Hurricane Mathew put my boat on the hard.. What do I do?

Jul 13, 2010
1,097
Precision 23 Perry Hall,Baltimore County
Analysis paralysis isn't a good thing. Why not just call your insurance company?
Edited. Never mind... I just read you have none. Not that it helps the OP but this can serve as an example why neglecting to protect yourself (and everyone else) with insurance isn't a good idea regardless of the purchase price.
Don, Im not trying to be rude or flip but this guy has already been beat to death on that issue in earlier discusions.
 
Mar 11, 2015
357
Hunter 33.5 Tacoma, WA
By the way, a few people told me it would be best to pull the boat sideways by attaching to both the bow and stern with the keel behind it.. Do you guys agree?
What about (somehow) sliding it on a large piece is plywood (keel + side of boat), drill a couple of 3" holes in the plywood, attach a chain to the holes in the plywood, and "try" to slide it to the water, pulling on the plywood?
 
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Jul 13, 2010
1,097
Precision 23 Perry Hall,Baltimore County
If you try that,screw a 2x4 across leading edge of plywood to help reinforce the holes, otherwise likely to just tear out of plywood.
 
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CarlN

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Jan 4, 2009
603
Ketch 55 Bristol, RI
Again. The plywood is a good idea but it needs to slide on some sort of greased track. If you just put plywood on the ground it won't slide with a few thousand pounds of boat on top. Greased tracks are how most boats have been launched for hundreds of years - before travel lifts and trailers. It works. Here's a great video of just that (you couldn't pay me enough to stand under a ship like these guys)
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,885
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Marsh mud is kinda slippery.. pull from bow and stern with keel behind.. it will be at the right angle to not dig in.. thoroughly wet the dirt and grasses where the hull side is going to slide.. probably less damage to the boat to not put it on plywood .. probably want to make a loop around each hull end and tie em in place to keep em where ya want them to be.. going to take some poop to initially move it as you already know..
 
Mar 11, 2015
357
Hunter 33.5 Tacoma, WA
Marsh mud is kinda slippery.. pull from bow and stern with keel behind.. it will be at the right angle to not dig in.. thoroughly wet the dirt and grasses where the hull side is going to slide.. probably less damage to the boat to not put it on plywood .. probably want to make a loop around each hull end and tie em in place to keep em where ya want them to be.. going to take some poop to initially move it as you already know..
I respectfully disagree. The curvature of the hull will "dig in" the mud. This is why I suggested plywood, so it will distribute the weight of the boat over a wide area. Thinking about this further, the plywood would need to reinforced with a 2x6 around the edges to reduce bowing, and it might also help the boat to stay on the plywood. Also, you'd want to strap the plywood to the boat. Still, it is not an easy problem for sure. In addition, the plywood would need to be quite thick... At least 2", so it may be possible to fabricate a larger platform from multiple 4x8x1" sheets of plywood, onsite, screwed together. You can probably create an 8' x 8' platform with 6 (six) 4x8 sheets of plywood, cris-crossed. Getting the boat "on" the plywood and pulling it off? Know any off duty tug boat captains? :biggrin:
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Marsh mud is called pluff mud. It's sorta like magnetic quicksand with a bad attitude.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I knew it would not be long before you commented Kermit. What he needs is several of your friends to hop that boat back to the water.... :biggrin:
 
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End80

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Oct 30, 2015
78
Grampian 26 Tybee Island GA
Went out to the boat day before yesterday, it was fine.. today, I go out to it to find that someone ripped my nice one year old new rudder handle clean off.. they didn't unattach it, they actually tore it off with brute force, theres still a little piece of wood left.. what's wrong with people? I had left one of my brand new anchors on the boat two days ago, wish I didn't, and not sure why I did, but they stole that too.. unbelievable.. they also removed the dinette table, but didn't take it, This all had to happen yesterday.
How frustrating.. I'm seriously considering camping out there for the next ten days or so till spring tide
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Strip the boat yourself and bring the stuff home. Post the boat with No Trespassing signs - won't keep the criminals away but will let people know it isn't a wreck. Give the neighbors your number and ask them to call if they see something. You gotta move man they're dialing your boat in.
 

KD3PC

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Sep 25, 2008
1,069
boatless rainbow Callao, VA
Went out to the boat day before yesterday, it was fine.. today, I go out to it to find that someone ripped my nice one year old new rudder handle clean off.. they didn't unattach it, they actually tore it off with brute force, theres still a little piece of wood left.. what's wrong with people? I had left one of my brand new anchors on the boat two days ago, wish I didn't, and not sure why I did, but they stole that too.. unbelievable.. they also removed the dinette table, but didn't take it, This all had to happen yesterday.
How frustrating.. I'm seriously considering camping out there for the next ten days or so till spring tide

Many are probably POed that it is still there....they may think it is abandoned and will be for weeks, months, years. They may be vandals, and figuring their motives is a book in itself.

