Achilles, RIver medway, Tonbridge, Kent sadly not afloat

[thorne lass]

From what the photos show there is no hope of getting a crane anywhere near, and if you could it would have to be a whopper, would need a hard standing built and would cost rather more than £800.00!

 

A lot will depend upon what can be seen when the river is back to normal level. One of the original pictures posted seems to show a slipway leading up to a sort of mill building. Is it a slipway? Could a wrecker truck get there??

[station tug]

the fact the boats got a wooden cabin isnt going to help your situation at all...if you try dragging it out the chances are it will be coming out in a few buckled pieces,what are you going to attach the chains too???it will take a monster machine to pull it... it does depend how deep it is ,maybe get a boat either side of the hull and block and tacle it and get it up as far as you can? plywood,tarps,two boats and as many BIG pumps as you can get...you will need some fairly big pumps to sort it. electric submersibles and 2" honda pumps arnt even going to make a dent in it..your going to need a diver to sling the boat.. its a fairly dangerous job, this isnt going to be the standard hippy hutch refloat on the siide of the cut sort of a job...

[MtB]

Sounds like Station Tug is up for raising it for you!

 

 

MtB

[station tug]

Sounds like Station Tug is up for raising it for you!

 

 

MtB

kents a bit to far for me or id have a crack at it, iv only got a small van now and i wouldnt get much tackle in with my dogs too...id be speaking to my local dive club. is there any boaters that are game and have suitable boats to work off? hire company for decent sized pumps (wouldnt be telling them what i wanted them for though)...how deep is the boat??

Edited December 28, 2013 by station tug

[Guest]

kents a bit to far for me or id have a crack at it, iv only got a small van now and i wouldnt get much tackle in with my dogs too...id be speaking to my local dive club. is there any boaters that are game and have suitable boats to work off? hire company for decent sized pumps (wouldnt be telling them what i wanted them for though)...how deep is the boat??

 

Have you considered asking the local Fire & Rescue Service about hiring lightweight portable (!!!) pumps? What is known as a payable special service (n.b. you don't just hire the pump - they come with an appliance & crew so don't know what that would cost these days). In the current climate of resource shortages, I am sure that they would consider a request like this.

 

They can have pumping capacity > 1000 lpm so might be what you are looking for.

 

Hope all goes well

 

S23

[Athy]

the standard hippy hutch refloat

[quote

What a pleasing turn of phrase, Mr. Tug!

Well,you live and learn I thought that SAAB did make marine diesel engines. A quick Google seems to indicate that the engines are SABB. The firm currently make engines foe worboats and lifeboats,based on Iveco units.

Sabb are Norwegian as far as I recall. Their engines were destined for fishing boats, but quite a few found theri way into narrowboats in the 1970s and 1980s - some Springers had single or twin cylinder models, and one hire firm still uses them. I researched them about three years ago when I was considering buying a boat fitted with one, and my understanding was that they no longer made the engines but still supplied the parts.

[dazbot8]

From what the photos show there is no hope of getting a crane anywhere near, and if you could it would have to be a whopper, would need a hard standing built and would cost rather more than £800.00!

 

A lot will depend upon what can be seen when the river is back to normal level. One of the original pictures posted seems to show a slipway leading up to a sort of mill building. Is it a slipway? Could a wrecker truck get there??

Hi thorne lass, Unfortunately it is not a slip its just a low bank with a jetty. Going down to check the level later however the bow is the only part of the boat to be seen and that is still an inch under it appears the rest of the boat is going down at an angle but this is yet to be established. When the current isnt so bad then we can hop onto a dinghy and find out exactly how deep she is.

the fact the boats got a wooden cabin isnt going to help your situation at all...if you try dragging it out the chances are it will be coming out in a few buckled pieces,what are you going to attach the chains too???it will take a monster machine to pull it... it does depend how deep it is ,maybe get a boat either side of the hull and block and tacle it and get it up as far as you can? plywood,tarps,two boats and as many BIG pumps as you can get...you will need some fairly big pumps to sort it. electric submersibles and 2" honda pumps arnt even going to make a dent in it..your going to need a diver to sling the boat.. its a fairly dangerous job, this isnt going to be the standard hippy hutch refloat on the siide of the cut sort of a job...

