Deckplans of the Spiegel Grove

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

What part of Florida are you in? I'll scan it for you.

Hi Howarde, I'm in Melbourne , F.L. , Central East Coast , about 30 min of the cape .

I have a scanner, but it is copyrighted ;(

They don't cost much, I think I paid a few dollar's , We used it to show the mooring line's where they came down to the wreck, so when we tie up, we know exactly what morning line and where it goes down to.

It has deck plan's, but very limited , I carried it when diving it the past weekend, but you can't navigate using the slate, not detailed enough.

 

[Vtdiver2]

Sure will, I'm looking also for some detailed plan's as well for some of the other ship's as well in the area, Like the Dwain and the Thunderbolt, etc.

Do you know if anyone has made it down by the engine room, or the 4th deck below?

I talked with Ocean Diver's about the wreck,and they were saying the engine room was closed up, but not sealed, as the ship sunk 5 hour's prematurely, so they didn't get to weld it closed.

Another one were diving soon is the Northern Light's here in FL, which I dove before, and I'm looking up some info on her now as well, thanks !!

PS, I bought a slate of the USS Spiegel Grove, which i carried on the dive, from Ocean Diver's which showed the different deck's, etc

I've got a basic deckplan of the Duane, and sketches of the Thunderbolt and Eagle if you're interested.
C_Dawg

 

[Munin]

Do you know if anyone has made it down by the engine room, or the 4th deck below?

I talked with Ocean Diver's about the wreck,and they were saying the engine room was closed up, but not sealed, as the ship sunk 5 hour's prematurely, so they didn't get to weld it closed.

Yes, I've been through the ship's engine rooms and nearly all of the accessible passages on the lower levels, and all I'll say is that if your profile information is accurate and you are only an intro diver you do NOT belong down there, period. Even if you're full cave I would still recommend against it unless you are very sure of what you are doing, and if you were you probably wouldn't be asking this sort of question here. It is some seriously hardcore penetration. The passages are small, unbelievably rusty, silty, and even oily in places, and littered with debris, some of which is highly unstable. I've been diving it since it went down and the deterioration I've seen since then has convinced me that it is not someplace I want to go - I've come very close to having some unpleasantly large objects fall on me. You can get several hundred feet of penetration very easily and the vis will be 5-10 feet on the way out. Keep in mind that your bubbles will cause the rust on the ceiling to perk as you go through. If you do get into the engine rooms you will have two decks worth of machinery perking on you, and that is not fun to exit through. It is absolutely not a friendly place.

 

[aue-mike]

You can get copies of general arrangement plans (i.e, deck plans, blueprints) for USN vessels from the National Archives. Typically, these include numerous pages of information, including the general arrangement of each deck, cross sections, inboard and outboard views, etc. They are large and very detailed. Sometimes, they do not reflect refits the vessel may have had later in her career.
You can either contact NARA directly, or there are some research services that will find stuff for you (for a fee of course).

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

floating around. They're screen printed onto large white plastic cards, similar to the ones NOAA has for the older wrecks, only with more detail, and cutaway views. I'm not sure who produces them, but if HarleyDiver is reading this, perhaps he'll be kind enough to post the copyright and/or contact info (if there is any) printed on the cards.

I'm not sure which shops stock them, but I'd check with Captain Slate's Atlantis Dive Center, Ocean Divers, and World Watersports for starters. Good luck, and enjoy your dives on the Spiegel Grove!

Per HarleyDiver, the cards were purchased at Captain Slate's Atlantis Dive Center. Markings on the slates indicate that they were produced by Marine Habitats Inc. in 2002, and printed by Harvest Printing & Copy Center Inc. in Tallahassee, FL and Bay Bridge Enterprises LLC in Chesapeake Bay, VA.

If memory serves me correctly, the penetration lines and diver access holes are not depicted in the diagrams. Still, they provide a decent orientation to the upper decks of the ship. [Insert bulletproof disclaimer of legal liability here.]

 

[netmage]

Quick hit on NARA...

ARC Identifier: 586226
Title: Unclassified General Correspondence
Creator: Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Ships.
Type of Archival Materials: Architectural and Engineering Drawings
Photographs and other Graphic Materials
Textual Records
Level of Description: Series from Record Group 19: Records of the Bureau of Ships, 1940 - 1966
Location: Modern Military Records LICON, Textual Archives Services Division (NWCTM), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001. PHONE: 301-837-3510; FAX: 301-837-1752; EMAIL: inquire@nara.gov.

Box 726: LSD31 1957 3 of 3 -- LSD32CL/S87 1957
Box 727: LSD32 1957 1 of 2 -- LSD34CL/L4 1957

Anyone in Maryland that can swing by?

