Lost Item Recovery: Rings, Phones, Outboards and Anchors

By Tomas Iglesias, Yacht service diver, South Florida. Reviewed by Dana Whitcombe, technical reviewer.

Marine Salvage & Recovery | Hull & Bottom Cleaning Last Tuesday, I spent an hour with my cheek in the mud under a 58-foot Sunseeker, looking for a platinum wedding band. Found it wedged between the rudder and the prop shaft, no worse for the wear. The owner had already told his wife it was gone forever. Most lost items are like that. They don't go far. They just get covered or wedged, and the person freaks out and jumps in with a snorkel and a mask, stirs up the bottom, and walks right past the thing. After fifteen years diving props and running gear in Fort Lauderdale and Miami marinas, I've learned the trick is to slow down and think. I'm not a treasure hunter. I'm a yacht service diver. But a good chunk of my week is just getting people's stuff back—rings, phones, sunglasses, once a full set of gold teeth (don't ask). And yes, outboards and anchors. Here's how lost item recovery underwater actually works.

Start on the Dock, Not in the Water

Before I even suit up, I talk to the owner for five minutes. What exactly fell in, from where, and what direction was the boat pointed? Was there any current running? Do you have a dive light? Most people remember more than they think. If it's a phone, I ask them to text themselves from it; often it's still on and they can ping it from a laptop. That's saved me hours. Then I go over the conditions. Murky water, four-foot visibility or less, means I'm working by feel more than sight. I'll bring a handheld metal detector—a Garrett ATX is my workhorse, and it'll pick up a ring underneath three inches of sand. If the bottom is all muck, I use a sand scoop and just sieve through it. If it's coral rubble, I go slower. Call it the CSI part of the job. A lot of it is common sense. But you'd be amazed how many guys skip the questions and just jump in.

What You'll Actually Need

You don't need to own a dive shop. For most jobs, a mask, fins, and a weight belt will do if the depth is under ten feet. We use scuba tanks on bigger yachts, but that's a different animal. The essentials are a good dive light (even in daylight, you need to see into cracks), a small handheld metal detector like the Minelab Excalibur II, and a mesh bag to bring up the goodies. A lot of divers also carry a magnetic pickup tool on a pole for ferrous stuff like anchors. For phones: a sealed waterproof case is fine, but if it's been in saltwater for more than a day, don't expect Facebook to work. Still, you might pull the SIM card and get your contacts off. Rings are easier—gold and platinum don't corrode. I rinse them in fresh water and hand them back. I've got a 50-foot line with a float at the end that I use to set up a search pattern. I tie one end to a cleat, then swim out in a circle, spiraling from the drop point. That way I cover every square foot. Some guys use a grid pattern, but the spiral's simpler when you're diving off a swim step.

Search Pattern 101

The key is to start from the exact spot and work outward. I use a weighted marker—like a small dive flag—plant it at the spot they pointed to. Then I work a grid, back and forth, overlapping my sweep by a foot each pass. It's tedious, but it works. I've found rings in kelp, under rocks, even inside a sea urchin (don't ask me how). Another trick: if the item is metallic, the detector gives you a tone, but you still have to fan away sediment. I carry a plastic trowel and sometimes just use my hand. One guy's phone was buried under a foot of silt six feet from where he said it went in. The current had moved it. So I always tell people to put a marker on the boat, not just on the waterline—the water moves everything. Here's a digression: I once had a manatee try to inspect my detector. It swam up, bumped the coil, and circled me for ten minutes. I'm still not sure if it was curious or trying to get a better look. Either way, I got the ring.

Getting It Back Up

An outboard motor isn't a ring. A 200-hp Yamaha weighs over 500 pounds. Nobody's swimming that up. For those jobs, I bring a lift bag. It's a giant bladder that attaches to the motor with straps, then I inflate it from a scuba tank using a low-pressure hose. You have to bleed the air carefully as it rises, or it'll break the surface like a whale. I've done this for instruments too—a customer dropped an entire boat battery off his transom. Anchors are another matter. Most anchors are heavy iron or steel, and the chain—if it's attached—can be hundreds of feet. That's not a dive job, that's a boat job. I'll mark the spot with a float and let the deckhand haul it up with a winch. The anchor itself is usually stuck in the bottom, so I give it a tug, then the winch does the rest. For smaller stuff, a simple mesh bag does the job. But remember: don't try to lift anything heavy without a lift bag or a winch. I see people on YouTube lifting engines with just a rope and a dock light. That gets someone killed.

When to Call a Pro

If you're reading this because you just dropped something overboard, the first question is: do I try it myself? If it's a ring and the water's clear and shallow, sure, grab a mask. But if it's more than ten feet deep, visibility is under three feet, or there's any current, call a diver. I've seen people kayak into a job and end up tangled in a mooring line. Most divers in South Florida charge by the hour with a two-hour minimum. Mine is $150 an hour, and that includes the dive gear, the detector, and the patience. For a lost anchor, some'll just charge you an hourly rate. For bigger recoveries, I might quote a flat rate. The point is, it's usually a lot cheaper than the item you just lost, especially if it's an iPhone with all your vacation photos. And I'll say this: I recover about seventy percent of what I go looking for. Some things you just don't find. The sea is a weird place. But if you act fast and call someone who knows what they're doing, the odds go way up.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to hire a diver for lost item recovery? In Fort Lauderdale, expect $150 to $200 per hour with a two-hour minimum. That usually covers the dive, gear, and a metal detector. For heavy recoveries, you might also pay for a lift bag or a winch operator. Always get a price on the phone first. Can I find a phone underwater with a metal detector? Yes, but your phone has small components. The Garrett ATX or Minelab Excalibur II will pick it up if it's not too buried, but they're expensive. If it's only in a few feet of water, you might hunt by feel or use a waterproof camera with a light. How long can a ring stay in saltwater before it's ruined? Gold and platinum can sit there for years. Silver will tarnish but can be cleaned. The problem is the bottom: if it's silt, a ring could sink and be lost for ages. So call a diver quickly, but don't panic. Do I need scuba gear to look for something myself? Not if it's under ten feet and the water is calm. But if you're not a certified scuba diver, don't try to go any deeper. Free diving deeper than ten feet is dangerous without training. A professional diver has the right gear and knows how to avoid the prop.