Challenge: Raising a Half-Sunken Boat

[Just one Fish]

I like that show Mythbusters. I havnt seen it in years. did they do one with raising a sunken boat with ping pong balls? sounds cool

[Just one Fish]

did it work?

[Quads]

Worked like a charm and was fun to do.

YouTube - Ping Pong Balls Raise a Boat

[Stillraining]

Well after a year if the OP didn't get her raised it is a lost cause for sure.

[Quads]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

Well after a year if the OP didn't get her raised it is a lost cause for sure.

It's certainly a habitat for a lot of creatures, that's for sure!

[Philsboat]

Talk to your local fire dept.See if they want some practice with their high volume portable pumps.Might get it done free then see what kind of shape it's in.

Phil

[Not Sure]

I would think if you dove down with several plastic tarps from Home Depot, opened them up and spread them out fore and aft as best you could, and then ran an air hose from a small compressor into each compartment, that enough air would be trapped by the tarps to at least get her to the surface. Pretty cheap to get it up to the surface... $30 for each tarp (which you can reuse to cover the boat once its back on land) and a couple hundred dollars for a small compressor and 50' hose.

[Seahunter]

I say leave it there; it's too late now anyways. By the by, what's a half sunk boat? Must be something like a beached boat full of water.

[Borealis]

This is what my Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer looked like after a North wind blew all the water out of the channels and fresh water marina and out in to the open ocean durng a low tide. My keel stuck in the mud of the slip (shallow Louisiana marina). The volunteer fire dept called me at work and said that they would supply a pump. I get down there and used an inflatable raft, tied it low on the transom/rudder and inflated it. The mud still held the boat, but we got the cockpit coamings above water somehow and the 2" pump from the FD got the water out of the cabin and in short order she bouyed to the surface. That was in 1993, these days I would use lift bags and have less panic.

A few months ago I towed a wood sailboat to shore that had sunk to its cabin roof and floating in 50' of water. It was so neutraly bouyant that when I stood on the cabin roof it started sinking. Nobody new the owner so I was acting on good conscience. I tied the boat to a pile (dolphin) and waited for low tide. At 1am I floated out to the boat as it layed all the way over as the tide dropped...(oops), the line I tied it to the pile with had snapped off the brass winch. The weight of the water in the boat was too much and it strained to outboard until the winch broke and she laid over. Actually when I saw that it was laying with the keel toward shore I kinda panicked. But, at 1am and by myself I had to follow thru and get the boat floated before tide returned. As I pondered the detailed of the predicament I noticed the tide had changed and started trickling into the boat through a 3" chimney cutout in the port deck. I immediately stuffed a sponge in the hole and it stopped the water flow. I had a portable 2000 Honda generator in my boat with a 1/4HP submersible pump that I through into the boat and started pumping water. It worked, over the next 3 hours I watched as the tide gained on the boat and pretty son the boat started gaining on the tide. At 6am the boat was floating perfect and only about 6' water remained ni her and there was no obvious sign of why she sank. Today she still sits on here mooring but the owner was contacted via the PD and I got a case of wine for my efforts.

For anyone reading this, if your boat sinks but is still partly floating, get some floatation under it, lift bags, lots of 5 gallon buckets, rafts, tarps wont work unless you have a very good way of securing them at the bottom and on all points making a round parachute. Remember that the outward pressure on your air containers is fighting against the weight of the water it is holding back, so the air will find the path of least resistance and turn your theoretical 'lift bag tarp' into a mishapen collection of material that is dumping air as fast as you can pump it in. Rent an air compressor or use a scuba tank to fill your floatation. Get the cockpit coamings dry so water is not passing across the top edge and plug all holes that are still under water. Then rent a 2"-3" trash pump and pump ou the water. i like 3" becasue it moves alot fast. If there is a place that water is getting in then it may compensate.

[nigheandonn]

I'm not familiar with the Clipper Marine brand but I would respect the advice offered from those who do.
My big question would be how long is she down? If it is more than a few days well then it is a big refit. Lots of time and lots of expense. Could be worth it if you really like the boat....

[Borealis]

Originally Posted by nigheandonn

I'm not familiar with the Clipper Marine brand but I would respect the advice offered from those who do.
My big question would be how long is she down? If it is more than a few days well then it is a big refit. Lots of time and lots of expense. Could be worth it if you really like the boat....

As commercial diver, frankly, Im not afraid of salvage. While a vessel is still underwater it is 'pickled' from corrosion for a fair good amount of time. Once you bring it into the air environment then the corrosion starts and doesnt stop until properly treated. So the best course of action when salvaging a vessel is to have a rapid plan in place once its surfaced to remove the engine and rebuild it. I have found that oil, diesel slurry flowing around inside cabins while submerged is a terrible mess. The actual cleaning up is probably the most disheartening part. Wood will dry, if the fiberglass core gets saturated then you may need to seek surveyors advice, but repair of core decks is done all the time. Electrical system can be replaced and probably improved or simplified.
Boats are basically a very resiliant shell with lots of stuff screwed or bolted on. So you see, the engineering and design are already done for you, all you have to do is clean or upgrade the accessories.



Alos, even if you dont have the motivation of money to refurbish a salvaged vessel, maybe a stranger does. Sell it for a few hundred dollars and walk away.

[ellisdee]

i used truck inner tubes to raise my boat, a sea witch, after it was holed by a friggin stink boat while at mooring during a storm at king harbor, redondo beach ca. though i tried to repair her it just became too expensive. i finally bought a bare fiberglass hull and decided to build it using the rigging off the sea witch...then all the rigging, winches, etc. were stolen...leaving me with just memories of this grand old boat...at least she was mine for a while and she carried me down the west coast of central america, through the canal and back. i will never forget her and the memories of sailing her inspire me to once again return to the sea....3 years and counting down. by the way the snake who stole all the beautiful old bronze fittings, ports,winches, etc. sold them for the scrap price. but, he did pay...boy, did he pay, don't mess with an old pirate lol.

[Seahunter]

Did anybody see the episode of Myth-busters where they re-floated a 30'r sunk in about 30' water with ping pong balls. It actually worked.OOps I see it's been posted.