-Tim

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Yes, I've been through the ship's engine rooms and nearly all of the accessible passages on the lower levels, and all I'll say is that if your profile information is accurate and you are only an intro diver you do NOT belong down there, period. Even if you're full cave I would still recommend against it unless you are very sure of what you are doing, and if you were you probably wouldn't be asking this sort of question here. It is some seriously hardcore penetration. The passages are small, unbelievably rusty, silty, and even oily in places, and littered with debris, some of which is highly unstable. I've been diving it since it went down and the deterioration I've seen since then has convinced me that it is not someplace I want to go - I've come very close to having some unpleasantly large objects fall on me. You can get several hundred feet of penetration very easily and the vis will be 5-10 feet on the way out. Keep in mind that your bubbles will cause the rust on the ceiling to perk as you go through. If you do get into the engine rooms you will have two decks worth of machinery perking on you, and that is not fun to exit through. It is absolutely not a friendly place.

Munin, my profile doesn't have half my certs on it, and believe me, I been in ALOT of wrecks of the coast here, and have done extensive wreck penetrations, and also was enrolled in a full cave class two year's ago, and know my limitation's, and my Buddie's . I found that out in my full cave class . I know about the rust on the ceiling's, as well as the silt, nothing different then we have dove before in wrecks and silt in the cave's . If you want me to list ALL my certs, you need a full page, as well as the 500+ logged dives I have, and the 100+ dives I have inside the wrecks. I have been on alot deeper, and alot more serious penetration wreck dives then a boat that was sunk for diver's and stripped of everything, but I appreciate your concerns .
I been down to the lower levels, and know about the hallway's, and the debris, also there is alot of sharp object's sticking out. I'm on doubles, with alum 40's with 100% 02and my Buddie's are on CCR re-breather's,with bail-out, and deco gas as well. We did alot of decompression diving this past weekend on the ship, but I don't need to go into my profile, and need to get flamed by someone looking up my profile, I could lie, anybody can make profile's up, but I understand your concerns, but this is why I don;t use these board's much anymore, I don;t need someone that has no idea about my profile, nor my diving, to judge me from half way around the world.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

I've got a basic deckplan of the Duane, and sketches of the Thunderbolt and Eagle if you're interested.
C_Dawg

Sure thing, we been in the Duane , but not the Thunderbolt, any sketche's would be great, how do I get a copy? Can you pm me,

 

[Munin]

Not trying to flame you or be a jerk. If your profile information is inaccurate you might want to update or delete it. Personally, I'm not into telling anyone how to get to places they don't belong and I'm just basing my comments on the information you put up.

Regardless of your experience, be careful about swimming underneath things. I nearly had a ~4x6 deck plate fall on me once.

PM sent with more info.

 

[diver doh]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Munin
Yes, I've been through the ship's engine rooms and nearly all of the accessible passages on the lower levels, and all I'll say is that if your profile information is accurate and you are only an intro diver you do NOT belong down there, period. Even if you're full cave I would still recommend against it unless you are very sure of what you are doing, and if you were you probably wouldn't be asking this sort of question here. It is some seriously hardcore penetration. The passages are small, unbelievably rusty, silty, and even oily in places, and littered with debris, some of which is highly unstable. I've been diving it since it went down and the deterioration I've seen since then has convinced me that it is not someplace I want to go - I've come very close to having some unpleasantly large objects fall on me. You can get several hundred feet of penetration very easily and the vis will be 5-10 feet on the way out. Keep in mind that your bubbles will cause the rust on the ceiling to perk as you go through. If you do get into the engine rooms you will have two decks worth of machinery perking on you, and that is not fun to exit through. It is absolutely not a friendly place.

Munin, my profile doesn't have half my certs on it, and believe me, I been in ALOT of wrecks of the coast here, and have done extensive wreck penetrations, and also was enrolled in a full cave class two year's ago, and know my limitation's, and my Buddie's . I found that out in my full cave class . I know about the rust on the ceiling's, as well as the silt, nothing different then we have dove before in wrecks and silt in the cave's . If you want me to list ALL my certs, you need a full page, as well as the 500+ logged dives I have, and the 100+ dives I have inside the wrecks. I have been on alot deeper, and alot more serious penetration wreck dives then a boat that was sunk for diver's and stripped of everything, but I appreciate your concerns .
I been down to the lower levels, and know about the hallway's, and the debris, also there is alot of sharp object's sticking out. I'm on doubles, with alum 40's with 100% 02and my Buddie's are on CCR re-breather's,with bail-out, and deco gas as well. We did alot of decompression diving this past weekend on the ship, but I don't need to go into my profile, and need to get flamed by someone looking up my profile, I could lie, anybody can make profile's up, but I understand your concerns, but this is why I don;t use these board's much anymore, I don;t need someone that has no idea about my profile, nor my diving, to judge me from half way around the world.

And ya know what.. all this makes you both the same thing.... Divers...

Regardless of all the alphabet soup.

Jeff