by Hank Lake
Ever think of lowering the coil of your metal detector down into the water on a long extension cord so you can look for sunken treasure? As soon as the idea occurred to me two years ago I looked around for an old boat and bought her off-season for $150. She was a fine old wooden 23-foot Chris-Craft with an inboard engine. The cabin had already been removed and the boat used as an open fishing craft. In the spring I overhauled her, and changed her name from Leaking Lena to Sand Pebble. Working the waters along the coast of Staten Island, N.J., and New Jersey, I would drift and check the snag-infested shallows around old piers with the magnets, using the detector off sandy beaches. So far I’ve raised propellers, shafts, heavy brass fittings, tool and tackle boxes with watches, coins and rings in them, ships’ wheels and a great variety of fishing equipment that can be sold to marine stores and flea market dealers. An interesting source for sunken treasure is the Descriptive List of Treasure Maps in the Library of Congress, 45 cents from the Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. My total cost for boat and equipment was $347. In just one month I earned more than that.
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