[WheresTheBrakes]

So I went to help refloat Distant Star today..
She's a 36 Pearson
having a hard time trying to figure out what to do..
So I made a picture to show you whats going on..
on the left is the pretty dry marsh, then mud then water, our tide comes up about 5 feet..

She is lying on her port side about 1/4 to 1/3 submerged.. listed over about 75 degrees

at her current location, her hatches/companionway is in deeper water than her keel, so any attempts at sucking the water out with a gas pump, results in fighting the water flooding in..

To complicate things, the starboard chainplate (the one out of the water) was undergoing a refit and can't be trusted with much more pressure than it's currently getting..

My gut feeling is to try to rotate the whole boat, so that the hatches/companion way would be more likely to be dry to help the pump get some of the water out..

today we went at low tide and attempted to dig a hole under the keel enough to try and winch her from the toerail over toward the marsh..
needless to say it didn't work..

we also tied the anchor line to the back of a small center console and attempted to "twist her" as the tide came in which didn't work..

The only joy we had today, which i still can't believe, was sinking a big anchor in the dryish marsh and then putting 4:1 tackle between the big anchor and the anchor line.. 4 guys were able to twist the bow about 3-4 feet closer to the shore..

so, my thoughts now are:

Will it float 1/3 full, assuming we can keep the mast out of the water. (what angle would it have to be at to right itself..) the theory her is if we could get her to sit up just a little bit, we might be able to clear the side of the cockpit from the water and pump her out.. that has to help make her lighter..

I thought that putting the anchor rode back to one of the giant winches and throwing out 3 anchors in a x if we could grind the winch and pull the bow into deeper water..

we could also put a bigger boat on the stern and try to drag that around..
deeper water doesnt solve the 1/3 full of water..


OF COURSE my preferred method would either be a chinook helicopter or the Budweiser clydesdales in the marsh, pulling like hell on the top of the mast, but both of those ideas were ruled out by the weak starboard chainplate..

Thanks for any advice, we'll try it out tomorrow...please don't suggest dynamite..

Joey

 

[scottyt]

i posted before the idea of sand bags to try to stop the water coming in, stack em up on the rail til above water level then pump.

another idea truck inner tubes lashed under the hull, pump em up for floataion to get the low side up, then pump

you could also try the inner tube thing in the boat, less water to pump out. tie to what ever you can low down in the boat, under seetes what ever.

you could also try thin ply wood screwed to the walls of the cockpit to stem the flow back in. only problem is lots of little hole to be filed with marine tex later, but least of problems.

how about a bunch of anchors out deep, and try to slide the boat out to deeper water so she can stand up.

when i had to beach my boat i did not go low rail out to sea, but i was able to rotate her like you are trying

you might want to put an anchor to shore one way put lots of tension, and one at the other end out to sea with lots of tension. let the tide coming in turn her, just keep the tension going, its how i turned my boat

 

[scottyt]

okay after looking at the pics again, i think i have an idea. go buy lots of plumbers putty or duckseal. open the roof hatch. use putty or duck seal to seal off the companion board and everything else ( sliding compainion cover hatch boards etc )that will let water in to the boat then pump out the roof hatch, dont worry about the cockpit right now

ps i am unemployed right now for a round trip bus ticket and food i will work my ass off for a week. or if anyone else wants to drive i will come down and help for food. a real good excuse to get away from the wife for a week

 

[seabreeze_97]

I think I'd grab her by the snout and pivot her out so that as she broke loose, she'd rotate about 90 degrees and be pointed to the deeper water. With a stout powerboat the rotation and pull could be adjusted as to minimize further negative roll until she were in a more stable upright situation (perhaps a stern line to an anchor onshore to hold the stern and help roll her upright), whence pumping could be done. The idea would be to get the nose towards the deeper water and let the ballast work to bring the boat upright as the ground falls away. Granted, she may just ride further down with the added weight, but the water will flood downward and act as even more ballast to (against the towing on the nose) induce an upright roll. Pump her out and pull further out. I'd try to do at high tide with minimal current. Well, that's what I'd do. Rip that bandaid, scream, and get it over with.

 

[scottyt]

okay i am brain storming here sorry multible posts

here is an idea that may dewater hull pretty easily but not too cheaply. two part foam poured in to trash bags shoved in to the boat. start in the front and work way back to companion way, and i mean fill it

just checked one 2 gallon kit will expand to about a 100 gallons of water worth of space. so a half kit in to a 50 gallon trash bag, tie it off real fast and pack it in while it expands, then do another. problem is its 100 bucks for a 2 gallon kit

 

[celenoglu]

First yu have to stop water ingress and then pump the water inside the boat. You might try using your old sails or plastic material to cover the holes that are below the water level. You should find a way to attach the cover to each hole indivudually or you can try to cover all the side with one big piece of cloth. I know it is not an easy job but this is the only way. This method is tried more than once and always succeeded.

