Well my day really sucked.

[thinwater]

Thanks for the info . Now, if I get understand correctly (long shot) the boat and owner would get a $2500 ticket, tied to the boat or delivered at home, whatever, which would increase over time to $5200? What is that time frame?

Or, is it a $2500 fine which sort of "automatically" becomes $5200 due to court costs, service fees, research expenses, etc.?

Thanks,

John

[scottyt]

i think the way to handle this, or one way. the state puts a sign on the boat, after 30 days the boat is free to whom ever wants it. now the new taker has to go thru DNR or who ever to contact the owner, and has the right to the boat after 30 days. the person claiming the boat should be able to reclaim any storage fees for the 30 days, with a max of say 500 bucks.

edit, basicly speeding up the process already in effect for abandoned boats or mechanic leans already on the books

[joethecobbler]

These SOUND like great ideas, "fine 'em, fine 'em big,etc,etc. "
The reality is it's not that simple, at all.
Abandoned vessel issues are not new. the only real effect to these types of "feel good" ordinances is alot of justification for the enforcement and judicial system's ever increasing budget.
As evidenced by the conversation of the town board posted by Cam. one person keeps asking where the money's going and repeatedly is told the "general Fund". If the issue is actually the waterways safety,navigation etc. etc. then the cash should be used for that.
Aside from the money grab. the reality is that the people abandoning their vessels most likely did/do so in a large part due to financial issues. if they were unable to deal w/ the boat themselves with all the different options available. Tell me how the courts or any concious person can expect to collect these 1000's and 1000's in fines? get real. Are perhaps you familiar with the term "blood from a stone?"
I would much rather see more organizations like waterkeeper or riverwatcher or whomever take an interest with actual results than yet more time and resource wasted on the "punishment" approach.
Of course I favor a return on my investment rather than more feel good unfunded mandates, and red tape.
Look at successful waterfront communities and take their lead in methods used to prevent abandoned and derelict vessels before they become costly removal issues by comunities.
More interest and self education of mariners and waterfront comunities .The remedies already at their dispose as well as good old self policing by all in the boating community would go alot further than the punishment approach.
One of the biggest issues with these vessels is determining ownership , Florida has taken a big step requiring all vessels on the water to be registered at all times.(can't believe it was otherwise) of course enforcing the laws are another issue, as there are several unregistered in my immediate area now, and they've been there a while. No doubt on the way to the bottom.
So much for more laws.
Derelict vessel in florida is a criminal offense. yet I've never read or know of anyone being prosecuted for it.

[smackdaddy]

+1 Joe.

This thread, and some comments herein, has given me an idea for another discussion we should have about boat ownership.

I'll start that one tonight after I get back from the boat. Interesting stuff.

[rallens]

Me and a friend went out and took a look at Distant Star yesterday. I found out about her when my boss told me about the craigslist ad.

I took pics but can’t post them because I'm new to the site. 10 posts before you can posts links? So bare with me if I make several non-posts so I can get the pics out to all who are interested. In the mean time she looks pretty damn bad. But I'm still tempted. Probably because I'm a complete novice and have no idea what a mess I would be getting myself in to. Not so much the recovery, but the rebuild.

Supposedly someone else is going out next weekend to take a shot at getting her out of the mud. The good news, for that person, is she actually isn't full of mud like many have suggested on here, she's just laying in it. I swam all around her and felt around both under and inside her (wear skiing gloves) and the mud inside is negligible. I wish the perspective salvor luck. But if he fails to get her out I may take a shot at her myself. I'm almost more interested in the challenge of floating her again than what to do with her afterward. If anything I only live about 20 minutes away from where she lies and would be willing to lend a hand to any potential salvors. Just shoot me a message.

I'll post the pics as soon as I hit the 10 post mark.

[rallens]

here you go

Flickr: rallens' Photostream

[MorganPaul]

Thanx rallens for the update.

All I can say is. She does not look good. I hope she gets floated soon.

[sailhog]

Nice work, Rallens. So what does one do with such a boat once she's floated?

[thinwater]

Rallens, everyone --

I have been in contact with the owner for a couple of weeks and we have resolved all of the issues so that I can attempt to raise her. It won't be next weekend (tides are all wrong) but rather the 15th. I have my diver lined up, my float bags, and some labor and services to assist if the stars align, distant or otherwise.

I'm glad to hear she's not full of mud, but it may be settled in places that can't be seen or felt from the cockpit. Still, it sounds better than most of us imagined.

You, and everyone else on this list who can make it, are welcome to come out and help or just cheer for us (and her). It has taken quite a bit of organization just to get the pieces (people, supplies, and equipment) in place, but I'm pretty sure she's coming out of there on the rising tide 10/15/09. I'll be posting here in the days leading up to the resurrection.

John

[rallens]

That's good to hear. Just out of curiosity where did you get your lift bags? I was looking into renting them from

Rental Tools Online - Specialty Tools and ROVs for Hazardous Locations, Underwater, and Emergency Services.

or buying them from

http://www.proliftbags.com/index.html

But after seeing the shape she was in in person my budget for recovery shrank.

There are a lot of ideas and opinions in this thread about how to get her out on the cheap. The reality of the situation is without professional lift bags (or a tugboat or crane) it's gonna be a lot of work to get her out.

So here's my two cents or what I had planed for my recovery attempt. I'm not sure if you've seen her in person or not but it sounds like you have all your ducks in a row and you will be raising her on the 15th. So I hope my advice is of some use.

I planned on renting or buying four 6,600 lb lift bags. I figured with double the weight of the boat in lift capacity she'd have to float. Your biggest obstacle is going to be getting the straps under the hull to attach the starboard side lift bags to. You said you have a diver so that should help a lot in that task. The mud is fairly soft and pushing the straps under the hull may work. Or starting them from each end and using a come along to pull them towards the center. I had planed of placing two straps under the hull one in front and one behind the keel. And running two straps along the length of the keel to attach the two bags on each side together (to keep them from slipping out of position).

After swimming around Distant Star for about an hour yesterday I came to the conclusion (if I got the chance to float her) that I would place straps as mentioned above, attach the bags, and float her in her current position i.e. on her side. Tow her into deeper water where the weight of the keel should do its job. Once in deeper water if the weight of the keel is not enough to straighten her out you should be able to get her vertical with a little help from your friends. Then fire up the old trash pump, and in a few minutes she'll be floating on her own. I addition to the lift bags I also considering filling the cabin with various things to increase the overall buoyancy. One thing I thought might work would be bunnage bags

Home - Dunnage Air Bags

There pretty cheap but I never got around to finding a local supplier and testing them to see how tough they are.

Anyway, I wish you luck and I hope my two cents were of some use.

p.s. let me know what time you'll be out there I may be able to muster a few good men to come help you out.