G
Gary
Guest
Hi everyone,
In response to Jack Risley's request to elaborate on my underwater adventure!
A glorious Saturday afternoon, warm and sunny(unusual in central NY), a freshly
restored blue '67 Amphicar. Three friends with me, swimming around in what is
known as the most polluted lake anywhere (Onondaga Lake in Syracuse,NY) thanks
to Allied Chemical Co.(Solvay Process), Church&Dwight, among others.
After a complete restoration you'd think "no problems"! Well, a seal slipped
from it's intended location and sneakers began to get wet. After my buddies
bailed from the car(to give a little extra freeboard)up out of the water I went,
I thought. I picked a spot to exit which was not a ramp but a very muddy
"slide". As the car left the water, the water in the bilge "hit the fan",
shifting the weight of the H2O to the rear and killing the engine. Now the car
was stuck in the muck, sort of. It started sliding backwards into the water,
belly pan stuck to the mud, no chance of floating! Holding on to the steering
wheel, I sat there thinking this is gonna be expensive! The front wheels ended
up hung-up on a "shelf" at the edge of the water but the car was totally
submerged! Several hours, chains, winches and tow trucks later, the car was back
on dry land. No real damage, except to my pride! After a dry-out session back on
the road/water two days later.
The thing that really freaked me out was that 2 of my BRAND NEW life jackets
were lost. They SANK!! One of the jackets was the one I bought especially for my
(at the time) baby daughter!
Since then, I check everything everytime before taking a dip! Just common
sense, I guess!
Thanks for listening, Gary.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
In response to Jack Risley's request to elaborate on my underwater adventure!
A glorious Saturday afternoon, warm and sunny(unusual in central NY), a freshly
restored blue '67 Amphicar. Three friends with me, swimming around in what is
known as the most polluted lake anywhere (Onondaga Lake in Syracuse,NY) thanks
to Allied Chemical Co.(Solvay Process), Church&Dwight, among others.
After a complete restoration you'd think "no problems"! Well, a seal slipped
from it's intended location and sneakers began to get wet. After my buddies
bailed from the car(to give a little extra freeboard)up out of the water I went,
I thought. I picked a spot to exit which was not a ramp but a very muddy
"slide". As the car left the water, the water in the bilge "hit the fan",
shifting the weight of the H2O to the rear and killing the engine. Now the car
was stuck in the muck, sort of. It started sliding backwards into the water,
belly pan stuck to the mud, no chance of floating! Holding on to the steering
wheel, I sat there thinking this is gonna be expensive! The front wheels ended
up hung-up on a "shelf" at the edge of the water but the car was totally
submerged! Several hours, chains, winches and tow trucks later, the car was back
on dry land. No real damage, except to my pride! After a dry-out session back on
the road/water two days later.
The thing that really freaked me out was that 2 of my BRAND NEW life jackets
were lost. They SANK!! One of the jackets was the one I bought especially for my
(at the time) baby daughter!
Since then, I check everything everytime before taking a dip! Just common
sense, I guess!
Thanks for listening, Gary.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]