The Pirate Ship and the Houseboat

Gabe at the side of the houseboat

The Dive Park at Beaver Lake has some wrecks including one called “The Pirate Ship” and a double decker houseboat. I saw the Pirate Ship with my friend Austin but not the houseboat. My son and I headed off to Beaver Lake to explore a bit.

Dam Site Lake Campground/Park is open from April 1st to October 31st each year, so this would be our last opportunity to dive here until next April. My son hadn’t been in a bit and I, as always, was looking forward to each chance to hit the water.

We arrived at the Beaver Dam Dive Shop at around 9 am to rent a BCD and regulator for my son and check out their end of season sale. I was hoping I’d find a good deal on a used wetsuit, and they did not disappoint. I got an Akona 5mm 5XL for $100 (they’re normally over $400 new). After grabbing that gear and some tanks, we headed to the park.

Health Check Interlude

I have to pause a moment to share some health-related stuff. I will always be as open and honest as I can about the conditions I dive in because I believe the more information there is, the better you can understand why I do things the way I do and the benefit from that is twofold. One, I may share something that helps you. Two, you may be able to share something that helps me. Either way, we learn and grow.

I am diabetic, with high blood pressure, overweight (morbidly obese), and have bad joints everywhere from early onset degenerative arthritis. However, since I started diving, I’ve been increasing my activity levels exponentially. The end result is that this trip to Beaver Lake, I was arriving with about 40 pounds (about 18 kg) less weight on me than my first trip in June. I’ve lost about 10 pounds (4.5 kg) a month.

The impact for this day was that I was able to safely navigate down to the water’s edge with my gear on my own. I did not need help carrying my tanks. I did not need a hand to steady myself. My only assistance with the wetsuit was zipping it up. I felt great before we ever hit the water because of these few achievements.

Into the Water With a Different BCD

I rented a Seaquest ProQD BCD for the first time today. This jacket style includes pockets, integrates weights, and uses a different cam band style compared to my usual Scubapro Hydros Pro. If you’re only familiar with Scubapro BCDs, have someone show you how others work, as they’re quite different. Scubapro’s latches are more solid, easier to use, and better at securing tanks, but I spent 15 minutes securing the tank on this one.


The jacket style was nice when inflated on the surface, but getting into it after entering the water was tough due to air in the sides complicating things. This air also made it hard to properly secure the integrated weights; one even ended up on the lake floor. I had to partially get into the BCD, dump the air, then finish putting it on.


On the positive side, the Seaquest BCD was incredibly comfortable, significantly more than my Hydros, with the weight less noticeable. Once on, I could have spent the day in it. The shoulder straps on the Hydros are uncomfortable, but not here. The Seaquest also excelled in gear storage and attachment with large side pockets and well-positioned D-rings, making gear management straightforward without dangling straps.

New Safety Item

Since we were not there with a group, we had to use a dive float with a flag. I bought one a few weeks ago with a 70-foot rope and anchor but this was the first time using it. I learned it needs weight in it, otherwise it flips over with a little bit of wind. Fortunately, there were a lot of other floats around but now I know.

The Pirate Ship

OK, it’s obviously not really a pirate ship. It’s a sailboat of some type but with the way it lays there, and the masts fallen over, it has the appearance of one. It’s a pretty cool wreck to explore. I didn’t get a picture at the wreck as I was fumbling/learning with the camera. I do have two photos of my son checking out the sign directing us around. One is untouched and the other has been adjusted to compensate for the color washout from the water filtering out some frequencies of light.

Gabe reading sign underwater

The Houseboat

There’s a double decker houseboat down there as well. It’s a good sized and fun to explore. I had my camera more under control so there’s some good photos and video on this one.

And finally, a video segment. There are a couple of fish in this one, the first one at 5:20 or so, and the second one near the end just before I get to our buoy line.

My Son is Done

Well, at least for the season. He decided the temps were low enough he wasn’t going back out until it warms up in the Spring (these dives were in mid-October).

Not a Jacket BCD Fan

I mentioned earlier how the jacket style BCD, when partially inflated, starts making it more difficult to get the integrated weight pockets inserted. You can add that this particular one was a bit deceptive on whether the pocket was clicked in and locked or not. I thought I heard the click and when I gave a small tug, it didn’t move. It didn’t.

Somewhere on the second dive (near the end, I believe), the pocket fell out. I didn’t notice till we were fully out of the water. So, I paid a fee for the lost gear and notified the Dam Dive Shop. Since I’m doing this writeup a few months later, I can tell you it was good I did. Someone found it so I’ll be able to get my weights and the weight pocket and return it to Diventures.

Husband, father, son, pastor, chemist, full time IT project manager (or something like that), server engineer, heavy reader, history fan, and now, scuba diver.

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