Is this possibly true?

KingAirDriver · Jul 11, 2013

We pulled an airplane engine that had been on the bottom of a freshwater lake for 9 months, cleaned it up, gave it a little TLC, new rings and a valve job and flew it for 4000 more hours...wouldn't scare me too much, but then again, most aircraft engines are mostly aluminum. But personally, I would pull the engine and throw an overhaul on it, or drop an M18 or M20-3 in it. Everything can be rebuilt. If it is economically feasible is the big question.

jimg · Jul 11, 2013

I don't know about hurricanes, but what is difficult to believe for me is that he wants $5000 FIRM for a 39 year old 28ft. boat with a no doubt solidly rusted Atomic four, that got that way when the boat sunk.

kpgraci · Jul 11, 2013

I've heard of intentional sinking for hurricanes but it was always told like an urban legend. It's either insane or ingenious, not sure which. I know that continually submerged motors fair much better than their submerged, recovered and left alone counterparts, so it could be the way to go.

shemandr · Jul 11, 2013

I think it's true that in Greenport the Regina Maris, a quasi tall ship, that was a waterfront attraction, or in others opinion, a derelict vessel, was sunk to protect it when a hurricane came by - either Gloria or Bob, I think. Sinking it wasn't a challenge since all they had to do was unplug the pumps that were keeping it afloat. And, I'm not sure it was to protect the vessel or to protect the dock from the vessel. But I believe it was pre-sunk in anticipation of a named storm.

oldersalt · Jul 11, 2013

1. I certainly wouldn't pay $5K to do a science experiment on how you recover an engine that has been sunk in freshwater.

2. Many older boats with good insurance policies have been sunk deliberately. Where I come from, it's called "Converting the boat to a liquid asset."

jibes138 · Jul 11, 2013

What about the bulkheads and any other wood in the interior? Submerging it for 30 hours seems like it would swell the wood and make a mess of it. Then things like cushions that were saturated. 5 grand sounds reasonable for a solid hull but I would look at it as a total refit project boat. To buy an equivalent boat today new would cost well over $100K so you could put maybe $50K into it with a new engine, new electrical system, new interior, and all new electronics and have a nice boat.

wufibugs · Jul 11, 2013

Took a quick look and do not see that these Morgans were the premier boat of their day. If that is correct, I am curious as to why Jibes feels it would take $100k to buy a good 28 foot boat today. if a person were prepared to throw the dice on a salvage project, my guess is that there must be a vast number of premium boats still in their youth that had repairable damage at the hands of recent weather events. I would guess you stand a much better chance of getting your money back should you ever decide to sell, and not spend an inordinate amount of time running down electrical gremlins or lamination issues, putting your $5k into something like that.

Bad Obsession · Jul 11, 2013

Hrm.....seems really fishy. I don't think that I would buy a boat that was sunk. There would be tons of issues that could be present.

Kermit · Jul 12, 2013

The whole thing sounds like a scam to me. Maybe I'm wrong but dang...

kloudie1 · Jul 12, 2013

In preparation for the hurricane in Corpus Christi around 1971, I remember seeing folks taking everything off some of the smaller boats; outboards, cushions, everything, and sinking them in place.. Dock lines were still tied, but low, so that the boat wouldn't go anywhere.. Many other boats were stacked on the median of Shoreline Blvd. .. Not on cradles, just laid down on the grassy median. They were above the water surge level and made it through fine. .. I don't know about the ones that were sunken, but I would expect that they had plywood damage .. I have not heard of doing that to a boat with an inboard engine.

nestorph · Jul 12, 2013

I found it interesting that he lists a 30 gallon diesel tank while the engine is an Atomic 4 -- a gasoline engine!

darnoldone · Jul 12, 2013

In 1985 while in Land's End Marina in Morgan City La., I was cruising on a very small Westerly and had many named storms coming through one on the heels of the other. My plan B for 'Bear Necessities' was precisely that. To remove all upholstered, electrical, easily accessible items from her and submerge her in the shallow depths of Lake Pollard. She was powered by an outboard and with her bilge keels I felt she could best survive a major event by sitting on her keels on the bottom. Thankfully it never became necessary to make this choice but I feel all would have been ok after a clean up. Inboard power and elaborate electrical systems would make this a much different choice. All in all I felt that on the bottom, the vessel couldn't sink farther than that.

Highest Regards,

Darrell

Ward H · Jul 12, 2013

I spoke to at least one person on LBI who said she and her neighbors sank thier runabouts after removing OBs and other items in preperation for Sandy.
Just remember, there are a lot of nice boats out there in the price range that have not been sunk.

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Jul 12, 2013

In the 50's I was a Sea Explorer, sponsored by the Houston Yacht club. In prep for storms, we'd sink small sailboats in their slips. Lightnings, Comets, the like. Never boats with electrical systems or engines. It was the accepted method of the time.

And I'm with others- I suspect the engine is junk without a total rebuild. Cast iron rusts as bad in fresh water as it does in salt.

Paul Mermelstein · Jul 13, 2013

It's like buying fish: If it's eyes are not clear and it smells fishy, don't buy it. I would stay away from any boat that has been underwater, no matter what the reason. Probable corrosion on electrical parts, electronics fouled, mold and mildew, etc. Also, too much contradictory information in that posting, like a diesel tank and a gasoline engine. It smells fishy to me.

jibes138 · Jul 13, 2013

wufibugs said:
Took a quick look and do not see that these Morgans were the premier boat of their day. If that is correct, I am curious as to why Jibes feels it would take $100k to buy a good 28 foot boat today.

I am referring to the cost of a brand new 28 foot boat. For an example a brand new 35 Caliber is listed as $275K as a base boat. I have long felt that you could take a good hull and totally gut it and install all new mechanical electrical, plumbing etc. and have essentially a new boat for about half the price, but it would take a lot of work and installing stuff on a boat with the deck on is a lot harder than in a factory with the hull wide open. Still you are almost getting the hull for free so the cost of the boat would be in the new equipment.

capta · Jul 14, 2013

Back in the days of wooden sailing vessels without any mechanical equipment aboard, it was quite common to sink the boats every 5 years or so to "tighten" them up a bit and impregnate the wood with salt to prevent rot. Having sailed wooden boats built in the 1880's and the early 1900's, I've really wanted to do it, for the "good" of the vessels, but w/ engines, generators and electrics, it just isn't feasible. If one owned a traditionally built (planked) wooden sailing dinghy, it would be a fine thing to do, often.
I doubt it would be advantageous for fiberglass boats.
In some situations it would be considered the right thing to do for a ship caught in a situation where it couldn't put to sea or move to a safe anchorage with a threatening storm; sink her at the dock, in a known depth and secured to the dock (remember, most shipping docks are concrete, not wood). But it is a last ditch thing to do, in any case.

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Jul 14, 2013

darnoldone-

There's a Westerly here in Port Lavaca named "Bear Necessities" Sadly, pretty much a derlict now. Might that be the same boat?

darnoldone · Jul 15, 2013

TSBB 2 said:
darnoldone-

There's a Westerly here in Port Lavaca named "Bear Necessities" Sadly, pretty much a derlict now. Might that be the same boat?

Last I knew, Bear was in central Fl. near Kissimmee. 10 yrs. ago and well past her prime.