Getting a car out of a frozen lake ?

[sm_jamieson]

Nice bit of Russian DIY, someone sent a link to me:

Simon.

[Nightjar]

I love the winch.

Colin Bignell

[newshound]

Was it on the "pallet" when it went in? If not, how the hell did they get it in place? That was a seriously competent bit of recovery work! I wouldn't have had the nerve to stand alongside the car like that.

[Nightjar]

Vodka probably helps, both in getting it in and getting it out.

Colin Bignell

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

I think not. In the comments someone says that the wooden bit was originally V-shaped and was expanded so it gripped the inside edges of the vehicle's rear tires, but that doesn't altogether explain how they could get wooden bits far enough under the rear of the vehicle to get to where they could grip.

[dennis]

The wooden bits don't need to grip. They are there to stop the bottom of the car being ripped out by the ice. You put them in and then start to drag the car up them and when in place attach them to the tow line and pull the whole thing out.

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

I'm not sure whether there's a tow-line attached to the car - how would you get it attached in the first place? - or attached to the wooden thing.

[dennis]

I would think someone got wet and cold.

[John Rumm]

Running the text on the vid description through google translate gives:

April 2013. Baikal, the Small Sea. No wind, and take part in international competitions buernomu sports watching with interest the triumph of Russian intelligence. Adding and answers : The car was at a depth of 3-3.5 meters. Increased, trim chainsaw ice. Hooked hook almost without problems. Machine "live" today.

The bit about hooking seems to suggest a fishing style exercise...

[Mike Barnes]

newshound :

I assume that the ice thickness had increased significantly since the car went through. Otherwise, I wouldn't like to be anywhere near it either.

[Nightjar]

There is a strop around the front of the car. How it got there is another matter.

Colin Bignell

[Roger Mills]

Ditto. I was disappointed that they didn't start the car and drive it away once they'd got it out.

[amcmaho]

The link starts at 1:10 into the video. If you restart it from the beginning, you get a better idea of how they did it.

I never thought they'd get it out like that; I thought the ice edge would break up under the wooden sled runners.

I suspect they've done it before a few times.

[newshound]

Yes but it wasn't a Toyota!

[amcmaho]

Nor a T-34.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

Even more impressive if it had been a Toyota ad, and he'd jumped in and started it right up.

[Dave Liquorice]

That I'll agree with.

No, doesn't look like that. The timbers are shoved down as far as they can be then the cross piece attached and the tow line to the timbers. There is some (possibly adjustable) wire link from the cross piece to the car but only a couple of wires. The windlass (love that) is then use to pull on the frame and slowly lift/lever the car out of the water. The distance from the cross peice to rear tyres shortens several times, that's why I think the wire link is adjustable.

That bit of construction is shown earlier.

It would be fairly easy to push a loop of wire rope over/around the rear wheel(s) with a pole and attach to the timber frame. I don't think even Russians would get into that water unless they absolutely had no choice,

[Dave Liquorice]

Is it a strop? I thought it was a bit of broken black plastic trim/valance that had come up from underneath somewhere.

[Nightjar]

Looking at it again, you are probably right. What I took to be a line leading back from it may well be the edge of the bonnet.

Colin Bignell

[John Rumm]

Given the way the wood levered the car up and out, it would not really matter where you pulled it from - so the back would work just as well.