Beach and Water / Scuba Dive Detecting Forum

I've been detecting the treasure coast also and I just started using a new scoop in the shallow (ankle deep) water.
I have to stand on the back of it and use some skateboard moves to dig in this renourished sand and shell.
It takes me about 3 to 4 scoops to get my target. I use a Detector Pro Headhunter that goes deep and I feel like I now have a scoop that can keep up with it.
The scoop has 1/2 inch holes and still doesn't drain well but I think it's the wet sand that just gums it up.
I also have a Beachmaster travel scoop with the 1/2 inch wire mesh that drains faster but just doesn't have the size to use in the wet sand.
My new scoop has a curved aluminum handle welded in place and it gives me a lot of leverage.
I don't think a hybrid scoop (large with mesh) would hold up with my skateboard moves.
Here's some pictures. Ignore the dead lawn.

Nice looking scoop.
Where along treasure coast are you able to get in the water with a detector without the salvors giving you a hard time?
Understood not all areas called "treasure coast" are within Fischers lease area.

BTW when I first moved here in 99 I went in the water with detector and snorkel gear for a few hours right south of Mclarty museum near that the wreck site.
Nobody noticed or said anything to me ......
And it appeared that the trough right off the low tide line had aluminum shredded beer cans literally seeded there.
I mean, the scraps were cut into squares as if cut by sharp blades, and I found them under flat coral rocks, everywhere.
Only think I could come up with was that someone seeded the area to discourage shallow water hunters like myself.
Never tried it again after that but damm I'm sure that hardpan trough has got to be holding some stuff.

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Excalibur 800 Serial # EX112, made me $26,000+ still working.
Excalibur 1000/GreyGhosts
Excalibur II -1000/Grey Ghosts

Yes I know what you're saying. I just go in ankle deep water and I go an hour before low tide so I could argue I'm always west of the Low tide level for that day.
As for the aluminum I agree. I can't prove it but I think when they resanded the beach a lot of the aluminum cans came from the new sand and were shredded by the drege and pump system. Maybe the guys running the dredge were drinking a lot of beer and throwing the cans in the dredge (LOL).
I know a scuba diver detector said they were running mag one time and got a large non-ferrous hit and when they dove on it they were expecting a bonanza but what they found was a large collection of aluminum cans. Apparently the ocean floor and the currents made this particular spot a can collection area.
I don't know what the answer is about the aluminum on the beach. I dig everything and I get tired.

I've already done some mods to my new scoop and I thought I would share.
I like my scoop because I can dig vertically with it as discussed above.
I can easily rotate it from the vertical position to a horizontal position with a full bucket because I have the curved handle.
To tilt it up and break the ground suction with a full bucket was difficult and a strain on my knees.
So I wanted to extend the assist handle a few inches to give me more leverage to get the bucket on it's heel and break the ground suction.
I added a 14 inch wood dowel to my assist handle , painted it silver, sprayed on plastic handle spray and added a rubber grip.
I also drilled more holes to help drain the bucket.
I added 24 more 1/2 inch holes and 34 more 5/16 inch holes in the bucket.
My bucket size is 6" x 6" and now 15 " long on the bottom after I added a stainless steel lip.
The lip was a challenge.
I went to the metal recycling yard and got SS restaurant cooking tray for $8, cut it with a jig saw and shaped it to fix the mouth of my bucket.
I overlapped the bucket mouth with 2" of stainless sheet and left a 1" SS lip.
I bonded it with JB weld and fixed 8 small SS bolts and nuts to let it set up overnight.
The next day I removed the nuts and bolts (left 3 in for sheer strength) and I trust the JB weld joint.
If anything ever loosens up I can always readd rivets or stainless hardware again.
I also painted the new bucket and lip with high temp silver aluminum ceramic paint which I hope will add to the drainability of the bucket.
Here's some pics.
I had to put my dog to sleep last month so this was a good project to take my mind off of it.

I did another mod to my scoop or my scoop handle to be exact.
I want to use the scoop with just one hand so I don't have to lay down my detector.
Since the scoop doesn't drain the sand easily I figured I needed to get part of the scoop in to the water to flush it out.
With this assist handle extension I can easily get the heel of the scoop in 2-3 inches of water and the bucket is inverted 45 degrees and it flushes instantly.
I guess you would call this a ergonomic setup.

Quote
Smudge
Between sand replenishment and the fact that Florida beaches are getting hammered on a daily basis by other beach hunters, finding decent targets is getting harder and harder.

The last few times I went I came back with less than $1.00 in change and no jewelry.

I'm hearing that from a lot people these days.

Yes you are right....BUT.....there are a lot of beaches that are not as popular but still hold lots of promise. I have found that hitting the coast line wherever sand is present is a good place to hunt.
There are tons of folks hitting the main beaches but there are other beaches that are almost never hit by detectors. There are areas that are not even beaches that have lots of stuff just waiting to be found. I particularly like islands that have lots of boats anchored just off shore. Lots of swimmers and lots of bling. Dock areas and boat ramps are another. Florida has so much coast line that has not seen a detector yet. So yeah it is getting tougher....but there are still lots of things that need to be found.