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Boat refloated

Proper Job

By Proper Job
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I thought they were stood on the roof after it was afloat? not while being floated...

 

Thank god the high viz jacket/life jacket/hard hat distributors were not around at the time of this boats lift....

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Teadaemon Proficient

Teadaemon

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I thought they were stood on the roof after it was afloat? not while being floated...

 

Thank god the high viz jacket/life jacket/hard hat distributors were not around at the time of this boats lift....

 

The photos definitely show people on board during the dewatering process.

 

I don't know what use a hard hat or hi viz would be during this operation, and a lifejacket could even be a hazard (I wouldn't be wearing one if working inside the boat, just for starters), but there are significant hazards involved in raising a boat like this, and if people aren't careful then if they're also unlucky they can end up seriously hurt or dead. I hope I've got a reasonably sensible attitude to health and safety, but I don't dismiss it - it's there to make sure that people are exposed to as little risk as they reasonably can be.

  • Greenie 1
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The photos definitely show people on board during the dewatering process.

 

I don't know what use a hard hat or hi viz would be during this operation, and a lifejacket could even be a hazard (I wouldn't be wearing one if working inside the boat, just for starters), but there are significant hazards involved in raising a boat like this, and if people aren't careful then if they're also unlucky they can end up seriously hurt or dead. I hope I've got a reasonably sensible attitude to health and safety, but I don't dismiss it - it's there to make sure that people are exposed to as little risk as they reasonably can be.

 

Risk assessment?

 

I reckon they did one.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh I really can't be arsed.....

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Teadaemon Proficient

Teadaemon

Posted
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Risk assessment?

 

I reckon they did one.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh I really can't be arsed.....

 

I'm really not trying to be picky, and I do happen to be one of the relatively few people on here who've actually done something similar. When we refloated a wooden cruiser on the River Yare earlier this year, having the boat roll over during the dewatering was by far the biggest risk that I identified, and we took considerable precautions to prevent it happening or mitigate the consequences if it did happen (guard boats asking passing boats to slow down, a RIB to pick up anyone who ended up falling into the river, stout mooring ropes to reduce the range of movement of the boat, keeping non-essential people off the boat and essential people in drysuits on the side decks where they could jump clear if necessary).

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Proper Job Veteran

Proper Job

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This is the second NB that I have refloated. Both have remained very stable during the refloating process. A major difference between refloating a wooden boat and a steel boat is that a wooden boat is naturally buoyant (in most cases – ballast may alter this), where as steel isn’t.

 

The boats was firmly tied to Helen of Troy throughout the raising process which minimised any potential roll.

 

If either of us had fallen in we would have walked to the side. We had to remain on the sunken boat during the raising process to attend to the pumps, sheets and stem any water coming in to the hull as it became apparent

 

I wore a dry suit for most of the preliminary work that was carried out on the Saturday. On the Sunday, all of the work could be done from the relative comfort of the roof.

 

One of the key things was that there was only two people involve in the process. We both knew what the plan was, communicated with each other constantly and hoped that the other one would fall in first

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Teadaemon Proficient

Teadaemon

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I really didn't mean to criticise your efforts, which are very impressive, but I did want to make clear to anyone else who comes along and reads this in the future, particularly if they've not done this sort of thing before, that there can be significant dangers involved, and these need to be minimised by careful planning and safe working (as you've done).

 

I don't do a lot of salvage work (fortunately), but I do find it very interesting and rewarding. Pretty much every job is different (to a greater or lesser degree), and the feeling of achievement when you do finally raise a boat is great.

 

Incidentally, the wooden cruiser we raised wasn't as buoyant as you might think, after a month or so under water to the cabin top she'd soaked up so much extra water in her planks that she was floating about 6" lower than her normal waterline, even with a dry bilge. She dried out over the next month or so, and gradually returned to her previous waterline.

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

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Incidentally, the wooden cruiser we raised wasn't as buoyant as you might think, after a month or so under water to the cabin top she'd soaked up so much extra water in her planks that she was floating about 6" lower than her normal waterline, even with a dry bilge. She dried out over the next month or so, and gradually returned to her previous waterline.

 

In my experience wooden boats sink just as fast as metal ones and refloat just as slowly.

 

I was once alerted to Umbriel sinking by a knock on my cabin side and someone saying "Your mate's boat is sinking!".

 

I looked out and sure enough Umbriel's bows were higher than an unloaded Big Woolwich's as the stern filled with water.

 

By the time I'd got my boots on she was sat level on the bottom showing no signs of natural buoyancy whatsoever.

