Sailboat sinks at mooring Hamburg Cove, Lyme, Ct

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,759
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
So then this raises the question (to bet the question would be incorrect), what did boats of yesteryear do during the winter? I doubt that they had boat lifts and I am sure the square riggers were stuck in the harbor during winter.

Enquiring minds what to know.
Many yachts just used the tide. A cradle was built on skids, pushed out at low tide, the boat floated into the cradle, and the tide left (10-11' here). Oxen, horses, rollers, greased skids, and today tractors or dozers still do it that way on the coast.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,075
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
So then this raises the question (to bet the question would be incorrect), what did boats of yesteryear do during the winter? I doubt that they had boat lifts and I am sure the square riggers were stuck in the harbor during winter.

Enquiring minds what to know.
In Lake George, they were sunk, only to be raised in the spring. When the French and English were harassing each other in the areas around Lake Champlain and Lake George, (Fort's Ticonderoga and William Henry) the English did not want their ships to be easy targets during the winter. So they sunk them for hiding. The problem was that they had to raise them again. This one slid off into deep water and remained undiscovered for over 200 years!
http://www.lakegeorgeguide.com/guides/history/underwater-historic-shipwrecks/

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/18/nyregion/diving-into-history-in-lake-george.html
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,759
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
This old photo of Rockport Harbor c. 1885, shows schooners iced in. The small one inside looks to be half sunk and the men are trying to raise it.

Rockport Harbor frozen.jpg
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Just talked to a buddy who lives in East Haddam CT and fishes out Saybrook Harbor he is also a volunteer fire fighter in the area, the boat sank due to not being winterized and one of the sea cocks froze and split. He also mentioned that the reason the FD pulled out, is the pumps which they put out there were disconnected the next morning, they suspect by the owner, according to my source the boat is dry docked in Saybrook and the owner intends on restoring it, it was not salvaged, not sure who paid for the recovery but he believes it may have been the owner, very confusing, why would you let her sink only to turn around and recondition her later, he also indicated that the owner is not very well liked in the area, the term which is often used is related to the exit port of every one of us......... :confused:
 
Jun 9, 2004
615
Catalina 385 Marquette. Mi
So then this raises the question (to bet the question would be incorrect), what did boats of yesteryear do during the winter? I doubt that they had boat lifts and I am sure the square riggers were stuck in the harbor during winter.

Enquiring minds what to know.
Marine railway.
image.jpeg
 
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MitchM

.
Jan 20, 2005
1,020
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
well i f i had 535K to spend on a boat i'd likely also spring for someone else to winterize it for $500. i'd maybe even have a boat buddy alarm wired up to my expensive $1000 iphone to get real time alerts day or night when the bilge showed 1/4 inc of h 2 0. i might even spring for a $800 2000 W honda generator , a can of gas and an electric pump for $150 bucks. but some people have more money than brains.