I dont think it is going to be an easy approach, trouble is id imagine the silt would have surrounded the boat so putting straps underneath wont be an easy task and as you say it would be a dangerous task for a diver to undertake. A friend does have a few pumps in his yard but how big is unclear yet... i also have the advantage of the fact i used to rebuild many different pumps so im hoping the company may lend me a few massive submersible pumps.

 

Have you considered asking the local Fire & Rescue Service about hiring lightweight portable (!!!) pumps? What is known as a payable special service (n.b. you don't just hire the pump - they come with an appliance & crew so don't know what that would cost these days). In the current climate of resource shortages, I am sure that they would consider a request like this.

 

They can have pumping capacity > 1000 lpm so might be what you are looking for.

 

Hope all goes well

 

S23

We havnt reeally got alot into place yet first we need establish how she lays, how much if any she will stick out from the surface when the levels drop. It seems money is going to be an issue as it turns out my fathers insurance policy finished in october and he didnt renew it because it was due to be sold on next month ;/ Foolish i know but such is life,,,, live and learn they say....

Id just like to thank everyone for there advice so far all the ideas, artifacts and interest is really overwhelming i can really see why my Dad enjoys being on the river so much. It seems a different community to the typical town person ect

[MtB]

We havnt reeally got alot into place yet first we need establish how she lays, how much if any she will stick out from the surface when the levels drop. It seems money is going to be an issue as it turns out my fathers insurance policy finished in october and he didnt renew it because it was due to be sold on next month ;/ Foolish i know but such is life,,,, live and learn they say....

 

Life can be so perverse sometimes....

 

Wasn't there mention earlier of ACHILLES being sunk due to being hit by another boat? Any chance of their insurance paying out (assuming you know who it is, and they have TPI)?

 

MtB

[dazbot8]

 

Life can be so perverse sometimes....

 

Wasn't there mention earlier of ACHILLES being sunk due to being hit by another boat? Any chance of their insurance paying out (assuming you know who it is, and they have TPI)?

 

MtB

No apparantley achillies swang round and hit another 2 boats but there is only word of mouth its not known if there is damage to any other boats as of yet

We have been down there today and moved another 2 boats and discovered achillies isnt laying where we suspected on the plus side we have spoke to ea and they are willing to drop the levels down for a day once it has stopped flowing so much but that maybe weeks yet the pics is of her bow pointing towards the slip ( turns out there is a slip which i wasnt aware of) and the rest is running virtually inline with a little springer

[madcat]

Hope you can get this lot sorted.

I'm miles away and have only ever done a hippy hutch recovery with some friends. Combined ops with my pump and generator plus a tarp or two and some plywood and mud ! It got my late mates Springer off the bottom .

 

Good luck and I hope you succeed .

[MtB]

This one looks easily raise-able to me once the EA lower the water level.

 

The angle at which the fore end is breaking the surface suggests to me the hull is lying approximately horizontally, and once the level is lowered 18" I reckon the gunwales will clear the surface the whole length of the boat then all that will be needed is a biggish pump and some patience.

 

MtB

[dazbot8]

Hope you can get this lot sorted.

I'm miles away and have only ever done a hippy hutch recovery with some friends. Combined ops with my pump and generator plus a tarp or two and some plywood and mud ! It got my late mates Springer off the bottom .

 

Good luck and I hope you succeed .

Thank you

This one looks easily raise-able to me once the EA lower the water level.

 

The angle at which the fore end is breaking the surface suggests to me the hull is lying approximately horizontally, and once the level is lowered 18" I reckon the gunwales will clear the surface the whole length of the boat then all that will be needed is a biggish pump and some patience.

 

MtB

It really does look like it will be an easy raise once the ea drop the river we will have a fair amount of people with pumps and shovels as id imagine its full of silt lol My Dad said today if it floats again then i will start again so now its just a waiting game. we even had a few people turn up to turn a narrow boat around so the bow was facing the current http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Pn2HWnA50. My father stands out alot as he is the one in the high viz and dreadlocks lol

[station tug]

What a pleasing turn of phrase, Mr. Tug!

