Damage From Sitting in Mud and Silt

[Moberry]

I have a 1997 Beneteau Oceanis 400 and it has been sitting at the dock in mud and silt since Hurricane Dolly in 2008. The draft is 5'7" and the average water has been 2'8" at high tide.

It has been involved in a lawsuit since then and they are asking me for an estimate of damages from the water line and below as part of a settlement. I can't get it out on the hard until the canal is dredged. The lawsuit was over who was responsible to dredge. Dredging is expected to happen in three months.

Has anyone had experience in seeing what type of damage you can expect when this happens?

Mo

 

[Ross]

There probably is only staining. my boat was on the bottom 3 hours after high tide for an entire season and there was just a mud stain on the keel. All of the through hulls and machinery are probably above the silt. Tiller/wheel should be rigid and if the water is always calm there shouldn't be any torsional damage.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Mm. I went last year to look at salvaging a Compac Yacht, it was around 35 ft. Some years earlier, the now deceased husband had somehow managed to winch/pull whatever the thing up on the tidal mud banks. How or why he did this is a mystery to me, and not the point here. But the tide swings about 4 1/2 feet there, and would just barely make the waterline at times, mostly not. The fixed keel was planted FIRMLY in the mud, and again, had for a few years I guess. Through the rocking from waves or whatever, it had pushed the keel up into the cabin by a few inches. Water and mud was inside. A total loss/ruin. It's probably still there, there's not enough value in scrapping/excavating FRP boats.
If this were the case with your boat, the evidence inside will be obvious to anybody. That's not to say that it hasn't begun to crack, or the keel separate.
I would think, and just my opinion here, but the only way to know for sure is making it high and dry. Anything else would have to be a very educated guess, by someone who has dealt with this specifically.

One more thought. While the keel will sit straight on a block, its motion is carried by the jackstands, (which ideally hold little of the actual weight of the boat). Even careening seems to be an acceptable short term solution to bottom issues, but the keel and the hull both support it. So the idea of the keel stuck firm, with little or nothing holding up the "sway" of the hull, and maybe knocked about by the water, uh...can't be good...

 

[Bill Roosa]

To Chris' post, does the boat ride the tide and is just trapped and can't go forward to get out or does the tide ground her and she actually is supported by the keel?
If she is always or mostly floating then there should not be much damage unless you have some pretty good wave action.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Nah, that's the problem mostly I think. It rarely, if ever actually floats anymore. It's stuck up in there like a popsicle stick. The water only goes partially up the hull, and that's the I.C.W. in the background, so it see's little mercy from the passing traffic. Pretty sad end actually. I have the means to salvage this boat, but the numbers said no..

 

[RAD]

If it were me I'd figure the worst.......hull blister damage, running gear damage (strut, prop and shaft) and all metal sea cocks damaged from corrosion, any electronic sending units (sounders,speed,etc) cost to have it towed to the lift and haul out fees
Cost to have the hull and topsides completely detailed due to lack of use and interest

 

[Moberry]

That is pretty much what I ask the yacht service to estimate.

At low tide the boat does not move. So about 70% of the time it will bob slightly. Lack of use and interest on the top side is something I will add also.

In 2007 I had to have the keel resealed to the hull and I have not noticed the bilge running excessively.

Thanks for all the help from everybody. I will post the figure they give me.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Sorry Chris, my post was a bit confusing. I was not asking you but referencing your situation and observations as it pertains to Moberry's boat.
And did not the global warming folks say the sea levels are rising???? does make you scratch your head.

 

[Ross]

Sorry Chris, my post was a bit confusing. I was not asking you but referencing your situation and observations as it pertains to Moberry's boat.
And did not the global warming folks say the sea levels are rising???? does make you scratch your head.

Inches per year at most.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Hehehe. That being the case, this guy drug it up in the mud about 200 years ago.

The sad note is, this woman's husband had died recently, and left her in arrears unexpectedly. She thought the boat may be worth something, and I investigated it. Even out of the bottom of my heart it was beyond me. It was going to cost $xxx to move the derelict. Intact, OR in pieces would be an undertaking..