middleforkminer2 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Took my little aluminum boat out for its maiden voyage & figured to take it up to where the Stanislaw river dumps into New Melones reservoir....I took my time just outside the boat dock and ran it for a half hour or so & everything seemed in order, so off I went....I found some nice looking bench gravels that looked promising but I wanted to see how far up river I could get. there was also a LOT of fractured bedrock that appeared undisturbed and near perfect for detecting....when I finally ran out of enough water to run the boat, I went to turn around & noticed I was getting a little more smoke than usual & glanced at the discharge port for the water pump....no water coming out, headed back & the engine started spitting steam so I shut it down & waited till it cooled down...started it back up & within a minute, the same thing started happening...luckily, there was a guy up there fishing & he was nice enough to tow me back...I'm gonna get off the computer as soon as I finish this post & see if I burnt it up or whether or not it's as easy as replacing the impeller & thermostat....I did start it when I got back to the motorhome, & it didn't feel or sound good... I'm thinking it's toast, but won't know till I get some compression readings...I hope I can salvage it & get it running quick, because I really think I can do pretty good at some of the spots I seen. Here's some pics of the gravels...I didn't take any of the great looking bedrock areas because I was too busy trying to avoid rocks under the boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefire Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Could be just a Blockage. Weeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middleforkminer2 Posted June 15, 2016 Author Share Posted June 15, 2016 Nope...I took off the lower unit this morning & the seal that holds the water tube was rotten...the impeller was ok but I could feel that it was aged, so I ordered an impeller and seal. I don't think I fried the engine because it started...it did backfire a bit, but I'll address that when the new parts get here. I can't wait to get back up there and spend some time digging and cracking apart the slabs of bedrock. Hopefully the sierra snow melt will be just about ended by then & I'll be able to wander upstream as well...where the river entered the lake, it was really high & was bank to bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Just a friendly warning that there is absolutely NO mineral entry allowed there and have seen, known quite a few folks who have paid the awful price when caught mining in reservoirs-John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middleforkminer2 Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 I talked to one of their park rangers a couple months ago and was told that as long as I used common sense and wasn't turning the water in the lake muddy or disturbing large patches of dirt, it shouldn't be a problem...I plan on doing neither and don't think I'll have any issues. Being discreet about how, where, when will hopefully keep me from any confrontations or problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoJack Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 John, been looking at this possibility for some time, you saying you can't prospect ANY land that borders the lake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomH Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Tell em...."im picking up lead shot and sinkers so the birds and fish dont poison themselves and trying to find fishing lures so I dont have to buy them" Tom H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middleforkminer2 Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 The old timers left a lot of mercury too...nothing wrong with trying to find old abandoned hazmat sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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