[jshepherd]

The rake you talk about, is this what is meant by brailing?

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

The rake you talk about, is this what is meant by brailing?

Hey Buddy,

No brailling is what is also referred to as barring. This is still done today in Kentucky for instance. It is still illegal to dive in Kentucky. But the old timers still "Bar" shells.
What you have is a flat bottom boat. You build what we call standards on either side of your boat to hold yours bars. A Bar is a steel pipe most often. You hang hooks from this bar using nylon twine. The hooks are different depending on the river bottom. The hooks are made of wire. If the bottom is rocky you would use a rock hook. A rock hook is hit with a torch to make little balls on the ends. This allows it to bounce over things you don't want to hook. Its all technic. A mud hook would be smoother.

What happens in action is. You are floating with the current. You drop a bar down. Just off of the bottom. Then you tie it off and go over and drop your other bar in with a little less line to keep them from tangling in to each other. If you don't have enough current you deploy a "Mule" This is a tarp that you put in the water to act as a sail under water. As you drift the hooks drag and bounce along the bottom. As the do the miussels they encounter close on to the hooks. After fifteen or twenty minutes you raise your bar on to the standard and start picking off mussels. Then you drop that bar back in and go raise the other. You do this until you have drifted off of the bed. Then you motor back to the top of the bed and start again.
A hand rake or "digger" Is a device that is built a little like rake. It has teeth made from railroad spikes and weights about 35 lbs.. It has a pole which is usually a 2x4 about twenty feey long.
If I could draw you a picture from the side of the boat you would see a flat bottom boat. The operator stands at the back and faces towards the back. You would see the top of the pole in his hands. The bottom where the rake is is obviously on the river bottom. But the rake itself has a rope that goes to the bow of the boat. That keeps the rake directly under the operator as he motors along. It acts as a dredge. And when your bag feels full you hit your accelerator. As your speed increases your rake starts to rise. You follow the pole until you can grab the rake itself. Then you cut your motor. And raise your bag of booty in to the boat. Aluminum cans, Rocks, A tire and 5 shells.lol. I forgot to mention the whole time you are tied to your motor so you can steer. You cut a branch from a tree. You want a branch with a y in it. Tie it to your boat handle and the Y end around your knee. So you are facing the rear of the boat standing on the right hand side of the motor. And the motor is tied to your left leg. God I hope this isn't as long winded as it feels.

[Caitlin]

It is a fairly detailed discussion- I read it with great interest.

[Ashley]

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

Then you cut your motor. And raise your bag of booty in to the boat. Aluminum cans, Rocks, A tire and 5 shells.lol.

Yes, the sad state of our rivers- which leads me to ask, what is the oddest thing that you've pulled up out of the water?

Now, are these areas that you were operating in wild or more of a mussel farm? What is the average output of a mussel farm per year these days? I understand that washboards can grow up to 15-inches in length (huge!!), but what is the average harvest age/size these days?

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Ashley

Yes, the sad state of our rivers- which leads me to ask, what is the oddest thing that you've pulled up out of the water?

Now, are these areas that you were operating in wild or more of a mussel farm? What is the average output of a mussel farm per year these days? I understand that washboards can grow up to 15-inches in length (huge!!), but what is the average harvest age/size these days?

Our rivers are making a great comeback. With environmental legislation. And with the help of people like my friend Chad Pedrake at http://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/

Cheap plug The rivers have made a great recovery from the bad old days.
All the freshwater shell for commercial use is wild stock. And the oddest thing I ever found was a safe. We were all so sure it was full of treasure we couldn't wait to get off the river. After what seemed forever with grinders and torches and arguing over who was the best safe cracker we finally opened it. It was full of mud and water. But I have found everything from guns to whole cars. And a few pearls too. If you ask me where they all are now it would be like asking what happened to your first beatle record. You know you had one. But who knows where they all go.
As far as mussel size goes we would carry a ring 4 inches wide. If a washboard falls through its to small. Generally speaking a three ridge minimum commercial size is about 3 inches. Because thickness is more important then size shells are sold on a piece count. A good washboard is 200 piece count per 200 lbs. bag. So a 200 lbs. bag will have 200 half shells in it. So if you have a 400 piece bag you will know its thinner. We always go by 200 lbs. bag counts when selling shell. An Ebony shell is small in diameter but can produce a much larger nuclei then the average 3 ridge even though the 3 ridge appears larger.