Camping out will just invite confrontation...are you willing? Just you being in there is likely not legal?

Simple solution is to make the call and get it moved or get it moved DIY. Waiting for an event, that in reality has little bearing on actually moving the boat is just delay. The tide is not going to "float" the boat. Merely laying in the pluff mud for a month has provided a ton of suction and friction that may actually hold the boat under. Regardless of how much you pull or lift, if you can do either.
 
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Feb 6, 1998
11,667
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Went out to the boat day before yesterday, it was fine.. today, I go out to it to find that someone ripped my nice one year old new rudder handle clean off.. they didn't unattach it, they actually tore it off with brute force, theres still a little piece of wood left.. what's wrong with people? I had left one of my brand new anchors on the boat two days ago, wish I didn't, and not sure why I did, but they stole that too.. unbelievable.. they also removed the dinette table, but didn't take it, This all had to happen yesterday.
How frustrating.. I'm seriously considering camping out there for the next ten days or so till spring tide

This should not come as too much of a surprise. Abandoned boats around the world are stripped in no time at all and the metals etc. sold for scrap. Your boat is on land that is not yours and the people in the area are now likely assuming you've abandoned it..

what's wrong with people?
There are always two sides. Understand that they may be thinking the same about you for leaving the boat there in what looks to them like it has been abandoned.. Pull out the credit-card and get it moved ASAP or you'll risk losing it altogether.
 

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
It all sounds like vandalism to me. If they could get it easily End80 would have been able to get it by now.
 

KD3PC

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Sep 25, 2008
1,069
boatless rainbow Callao, VA
I thought it was gov't land, therefore...[whistling a Woody Guthrie tune]

just try camping out near, or riding your ATV next to an FAA tower or a Nuclear power plant...we have both in our area and both are reknown for not playing around, you end up in federal court either way. And then you have to pay storage on your gear.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,323
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
I thought it was gov't land, therefore...[whistling a Woody Guthrie tune]
The rest of that line is "belongs to you and me" and I want that boat off my land. :D

If you have been following the debates in Florida about anchoring rights, one of the big issues is abandoned boats. Fiberglass and Ferrocement just don't decay like wood does.

Bubba Whartz knows all about this.
 

End80

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Oct 30, 2015
78
Grampian 26 Tybee Island GA
The final outcome.. not here yet..
Sunday morning Capt. Longwater and I went over to my boat, the tide prediction showed it to be 8.8ft at 6:12am. He was in his skiff and was able to motor across the tide covered marsh almost all the way up to the stern of my sailboat. I was in my Mariner 3 inflatable and wasn’t sure about crossing the marsh, so I went my usual way around the bend and entered to walk across the dry land the same path as it shows in the video.. Only this time, that path was in shin and knee high water the whole way (first time I've personally seen it like that).

Edwin was examining the situation first hand and said "Yeah, I can pull right outta here".. I don't know much about boats, but hos is what I believe is called a trawler, it's about 45 or 50ft and looks alot like a shrimpboat.. I forgot what he told me it was, but its engine is a 471..479..??? something or other deasel engine, - anyway, he seemed entirely confident it would have no problem at all doing the job. I then mentioned that Jay said he would be meeting me Tuesday in his deckboat with a 115hp outboard, and also captain Walt was coming with his 150hp… Now I wish I had kept my mouth about that, because Edwin replied "That should work, and will be a lot less complicated and easier, because I'd have to gather a crew for mine, but I'm still going to help you with it."

Oh, by the way, I was told by the guy from SeaTow that the few hundred feet of 3/4 anchor rope I bought was the wrong kind of rope to use for this, and was extremely dangerous due to snapback if it broke. I had called Seatow inquiring on what they would charge.. They watched the video and called me back and a real nice guy (I forget his name) talked with me for about a half hour. He said the best they could do would be $210 per foot ( so, 26ft x 210 = $5,400 ), he said that was the best he could do because of the liability. I asked would it be cheaper if I signed a waiver or something, and he replied that he was referring to it being protected land. I asked if the job could maybe be done on the side.. He said not, and suggested I try to get a local shrimp boat to do it.

