Sunk boat

[Simon clarke]

There is a boat being offered for sale which has sunk. It's a fairline 25. Has an inboard diesel engine which was first aided and is running. How much of the interior would need to be stripped out? What are the pro's and con's? Thanks for any advice.

[John Williamson 1955]

Salt or fresh water? How long was she down for?

 

At the least all the soft furnishings will probably need replacing. The engine needs to be properly looked at, and running it may have damaged it already. The batteries will almost certainly be ruined, especially in salt water. (Edit) Check the fuel tank for water in the fuel.

 

After that, any electrical stuff that was below water level needs at least inspecting and thoroughly drying out before power is applied. Then, depending on how badly its damaged, throwing away after testing.

 

After that, depending on how long she was down, woodwork may have warped when it dried out. Pressure wash all the interior, especially under the floor and behind bulkheads to get rid of the stale water smell.

 

A lot of work, but mostly simple stuff you can do yourself. One question I'd ask is "What sunk her"?

Edited January 13, 2014 by John Williamson 1955

[Simon clarke]

Salt or fresh water? How long was she down for?

 

At the least all the soft furnishings will probably need replacing. The engine needs to be properly looked at, and running it may have damaged it already. The batteries will almost certainly be ruined, especially in salt water. (Edit) Check the fuel tank for water in the fuel.

 

After that, any electrical stuff that was below water level needs at least inspecting and thoroughly drying out before power is applied. Then, depending on how badly its damaged, throwing away after testing.

 

After that, depending on how long she was down, woodwork may have warped when it dried out. Pressure wash all the interior, especially under the floor and behind bulkheads to get rid of the stale water smell.

 

A lot of work, but mostly simple stuff you can do yourself. One question I'd ask is "What sunk her"?

It was river water so fresh. Not under for long, hours as opposed to days. Dragged under by her mooring so i presume when the river flooded. The people who recovered her I presume knew what they were doing with regards first aiding the engine. Can I presume that if it's still running it won't be a major problem?

It was river water so fresh. Not under for long, hours as opposed to days. Dragged under by her mooring so i presume when the river flooded. The people who recovered her I presume knew what they were doing with regards first aiding the engine. Can I presume that if it's still running it won't be a major problem?

Yeah I just looked at the post and there is a lot of presuming before anyone comments. lol

[John Williamson 1955]

It was river water so fresh. Not under for long, hours as opposed to days. Dragged under by her mooring so i presume when the river flooded. The people who recovered her I presume knew what they were doing with regards first aiding the engine. Can I presume that if it's still running it won't be a major problem?

Yeah I just looked at the post and there is a lot of presuming before anyone comments. lol

Just the soft furnishings, then, and you'll get away with washing things like curtains and cushion covers. You still need to dry and thoroughly check the electrics before you apply power. Things like junction boxes and crimp connections can let water in, and although they may work well now, the water will cause corrosion later, leading to all sorts of "interesting" faults. Been There, Done That, Got The T Shirt.

 

It depends what they did to get the engine running as to what needs checking/ doing. There is a tested procedure to follow which has been posted in the forum within the last few weeks. If they did this, then it should be okay for many years. It would definitely be a good idea to strip and clean the alternator and starter motor if that's not already been done. If you take them to a professional, tell them what's happened and they'll know what to look for.

 

The silt that came in with the water will start to smell unpleasant in a few days, so needs to be cleaned out now before it sets hard. Again, I have the T-shirt..... <Holds nose>

[Simon clarke]

Just the soft furnishings, then, and you'll get away with washing things like curtains and cushion covers. You still need to dry and thoroughly check the electrics before you apply power. Things like junction boxes and crimp connections can let water in, and although they may work well now, the water will cause corrosion later, leading to all sorts of "interesting" faults. Been There, Done That, Got The T Shirt.

 

It depends what they did to get the engine running as to what needs checking/ doing. There is a tested procedure to follow which has been posted in the forum within the last few weeks. If they did this, then it should be okay for many years. It would definitely be a good idea to strip and clean the alternator and starter motor if that's not already been done. If you take them to a professional, tell them what's happened and they'll know what to look for.

 

The silt that came in with the water will start to smell unpleasant in a few days, so needs to be cleaned out now before it sets hard. Again, I have the T-shirt..... <Holds nose>

Thanks for that. If I can get it at the right price it will be worth it.

[George94]

Thanks for that. If I can get it at the right price it will be worth it.

 

That's true of most things!

 

Good luck.

[Naughty Cal]

Soft furnishings, woodwork, electrical items, batteries, engine service (at the very least), nav gear,

 

The list could be endless. Why not just go and find a nice, unsunk example of a Fairline 25ft? There are plenty about for reasonable money.

 

Unless you have some sort of sentimental attachment to this sunk boat it may well prove to be a pain in the arse job to remedy.

[OldGoat]

Being a realist, unless you can get it AT ITS SCRAP VALUE and no more, I'd walk away.

Simplistically, it's as stated in above posts, but you need to strip out all the fittings and as some of the attachment points will be through fiberglass, you will have difficulty reinstating some bits.

 

I'm assuming that you want it as a liveaboard and want a cost effective solution - but this one might stretch you too far...

 

 

[MtB]

Soft furnishings, woodwork, electrical items, batteries, engine service (at the very least), nav gear,

 

The list could be endless. Why not just go and find a nice, unsunk example of a Fairline 25ft? There are plenty about for reasonable money.

 

Unless you have some sort of sentimental attachment to this sunk boat it may well prove to be a pain in the arse job to remedy.

 

Strangely, I agree with Phylis here.

 

There are SO MANY potential downsides and only one upside to buying a sunk/recovered Fairline 25 that the price would need to be virtually zero to fully compensate you for the potential grief you are taking on.

 

I imagine THIS is the boat you are considering...

 

 

MtB

P.S. I posted the pic and link in case you were unaware it was on ebay

[Naughty Cal]

A really very tidy one of those sold at our marina (which is known for commanding high prices for their brokerage boats) for £7k last summer.

 

Which makes a sunk one worth nothing to be brutally honest.

 

ETA: The one sold at Burton Waters was the flybridge version.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Naughty Cal