Salvage & Hydraulics

Month

Five

Program Overview

In the Salvage & Hydraulics Tools module, students get to work in teams to bring up a boat that is sunk at the bottom of Lake Union. Due to the nature of teamwork and awesomeness, this course entails more high-fives than any other at D.I.T.


Course Program

Week 1

Hydraulics I: Hydraulics unit start up and shutdown procedures, hydraulic and pneumatic manifold procedures, hydraulic and pneumatic tool connect/disconnect procedures. Practical use of all available entry level tools.

Week 2

Hydraulics II: Continue dives on new projects, practical use of hydraulics and pneumatic tools

Week 3

Salvage Theory: Classroom, formulas, surveying, measurements, creating a salvage plan and write up

Week 4

Salvage practical: Patching, rigging and raising and sinking the wreck

Hydraulics

Underwater power tools extend diver capabilities in such areas as ship’s husbandry (underwater hull maintenance), underwater construction, offshore (oilfield) diving work, salvage work and oil spill clean up operations. Both pneumatic (air driven) and hydraulics tools are commonly used underwater. During the two weeks in Hydraulics, the class will cover:

  • Diesel engine fundamentals
  • Introduction to hydraulics and pneumatic tools and safety
  • Advantages and disadvantages of hydraulics and pneumatic tools
  • Heavier rigging techniques
  • Underwater chainsaws
  • Hull scrubber: Used in ships husbandry
  • Grinder: Used for demolition 
  • Impact wrench: Used to flange up pipes
  • Jackhammer: Used to cut and hammer concrete
  • Hammer drill: Used to drill holes in concrete
  • Cut off saw: Used for demolition
  • Drill: Used to drill and tap steel plates

You’ll become familiar with the hydraulics tools topside and go over safety, and then you’ll practice using them underwater. One of the most exciting things is using the underwater chainsaw! You dive down to a mid-water stage, and then use the chainsaw to try to cut the thinnest piece you can from a log or beam.

What do students need to be successful in this course?

“You have to retain the information given to you, work well in a team environment, and trust the other guys on your team.”

—Instructor Randy “Buzz” Busby

Watch: Underwater Chainsaws

Watch: Underwater Jackhammer

Underwater Chainsaw

This is a favorite tool here on campus. When asked how they feel about using underwater chainsaws, students and teachers say things like “Freakin awesome” and “the ultimate power of destruction”

Salvage

The two week long segment of the course starts with getting the students into teams. You and your team will work together to accomplish lifting the boat. Beginning in the classroom, you go through salvage formulas and learn how to create a salvage plan.

The dive team from each group will survey the wreck during the first week. They bring this information back to the classroom and develop salvage plan. They must apply formulas to calculate the area, weight, and volume of the pontoons and boat.

Instructor Busby says, “We give them formulas and they have to go off the formulas. We give them everything they need, but they have to figure it out.”

On the day of the lift, the first two divers from each team go down and apply patches to the boat covering the damaged areas.

For the final part, the last two divers from each team go down to the wreck and rig up lift bags and pontoons. One team lifts the boat per day. This can take an unpredictable amount of time, and is pretty exciting! The week that this is happening, everybody likes to see the boat come up. It is the most intricate project on campus. “It’s fun, everybody really enjoys it.” Says Busby.

Bringing up the boat

Raising the wreck requires a lot of rigging, both topside and underwater as well as a lot of teamwork!

“Plan your dive, dive the wreck, wreck your plan. It’s not uncommon for unforeseen problems to arise on a job. A great diver will create contingency plans to overcome new obstacles and keep the job moving forward safely.”  – DIT Instructor, Wyatt Pehling

Watch: Written in Mud – How Divers Think on Their Feet in Salvage Jobs

Real World Applications

Salvage

Graduates who pursue salvage jobs are likely to find themselves with plenty of things to do and places to go. Some wrecks wait for years before being salvaged, and some need to come up right away. Factors such as location and insurance money dictate how soon the wrecks get salvaged. You could find yourself de-commissioning oil platforms (P&A) in the Gulf of Mexico that got knocked over by hurricanes, or being sent to a wreck that happened recently in an area like the Puget Sound, which would get brought up right away.

Hydraulics

Graduates who pursue careers offshore will use hydraulics impact wrenches to mate up flanges on pipelines or tie in’s of spool pieces to a platform. Basic hydraulics knowledge learned during this module will aid graduates in setup and utilization of various high tech hydraulics tools such as diamond wire saws, guillotine saws, and hydraulics shears commonly used in the offshore industry.

“It’s a team environment. It’s the funnest thing they do at school because you get to see the fruits of your labor so to speak”.

—DIT Instructor Randy “Buzz” Busby