Needs Tidying Up Project Widebeam

[matty40s]

This is when it went down.....

The  back end was already underwater, had been for some weeks, and the river was still in flood, so probably not a good time to mess around with pumps and tarps to try to empty water out. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by matty40s

[magnetman]

I'm not convinced it had been submerged for long. Suspect it may have come off its mooring lines and aligned with the Weir gate which is why the stern went down. A tug would not usually be sent out in red boards for a sunken boat but if it was a threat to the Weir itself then perhaps that changes the story.

 

All theory. 

 

There is another picture on here somewhere showing it lying alongside the guard piles quite safely and secured both ends. Obviously with the amount of flow that would be subject to some movement...

 

The odd thing seems to be that someone was able to secure it by ropes but unable to remove it at the same time. Strange. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by magnetman

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

Who has nicked the windows , portholes and all the rest of it?

 

 

? 

 

The window frames are still there, they just don't have any glass in them.

 

Don't know where the engine control panel went though!

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

? 

 

The window frames are still there, they just don't have any glass in them.

 

Don't know where the engine control panel went though!

It would be scrap any way surely.

 

And yes the frames just need re glazing, do they need to come out for that though? Theyll be a bugger to shift I bet now.

[Guest]

Curious to know how that ding in the stern happened. It would have needed to hit something very hard to cause that amount damage at that point.

 

I know it was ridden over by another boat whilst submerged but that would have damaged the roof not the stern. And actually its hard to see any roof damage.

[TheBiscuits]

1 minute ago, The Happy Nomad said:

Curious to know how that ding in the stern happened. It would have needed to hit something very hard to cause that amount damage at that point.

 

I know it was ridden over by another boat whilst submerged but that would have damaged the roof not the stern. And actually its hard to see any roof damage.

 

If you remember the tale, this is the boat that the EA tried to tow off the weir previously, and the tow went wrong while they were doing it and then it sank.

 

I'd be surprised if there's not a very strong round steel pole right where that happened!

[magnetman]

I suspect that was where it collided with part of the weir as it got pulled into the open radial gate. 

 

Whether that was due to the tug pulling it or the reason the tug was pulling it seems to be the critical question. I suspect the latter myself. I reckon it had already collided with the Weir and was viewed as a hazard which would be better left on the River bed than in a weir gate. 

 

The gates on that weir are about the right size to gobble up a wide beam but not spit it out the other side. 

 

[matty40s]

25 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I'm not convinced it had been submerged for long. Suspect it may have come off its mooring lines and aligned with the Weir gate which is why the stern went down. A tug would not usually be sent out in red boards for a sunken boat but if it was a threat to the Weir itself then ....

The Thames was far higher when it either was untied, or came adrift, the wier piles are probably the source of the ding.

[magnetman]

The piles have floating plastic guards around them but with the height of the Thames last winter they may not have been working, to be fair. 

 

I think it was the weir. 

 

 

Orange is boat on its own. Green line is tug pulling partially submerged vessel out of the weir. (Theoretical situation as do not currently have access to the SIS recorded sat view for that particular day as it is not important and below my security clearance). 

 

A bit like this.  Boat secured to piles comes loose and works it's way under the far left radial causing a situation where it needs removing asap. Tug (not EA any more it's a contractor) goes out to haul it away from the danger zone, knowing it is going to sink. 

 

 

I don't think "far higher" is quite right for the level. It's just above the weir. The levels don't move much above the weirs certainly not as much as below...

 

ETA some more speculation - perhaps the boat was accidentally rammed by another heavy boat while moored up causing that damage to the stern. It's in the right place for a boat moored pointing upstream on the left hand bank. Obviously not well attended if it ended up adrift.  The moorings above Sunbury are all on the left hand side.. Dark painted wide beam is a bit awkward to see in the dark with beer or Mary Jane or worse goggles. 

 

 

I have personally seen late night idiocy on boats in that reach, it's not a new phenomenon. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by magnetman

[bizzard]

For problems with Piles.  

[phantom_iv]

Looks like there's two dents in the stern, one each side - could those be from where it contacted the weir structure either side of the gate it got towed off? Would imagine it would have hit with quite a bit of force, plus force of water pushing it inwards could easily have made those dents I'd have thought?

[roland elsdon]

6 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Ta.  Bit of filler and a lick of paint it will be better than new then. 

Preferable to a fire salvage though.

Bit of red oxide on outside, bit of white on inside, tow it to Brentford drag it up hanwell  and it will be indistinguishable, from the others.

[ditchcrawler]

1 minute ago, roland elsdon said:

Bit of red oxide on outside, bit of white on inside, tow it to Brentford drag it up hanwell  and it will be indistinguishable, from the others.

Rust is the inthing for the outside of boats now

[magnetman]

1 hour ago, phantom_iv said:

Looks like there's two dents in the stern, one each side - could those be from where it contacted the weir structure either side of the gate it got towed off? Would imagine it would have hit with quite a bit of force, plus force of water pushing it inwards could easily have made those dents I'd have thought?

Pretty sure you are right about that. 

 

This picture posted earlier on this thread and previously is a bit of a giveaway

 

 

No line between the tug and the wide bean. And there is no way that it would have been allowed to remain there for any significant amount of time. Hazard. It is clearly trapped in the weir gate. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by magnetman

[W+T]

20 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Get @W+T on the job.

 

I've seen his boats ...

I would sort of love that  

[Rob-M]

1 hour ago, W+T said:

I would sort of love that  

I don't think it would fit on your drive way for the cutout.

[roland elsdon]

19 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Rust is the inthing for the outside of boats now

And me having removed the portholes from the engine room only this week to finally sort it out. I’ve always bucked the trend.

Trouble is new red on now looks awful next to the 10 year old red, and I can’t polish the brass yet.