[Ashley]

Wild stock? Truly?? Since the shell bead nuclei business is so large, and I know it is so crucial to saltwater cultured pearls, why aren't there be people investing in working mussel farms?

Too bad about the safe- I would've been all worked up about that too lol.

Your friend is engaged in a very noble endeavor- it's wonderful to read about someone making such a large difference!!

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Ashley

Wild stock? Truly?? Since the shell bead nuclei business is so large, and I know it is so crucial to saltwater cultured pearls, why aren't there be people investing in working mussel farms?

Too bad about the safe- I would've been all worked up about that too lol.

Your friend is engaged in a very noble endeavor- it's wonderful to read about someone making such a large difference!!

I don't think to this day anyone has shown it to be viable. Its a slow growing shell which means you need investors willing to wait 10 years for what could in the end be negative results.
BTW I don't know if I made it clear that the days of the hand diggers and dredges have been over for some time. Barring and Diving are the only legal means of harvesting shell I'm aware of. And that is much easier on the shell beds.
And like I said earlier there is enough shell in the U.S. to sustain a healthy annual harvest. Its a matter of politics. It really is.

[Pearling Technologies]

Mikey
Do you still see many of the big washboards required for larger nuclei (above 4.5bu)? We had found that the bigger the shell the more brittle the structure and more internal defects.

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Pearling Technologies

Mikey
Do you still see many of the big washboards required for larger nuclei (above 4.5bu)? We had found that the bigger the shell the more brittle the structure and more internal defects.

Greetings George, Long time no see. You don't see as many big washboards for a couple of reasons. One reason is there are less places to harvest shells as there were. Not for lack of shells but because of legislation. So you still have divers working over the same areas they have been working for 20 years. While there are places that have plenty of washboard shell for an annual harvest. And those shells will make you a 6.0 if you need one.
The other problem producing at least some more washboard is the price. Prices were higher when a diver could dive a thousand pounds then they are now when he is lucky to fill a bag.

As far as the big shell being brittle. Well thats the nature of nature. The older you get the more brittle. Seriously though much of that big shell these days comes from Texas and Arkansas for example. That shell has always been big and brittle with a big white butt. They are like fossils. Now if you go over to Ohio you can have a big shell like the Texas shell. Only its better material. And you can produce grade A nuclei in to the very large bu sizes. But Ohio is Closed. The Dakotas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and many other washboard producing states closed to commercial harvest. I think some of these states will reconsider a limited harvest of shells though.

[Pearling Technologies]

Thanks for the response. We don't have too many customers wanting larger sizes of nuclei but still a few that need up to 5.6bu. I cam remember back in the good ol' days (about 18 years ago) they even had auctions for larger sizes of nuclei because they thought they were scarce. Although gone are the days of $100 nuclei!

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Pearling Technologies

Thanks for the response. We don't have too many customers wanting larger sizes of nuclei but still a few that need up to 5.6bu. I cam remember back in the good ol' days (about 18 years ago) they even had auctions for larger sizes of nuclei because they thought they were scarce. Although gone are the days of $100 nuclei!

I was just going to say that to you about the $100 nuclei.

[Mikeyy]

Man we saw everybody and their brother jump in to the nuclei biz back then. Wild times lol

[Pearling Technologies]

Yes I know what you mean. Many people came out of the woodwork and all of a sudden there were more nuclei experts/suppliers than pearl farmers!! It has certainly changed a lot since then but one thing that did surprise me was what some suppliers called good quality nuclei. I mean it was almost shocking at some of the offerings.

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Pearling Technologies

Yes I know what you mean. Many people came out of the woodwork and all of a sudden there were more nuclei experts/suppliers than pearl farmers!! It has certainly changed a lot since then but one thing that did surprise me was what some suppliers called good quality nuclei. I mean it was almost shocking at some of the offerings.

It makes you wonder what their all doing now. I know some of them went to jail BTW This is Mike Venovich from Divers Direct. Send my regards to your dad.

[Pearling Technologies]

Thought it was you Mike!! Hope you've been well. Will pass on my regards....thanks.