Do surveyors ever measure across water

No I have never tried to measure long distances across water like the ocean. With a little patience and binoculars you can sit on the balcony of a seaside building and watch a ship come up into your view over the horizon. That shows you that the surface of the water is curved just like the globe. 

Check out this link.

https://jessekozlowski.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/the-earths-curvature-plainly-visible/

I haven't found a rodman that can walk on water yet.  Still looking, though, if you know anyone.

Posted by: @dave-o

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I haven't found a rodman that can walk on water yet.  Still looking, though, if you know anyone.

I have seen a Party Chief or two that thought they could. LOL 

We were doing a long level loop once, and instead of leveling around the lake, we "turned" on it.  Did a foresight onto the waters edge, walked around the lake, and back sighted the waters edge and continued on.  The loop closed ok. 

@scrim If you could see the water edge well enough to use it as a target then why not just use a rod?

@bstrand Not sure if I understand your question.  We were using a level and level rod to do the level loop.

Posted by: @bstrand

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@scrim If you could see the water edge well enough to use it as a target then why not just use a rod?

I take it to mean they measured the water level on the west side to be 1000' off a bench mark. Traveled to the east side and started a new loop using 1000' for the water level and continued to a second bench. Should work ok depending how the wave action and such was. We measured many, many reservoirs, lakes, ponds. The WL shots are very consistent. Of course, we weren't caring much about very tight measurements, but when you have a couple hundred of them all within a couple of tenths, it lets you know you're doing it right. 

@mightymoe Yes.  The water was just a turning a point.  It was a relatively small lake, water was calm.  We did a foresight on it, jumped in the truck and drove around it, then back sighted the lake and continued on.  We thought we were genius' at the time, haha.  Loop didn't close red hot, but good enough for what we were doing. 

And yes, we have shot waters edge dozens of time on topo's, and the shots are always consistent.  Put a flat rock down, adjust it until it's at the water surface, take a shot. continue on.

Right, I get why it works.  I'm just asking why target the water when you could just stand on the bank with a rod and target that instead.  I'm guessing it was too far to read the rod but nobody confirmed that.  heh

Posted by: @dave-o

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I haven't found a rodman that can walk on water yet.  Still looking, though, if you know anyone.

@bstrand    Roger, waaaay too far to sight across the lake.  Maybe a mile?

A couple of days ago I was texting with #2 daughter who just moved to the Tampa area in Florida.  She said her husband has an aunt and uncle who have a place inland that they could escape to when hurricanes come through.  I told her Florida was FLAT and the water surge might get to that place, too.  She responded that then she should be able to see Miami from their third floor apartment.  I brought up curvature of the Earth.  She asked,"But, what if the Earth is flat?"  I shot back that then the oceans would spill over the edges so that she could drive to Spain.

The question in the OP made me think of a cartoon I saw on Facebook.  It showed a couple walking away from a house with a sign by the mailbox that read "THE WOODS".  In the open doorway to the house stood a couple, obviously Mr. and Mrs. Wood, looking unhappy.  The couple leaving the house are a bear and his wife.  The wife is asking the husband, "What did you do in there?"