Anyway, back to the story.. Edwin (Longwater) had brought along a bunch of his heavy rope (It looked to be something larger than 3/4 to me) and we tied an end to a cleat on my boat so we could run the rope and have it ready. The tide was beginning to go out by this time, and Edwin did not want to run his outboard any more for fear the grass would tangle in the prop, so I walked both his boat and the rope across the marsh, the water depth was varying from hip deep to chest deep in some spots (I'm 5'10). Once across marsh and at the river edge, we tied a small anchor and used a empty bleach bottle as a buoy so we could find the end of the rope.

Monday morning about 7am, Edwin and I went over there again. Using some straps I had borrowed from Jay, wrapped a 6" strap in front of the keel and around the boat with the two ends meeting at the cabin entrance way, then ran a shorter 6" strap through the ends, with that straps two ends meeting in the transom cutout where the engine goes.. Then to that attached the rope we ran the day before through those strap loops, and tied it off.

The reason we did it this way is because the boat has to be moved backwards to clear a tree at the bow.

I also took off the rudder.. Had some difficulty after removing the bolt, was prying open that wrap-around steel thing.. I don't know what it's called, but the thing between the tiller arm bracket and the deck of the cockpit.. Anyway, I broke it, but the tiller is fine and slipped right out.

I suddenly realized someone had also took my cabin steps.. So far, that’s been a brand new 22lb delta anchor, a tiller arm, a couple led battery operated lanterns, first aid kit, and oddly enough; one cushion.. ! That's about all I've noticed to be gone of the stuff I had not removed.

Ok.. This morning, Tuesday, went over about 6am.. This is the day, high supermoon tide predicted at 9.2, at 7:57am. It's highest it has been or will be for years (except for any storm surges). Walter calls and says he can't come, but Jay is still coming with his boat, and a friend of Edwin's agreed at the last moment to bring his boat with 115hp…. We brought a large green trash residential trash can and hung it from the mast and used five gallon buckets to fill it up with water, placed several pipes centered under the stern area. Tried to winch up the trashcan, but couldn't.. So we dumped the water, and held and the can as high as we could and took up the slack at the winch, and filled with water again.. It leaned the boat a little, but didn't quiet raise the keel up.. But the two 115hp boats tried to pull it anyway..

What happened?.. A bunch of creaking and wiggles, but no movement.

I suggested we raise the keel with a hydraulic car jack, then try the trash can idea again, but Jay says we use the chain hoist tied to a downed tree to pull on the mast.. This idea worries me, Afraid the mast could break.. I don't know.. Ended up doing something different.

New plan. Tomorrow Wednesday, the high is predicted 9.1 at 8:49am.. This time Edwin is going to bring his big boat with a couple deck hands (like we had originally planned). Edwin says it will definitely pull it off the hard, once it's past that point it should practically glide across the marsh during the high…

Wednesday.. I went over at about 7am in my inflatable, the current was particularly strong this morning and it took me a lot longer than usual with my little trolling motor, about 20 minutes later Jay arrived and we threw a 3/4 rope around the mast and worked it up to the top, and created a foot loop for him to hang his 200lb+ self from, and I hung my boat ladder off the trash to climb and position myself on top the lid, while also holding the rope..
I'm not sure how much time passed before Edwin arrived in his big boat, but wish he had come a little sooner, because there was in 3 or 4 inches of water surrounding the boat for maybe a half hour before the trawler got there.. In other words we could have started pulling a little sooner.
Anyway, Edwin and whoever was with him on hos boat got situated and finally attached the line and began pulling as Jay and I bounced on the mast to create raise on the keel… it took a while before the line became tight, and at first didn't seem anything was really happening, but after some groaning my boat began shifting and turned a little, then a few moments later suddenly rapidly moved about 4 foot towards the marsh --- then the rope snapped somewhere close to the back river line.
There was some guy in a kayak who had paddled over the marsh close by us to watch, and he volunteered to go across and find the end of the line out there, and he did. We lost a lot of time as they got some more line joined, and the standing water on the hard we had there was going down fast, and although he gave it another try, it was to late..

As I watched Edwin heading back up river towards his anchorage, I gave him a call and asked if we could do it again in the morning (the tide prediction 8.8ft at 9:44am, and I think that may be the last chance this month).
Edwin sounded a little irritated and said he wasn't sure, and something about it be dangerous for his boat having to come so close to the shore, and that he was short handed.. Or something like that, I'm not sure what he was saying or meant, but he said he'd call me later today.. But I can tell he's not enthused about doing it again.. but.. well.. I don't know, I hope he will, and think he might, but something about todays attempt evidently made him uncomfortable, so I just have to wait and see. He's been a really big help so far, and so has Jay.

I'm hoping for tomorrow.

Sorry no video or pictures my camera took a swim