Sailboat washes up on Florida beach

CalebD · Jan 17, 2007

Ross, while I agree with you in concept

the CG and local municipalities dont want Joe and Jane boat owner to start bringing their own backhoes down on THEIR beach to dig out their beached boat. Nothing should stop a boat owner though from attempting this if he wishes to except that these days are a little more litigious than when Tristan Jones claimed to start his own salvage company somewhere in Spain to rescue a fellow cruisers sunken boat using some old hulks of vessels that were left to rot. And we know he was embellishing the truth a bit. Think OSHA or EPA. Think about some parts of the country where you need a permit from the municipality just to cut down, or prune a tree on your own property! OK, scratch pruning. Think lawsuits. I for one, am glad but that it is harder to cut down trees but I am growing quite tired of the government micromanaging what I can and cannot do. I am not saying it is not possible to do safely. Some plywood and planks distributing the weight of a Travellift down on the beach could easily allow the boat to be "rescued" to a trailer. Trouble is, for my example you need both a Travellift and a trailer handy, not to mention crew. I guess my point is that you or I might think of such rescue strategies but neither of us has a Travellift or trailer for our many ton boats ready to roll at the moment. These days John Q. Public needs to have boat insurance to help provide these services since most boat owners dont think that way.By the way, what else do (or did) you do besides trolling this board (like me) and repairing boats for say $75/hour?Not a salvor or sea-lawyer,Caleb Davison

RAD · Jan 17, 2007

CalebD

I live and play in Islip and have been commuting to my contracting business on Sea Cliff Ave.in Glen Cove for 25+ years now and know the neighborhood very well, in fact we just completed a project on Cliff Way so I've been looking at the harbor from a fantastic view.

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Jan 17, 2007

Depending on the conditions....

Depending on the depth of water relative to shore and other factors determines how the boat will be moved. Since I'm not there all is pure speculation.I see 3 major choices. 1). Tie it to a strong heavy boat and drag it back into the water. More than likely, a small spud barge can do it. 2) If water is fairly deep close to shore line, a small derrick barge can lift the boat onto the barge and bring to a shipyard or drop back in the water. 3) this is the most likely, i would think. Just get a crane and a semi. Most boat movers and large salvagers have flat bed trailers set up for keel boats. Depending on distance from the salvager it can cost between 5 and 10 Kilobucks. The crane wont be cheap for the day. Then once the boat is set on the flatbed, riggers will have to come and de-commission so it can be moved down the road, then recommissioned again. Looks like an expensive boat ans I'm sure the Ins. Co. will not want to total it if it doesnt have to.

CalebD · Jan 17, 2007

RAD

I think I know the house you mean between Cliff Way and The Boulevard, unless I am mistaken. There are a lot of nice waterview properties in Sea Cliff so I probably am wrong but who knows? My mom still lives up Laurel Ave. I visit pretty regularly.

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Jan 17, 2007

ROSS....Probably nothing...

There is probably nothing to stop him from contractring this work out. I'm sure that the Coast Guuard and the beach authorities are helping the owner to find capable contractors at this very moment. The bottom line is.....nobody wants that boat there and nobody is probably willing to get it moved either, except of course the owner and his Insurance Carrier. i HAD A 48' power boat sink on me one time. Everyone wanted the boat raised. The coast Guard, the Marina, the town and the county. They really werent too concerned as to how it got raised, as long as it was. Of all of the authorities, no one volunteered to help financially, but they all helped logistically. Im sure its the same in this case.

Ben16737 · Jan 18, 2007

How is a sunken boat raised?

Let's a say a 20' to 30' boat sinks at its mooring. Maybe 20' of water, like the other ones mentioned here. How does that boat get raised? Do you need somebody with a barge-mounted crane, and some divers? I've often wondered about that.

Ross · Jan 18, 2007

Air bags and divers. Have to get webbing under the

boat, attach the air bags and inflate them. once the hull is lifted high enough the pumps are started.

PHitchcox · Jan 18, 2007

Raising a sunken boat

Got to see a boat raised exactly as Ben asked (not trying to hijack Peter's original post); briefly, the transom had been sheared off in a storm when it hit a dock. Divers went below and inserted four, very large airbags that were then inflated. It brought the boat back the surface where the transom was patched well enough to sail to an awaiting truck. No, it wasn't my boat thankfully. And yes, you should always rig spring lines. And my apologies again to Peter.Paul

sailortonyb Allied Mis · Jan 18, 2007

Ben.....

In my case, i sank at the dock. Part of the cabin was slightly above the waterline. I got some plwood, 2X4s and nails, I basicaly nailed everything shut including putting plywood over the windows. I was lucky in the respect that the boat was a wooden boat. I then rented 2 very large pumps for $400 total for the day. I hoped that i could pump more water out than could seep back in. I got lucky. I took more than 1/2 the day, but it did come up.As for fiberglass boats, I have seen barges with cranes and also have seen divers place large inflatable bags inside the sunken boats and pump air into the bags and raise the boat. I guess it all depends on the size of boat and the resources available. After hurricanr Katrina, since the barge and cranes were brought into the marina, all of them were raised that way.

T J Furstenau · Jan 18, 2007

Ping Pong Balls

I love the show Mythbusters, and I especially enjoyed the show where they rigged up a contraption to pump ping pong balls down into a sunken boat (one that they sunk for the myth), and then raise it. They did spring a leak and some ping pong balls came pouring to the surface, but they got it closed and did manage to bring the boat up. Took A LOT of balls (no pun) to bring the boat up that way. Just hope for a strong hull/deck joint as it will be taking the bulk of the strain.T J

Big Joe · Jan 18, 2007

Sank at the dock

My neighbors 40 boat started sinking at the dock. When the deck was awash the fire department showed up. They jumped on the sinking boat and broke the front hatch. Next they stuck the fire hose in the hatch. The Fireman yells to his pal up on the street to start pumping and they start the pump in reverse. The firetruck revs his engine up and the water starts blasting out from under the firetruck. That boat was pumped out in less than five minutes. It was amazing to watch. It was a thru hull and Vessel Assist fixed that in minutes.Regards, Big Joe.

Sandy Stone · Jan 18, 2007

Here is a salvage effort for you

This is a boat outside of Pensacola, FL following hurricane Dennis. Hard to believe it was possible.

Sandy Stone · Jan 18, 2007

Second try

No idea why that didn't work. Try this, then click on 'see a photo record'.

Ben16737 · Jan 19, 2007

Air bags

Thanks for the info. The air bags remind me of what I've seen used to right a rolled-over truck. The salvage team wedged air bags under the side of the trailor and started pumping. Nearly had to do it twice when the truck finally fell back on to its wheels and almost kept falling over to the other side!I saw that Mythbusters show, as well. It works as long as you can keep the otters away.

Ross · Jan 19, 2007

Sandy, That's a nice find. I wonder what the

total cost was? Was damage to the house billed to the boat owner's insurance or to the homeowners insurance. "I am so sorry sir but you aren't covered for damage cause by collision with a boat, TO BAD>"

Sailboat washes up on Florida beach

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T J Furstenau

Big Joe

Sandy Stone

Sandy Stone

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