)

Dave C
 
At 102', I entered a suspended, smoky layer that made my light disappear at arm's length! I went a few more yards before turning around at 106' when the vis went to less than a foot! For some reason, I no longer felt the pressing need to get to the deepest point.... :wink:

Man, that was creepy..... :shocked2:

Dave C


Curious about the layer...could it have been a hydrogen sulfide layer? I recently recovered a major artifact in a freshwater lake and at around 100 + feet ran into a hydrogen sulfide layer. The artifact was embedded (partially) in the mud and it seems much like your rudder/tiller was black. At some points lights were pretty useless and it became all a matter of feel.

BTW - nice report.

Cheers,

X
 

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