.

my first boat was a 35ft steel hull wooden cabin boat £500 it had mushrooms growing on the inside of the windows my mrs went to come on board and went through each tread of the steps untill she hit the floor went through that and hit base plate...the deal with the boat yard was i either cut it up that weekend or turned it around in a month....my first tug....steel cabin, tug deck, single cylinder coventry victor sounded like a bolinder. that was the start ..iv had my share of sinkers,stinkers and hutches................

Hi thorne lass, Unfortunately it is not a slip its just a low bank with a jetty. Going down to check the level later however the bow is the only part of the boat to be seen and that is still an inch under it appears the rest of the boat is going down at an angle but this is yet to be established. When the current isnt so bad then we can hop onto a dinghy and find out exactly how deep she is.

I dont think it is going to be an easy approach, trouble is id imagine the silt would have surrounded the boat so putting straps underneath wont be an easy task and as you say it would be a dangerous task for a diver to undertake. A friend does have a few pumps in his yard but how big is unclear yet... i also have the advantage of the fact i used to rebuild many different pumps so im hoping the company may lend me a few massive submersible pumps.

i was thinking.....wire rope/chain through gas locker vents and strap/chain/wire rope under uxter plate to get it up enough so the pump will work there magic?? its ok craining but how would you lift it???

[MtB]

Thank you

It really does look like it will be an easy raise once the ea drop the river we will have a fair amount of people with pumps and shovels as id imagine its full of silt lol My Dad said today if it floats again then i will start again so now its just a waiting game. we even had a few people turn up to turn a narrow boat around so the bow was facing the current http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Pn2HWnA50. My father stands out alot as he is the one in the high viz and dreadlocks lol

 

Yes lol, I want dreadlocks... don't give me ideas....!

 

I have the feeling you will raise ACHILLES no problem and this will turn out to one more chapter in her (his?) history.

 

MtB

P.S. Listen to Station tug. He knows his stuff. AND he is getting drawn in lol!

[dazbot8]

my first boat was a 35ft steel hull wooden cabin boat £500 it had mushrooms growing on the inside of the windows my mrs went to come on board and went through each tread of the steps untill she hit the floor went through that and hit base plate...the deal with the boat yard was i either cut it up that weekend or turned it around in a month....my first tug....steel cabin, tug deck, single cylinder coventry victor sounded like a bolinder. that was the start ..iv had my share of sinkers,stinkers and hutches................

i was thinking.....wire rope/chain through gas locker vents and strap/chain/wire rope under uxter plate to get it up enough so the pump will work there magic?? its ok craining but how would you lift it???

We are hoping that when the ea drop the levels that the whole boat will be exposed enough to pump it out and remove most of the silt so hopefully no lifting will be needed but we wont know for sure until the rivers back to normal. I will keep this all updated on a day to day basis. there would be nowhere to put a crain either as the slip is to narrow and the other side isnt hard standing

 

Yes lol, I want dreadlocks... don't give me ideas....!

 

I have the feeling you will raise ACHILLES no problem and this will turn out to one more chapter in her (his?) history.

 

MtB

P.S. Listen to Station tug. He knows his stuff. AND he is getting drawn in lol!

lol i should have ago at growing them at some point my Father says i should but my missus is dead against it and yes i agree hopefully it will be a happy ending and as above i will keep everyone updated on the progress of her (dont know if its a he or she but my old man says she lol) as she is rebuilt ect and i will be using speedy 23's advice with the fire and rescue as they may treat it as a training exercise and if all else fails then station tug's ideas will be put into play thanks again people your really shedding light on the situation

Edited December 28, 2013 by dazbot8

[station tug]

We are hoping that when the ea drop the levels that the whole boat will be exposed enough to pump it out and remove most of the silt so hopefully no lifting will be needed but we wont know for sure until the rivers back to normal. I will keep this all updated on a day to day basis. there would be nowhere to put a crain either as the slip is to narrow and the other side isnt hard standing

lol i should have ago at growing them at some point my Father says i should but my missus is dead against it and yes i agree hopefully it will be a happy ending and as above i will keep everyone updated on the progress of her (dont know if its a he or she but my old man says she lol) as she is rebuilt ect and i will be using station tug's advice with the fire and rescue as they may treat it as a training exercise

when the leval drops if the back end isnt far under you can use ply sheets and cheap blue plastic tarps to stop water coming in...the more pumps the better...

