Date: Fri 07-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

NUSAR-new-boat-Sieling

Full Text:

NUSAR Purchases A New Boat

(with cut)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

When operating beneath local waters on search, recovery or salvage missions,

Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue (NUSAR) scuba divers will be working from

a new diving platform designed to better meet their needs.

NUSAR, an independent organization made up of 15 people, some of whom are

scuba divers, recently acquired a fiberglass Carolina Skiff, a boat that lends

itself well to scuba work, explained NUSAR President Karl Sieling.

Through a mail solicitation for funds, NUSAR raised the $9,300 needed to

purchase the boat, a 40-hp outboard engine, and a boat trailer, according to

Mr Sieling. Individual donations in the fund drive ranged from $10 to $500, he

said.

NUSAR, an incorporated unit of the town's civil preparedness organization,

owns the new equipment.

This fiscal year, the Town of Newtown has appropriated $3,000 for NUSAR

equipment purchases other than the new boat.

NUSAR garages the boat at the red corrugated metal shed on Riverside Road

commonly known as the Sandy Hook Athletic Club clubhouse, near the Sandy Hook

firehouse.

Besides the new skiff, NUSAR has the use of an inflatable boat for diving, as

well as the NUSAR panel truck, and a former Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps

ambulance which is being converted into a mobile command center and equipment

truck. The command center will become a mobile storehouse for NUSAR diving

gear.

The skiff typically carries four NUSAR personnel. To facilitate divers leaving

and entering the boat, a side section of the hull pops out to allow easy

access. Although the boat may get some water inside it when the diving panel

is removed, the 19-foot-long vessel has extensive flotation material built

into it, making it virtually unsinkable, Mr Sieling said.

NUSAR plans to mount a metal arch atop the rear of the boat as a place to

position equipment such as lights and antennas.

The boat which has a generally flat bottom is very stable in choppy water and

in turns, Mr Sieling explained.