Cold Water Weekend
June 19th through 21st, 1981          
We arrived on Friday.  Uncle Ron and Aunt Rose had generously given us permission (and the key) to stay in their new-ish trailer, two lots down from Timber Shores. We were told to not mess up the place and that Mary would murderlize us if we step on the new pines.
The purpose of this first lake encounter of the year was twofold.  First, we wanted to see if the fish were biting.  Second, we wanted to test modifications to the diving bell.  Total success is rare in prototypes.  The Diving Bell's revision underscored that general rule, but that's how we learn.
At least the fish were biting.
The rocks in front of Timber Shores has been our go to fishing spot for a dozen years now.  It's best to row over them.  Many rocks bear the scars made by props that did not quite clear the ridge.
The fish were active and the diving bell needs work.  The proof of concept worked well enough last year, but we wanted to do more than breathe under the lake.  We wanted to be able to manipulate things too. With that in mind, arms were attached to the front of of the thing using dryer venting with Playtex gloves stretched over the ends.  The result resembled a mute version of the robot from Irwin Allen's Lost in Space.  After securing it to the lake bottom in about 7 feet of water, we started to fill it with air using a modified bicycle pump.  The pump worked great!  Unfortunately, I overlooked the effects of buoyancy on the new arms.  Before what could be described as the atomic flatulence that launched the yellow gloves well above the water, the bell looked like the robot from Irwin Allen's Lost in Space enthusiastically signaling a touchdown.  Also the water was cold.  We'll be back up at Timber Shores in about 5 weeks.  I don't think we'll bring back the diving bell.

-Nemo's looking to sell a slightly modified bicycle pump.                                                 Previous     Next