[dazbot8]

when the leval drops if the back end isnt far under you can use ply sheets and cheap blue plastic tarps to stop water coming in...the more pumps the better...

We have a fair amount of pumps to hand atleast 7 fair sized submersible's so far im sure will will get more i have yet to ring my previous employer to ask wether i can borrow a couple of industrial submersibles

[neil m]

Hi Darren,

We visited the Medway earlier this year and when we got to Tonbridge we moored up next to your dad on "Achilles", we had a chat with him and another chap on the cruiser nearby, he told me a bit about "Achilles" and the work he was doing on it. I was very sad to see your post and wish you all the best in refloating her and repairing the damage.

Neil..

[MtB]

Hi Darren,

We visited the Medway earlier this year and when we got to Tonbridge we moored up next to your dad on "Achilles", we had a chat with him and another chap on the cruiser nearby, he told me a bit about "Achilles" and the work he was doing on it. I was very sad to see your post and wish you all the best in refloating her and repairing the damage.

Neil..

 

What a delightful boat, even though not the historic GUCCC originally suspected.

 

MtB

[Cheshire cat]

Delightful boat but given how little of it is above water on the photos at the moment it looks like it has suffered significant structural damage

[MtB]

Delightful boat but given how little of it is above water on the photos at the moment it looks like it has suffered significant structural damage

 

Yes. The OP says his father thinks the cabin is now missing. Hard to argue otherwise.

 

'Significant structural damage' seems to be understating it.

 

 

MtB

P.S. Despite the cabin being wooden, I'm shocked that the power of the current seems to have completely removed it.

 

Next project for Station Tug perhaps...?

 

MtB

[dazbot8]

Hi Darren,

We visited the Medway earlier this year and when we got to Tonbridge we moored up next to your dad on "Achilles", we had a chat with him and another chap on the cruiser nearby, he told me a bit about "Achilles" and the work he was doing on it. I was very sad to see your post and wish you all the best in refloating her and repairing the damage.

Neil..

Thank you Neil. Yes i do recall seeing your lovely boat me and partner spoke to you i believe with my 2 children

 

What a delightful boat, even though not the historic GUCCC originally suspected.

 

MtB

I agree however the history still is very interesting and hopefully it will live on to create more

Delightful boat but given how little of it is above water on the photos at the moment it looks like it has suffered significant structural damage

Yes so far we have found large amounts of Achilles down river sadly we have been issued with another severe weather warning so the time to refloat is getting further away

 

Yes. The OP says his father thinks the cabin is now missing. Hard to argue otherwise.

 

'Significant structural damage' seems to be understating it.

 

 

MtB

P.S. Despite the cabin being wooden, I'm shocked that the power of the current seems to have completely removed it.

 

Next project for Station Tug perhaps...?

 

MtB

We have created an appeal on face book and have recieved 841 likes in 24 hours and also been offered plenty of help getting Achilles a float and restoring it back to its former glory

[madcat]

I'm not on Facebook so haven't seen this, keep us posted on here too.

 

All the very best with recovering your boat.

[neil m]

Hi Darren,

Yes I do remember meeting you and your kids, think it was the morning after i saw your Dad. I hope your guys arn't too upset about "Achilles". My wife Bev was with me when we met you and has Facebook so I'll have a look on that. keep us posted on how things get on.

All the best

Neil..

[Naughty Cal]

 

Yes. The OP says his father thinks the cabin is now missing. Hard to argue otherwise.

 

'Significant structural damage' seems to be understating it.

 

 

MtB

P.S. Despite the cabin being wooden, I'm shocked that the power of the current seems to have completely removed it.

 

Next project for Station Tug perhaps...?

 

MtB

Perhaps the Princess that sat on it gave it a helping hand