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Proper Job Veteran

Proper Job

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I really didn't mean to criticise your efforts, which are very impressive, but I did want to make clear to anyone else who comes along and reads this in the future, particularly if they've not done this sort of thing before, that there can be significant dangers involved, and these need to be minimised by careful planning and safe working (as you've done).

 

I don't do a lot of salvage work (fortunately), but I do find it very interesting and rewarding. Pretty much every job is different (to a greater or lesser degree), and the feeling of achievement when you do finally raise a boat is great.

 

Incidentally, the wooden cruiser we raised wasn't as buoyant as you might think, after a month or so under water to the cabin top she'd soaked up so much extra water in her planks that she was floating about 6" lower than her normal waterline, even with a dry bilge. She dried out over the next month or so, and gradually returned to her previous waterline.

I do appreciate what you are saying. The points that you have made should be considered by anyone who may undertake such a task. It’s not something that should be undertaken with a gun-ho attitude.

 

I would say to anyone looking at the photos and description of how we did it - it takes planning, resourcefulness, careful execution and working in a safe manner

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AJLintern Community Regular

AJLintern

Posted
Posted

In a tidal situation, is there ever a risk with flat bottomed boats on mud that they will become so well stuck that the buoyancy isn't enough to allow the boat to float off, so the water just keeps rising until it inundates the boat...? Has that ever happened in really sticky mud or does the incoming tide always soften the mud enough to allow the boat to float off?

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

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In a tidal situation, is there ever a risk with flat bottomed boats on mud that they will become so well stuck that the buoyancy isn't enough to allow the boat to float off, so the water just keeps rising until it inundates the boat...? Has that ever happened in really sticky mud or does the incoming tide always soften the mud enough to allow the boat to float off?

There are hundreds of flat bottomed boats sat in the Essex mud that rise and fall with the tide twice a day with no human intervention and, to my knowledge, no instances of mud bound inundation.

 

The barge that was my mooring pontoon stayed firmly stuck in the mud at every rising tide but that was entirely due to it's colander like properties rather than mud stickiness.

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John V Veteran

John V

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In a tidal situation, is there ever a risk with flat bottomed boats on mud that they will become so well stuck that the buoyancy isn't enough to allow the boat to float off, so the water just keeps rising until it inundates the boat...? Has that ever happened in really sticky mud or does the incoming tide always soften the mud enough to allow the boat to float off?

 

When I first went to sea, there were tales of ships in the pool of London having problems with the mud gripping but I never heard of any getting into serious difficulty.

Edited by John V
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DHutch Veteran II

DHutchDonate to Canal World

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Ive browsed in from the photos on the front page and looked at the 'fire' thread retrospectively, but while a sad thing to have to do, a good job well done by the looks.

 

Your engine rebuild photos are also very interesting.

 

 

Daniel

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Proper Job Veteran

Proper Job

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When I first went to sea, there were tales of ships in the pool of London having problems with the mud gripping but I never heard of any getting into serious difficulty.

Being the one who was in the canal on the first day of the refloating exercise, I would estimate that the boat had settled in to the mud by about a foot. I would imagine that most of this was due to the movement of the hull with passing boats.

 

When we pumped the water out, the hull held for a long time and it did bob up about a foot. It wasn't at an alarming rate but discernable when stood on the roof. The bow rose first and the stern followed a couple of seconds afterwards

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Pykebird Rising Star

Pykebird

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Having hepled to re float seveal boats I can apreciate what you guys did for a fellow boater, well done! One of the most annoying things I have found if the amount of "experts", who would not be trying to raise the boat that way, but when asked have NEVER actually done it before!

ou would realy need to go and look at hte hull, the amount of heat can cause all sorts of distortion, some of which can not be pulled out, or even seen whilst she is in water. It will be a huge job, not a 2 week project, but good luck to whoever takes her on.

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matty40s Veteran II

matty40s

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what amazes me about this ad is how the camera loses focus every time it gets near the worst affected bits, is this a natural occurring phenomenon and are there cameras available which overcome this effect.

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Proper Job Veteran

Proper Job

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Now that the listing has ended.........

 

Any 'rebuild' project needs a lot of thought about it's cost effectiveness.

 

The vast majority of steel NB boat fires leave the superstructure badly distorted. Probably beyond economic repair. It's best to just cut it off and start again.

 

Effectively, you're buying a hull. So, the main thing is what condition is the hull in?

 

My view would be, estimate the scrap value of the boat and don't pay more than that for it

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