 

[MMR]

Stop the water?

First yu have to stop water ingress and then pump the water inside the boat. You might try using your old sails or plastic material to cover the holes that are below the water level. You should find a way to attach the cover to each hole indivudually or you can try to cover all the side with one big piece of cloth. I know it is not an easy job but this is the only way. This method is tried more than once and always succeeded.

See photos in original thread....
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/51684-well-my-day-really-sucked.html

 

[captainjay]

You need float bags, professional grade. I looked at the photos in the other thread. You need to attach the bags to the starboard side of the boat at the cleats or any other solid point. Try to get that side up a little, then you are going to need a power boat with good power to drag the bow out towards the deeper water. Once it pulls into the six foot or so water it will right its self and you can pump the remaining water out to stabilize it. Good luck
Jay

 

[sailingdog]

I'd try pivoting the boat clockwise and swinging her 180˚ or as close to that as possible to get the keel over the deeper water. That should also allow here to tip more upright and help prevent water from downflooding as the tide rises. Adding large flotation bags inside the boat isn't a bad idea either...just in case.

 

[ambianceack]

As captainjay stated you need air bag jacks. These are bags used in jacking houses and even boats on the ground. You need a generator to power an air compressor, hoses appropriate fittings and some cribbing, usually 6"x6"x3' blocks of wood, scrape wood is also helpful. In summary, insert flattened air bag under boat then inflate due to the mud use a sheet of plywood to displace the wieght on the mud then place cribbing next to air bag to support your lift. deflate air bag, place on cribbing and raise another six inches and so on. Essentially six inch lifts or more if you have more air bags. Once you create a pivot point spin the boat using a line and another boat. Then continue raising the boat as before, once up high enough you might be able to support using boat stands. The problem is you are on mud so plywood 5/8 to 3/4" might be necessary to displace the weight You then might need build a temporary cradle or something to drag/support the boat upright into deeper water.

 

[sailingfool]

The way I've seen this type of recovery done is to hire a floating crane and tug, they come over and lift the boat upright at high tide, pump it out, then tow it away. Runs about $5,000 for the day, and is usually covered by marine insurance, if the boat is insured. If another storm blows through while the boat is in its current situation, the prognosis would be grim.

 

[scottyt]

after some sleep i have some suggestions

if you can get the rudder off, take it off so you dont damage it if the boat rotates.

next contact your local fire department they have lift and float bags, they might come help and call it training. they also normally have really big pumps. if a road is close enough maybe a pumper truck could pump water out faster than it can get in. most fire departments are looking for reasons to play with the stuff they have but dont use often

 

[AllThumbs]

I am thinking you need to get the water out. 2 or 3 pumps like the one you have and seal all the openings with plywood, screws and duct seal. Pump like mad while the tide is rising and then a big boat pulling on the bow once she is getting lighter. Man, I hope this turns out well. I would love to help if I wasn't working.

I am rooting for you and SVDS

 

[deryk]

Sorry to hear man, and hope the old girl will be out sailing again this summer. Seriously, you need to seal her off so no more water gets in and get a tug boat to pull you into deeper water. If your insured which I hope you are call them and se if they have any advice. Im sure insurance companies have seen it all and if you have a motor in there you dont want fuel and oil leaking out.

best of luck
deryk

 

[scottyt]

we are waiting for the daily update

 

[Faith of Holland]

The starboard chainplate sounds like a non-issue right now.
I like the idea of removing the rudder if possible, and orienting the bow toward the water, if you can keep it up.
You mentioned digging, but you can move a whole lot more earth by jetting. Get yourself a gas pump, attach the discharge hose to a 6' or 8' galvanized 3/4 or 1" pipe. Something you can break up some of the roots you're going to encounter, and get that keel to do the work for you. Find some local guy who's jetting in seawalls, not the big operators, but some small, local, service oriented guy, and he'll rent you everything you need for it. Have an extra pipe on hand for when the keel lays on the one you're working and locks it up.
Caution: get some cheap landscape fabric, or rent some oil booms to keep your silts contained.
Gregg A Granger
Sailing Faith: Home Page

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Well my internet has been down for the last couple of days, so i haven't been able to post.

Ok first off, this is a low to no budget salvage. So no floating cranes or anything like that. Ive got another plan worked up that i think may work. We were able to turn the boat around a few feet before it got to where it just wouldn't move. Right now, im thinking if i can put stuff inside to displace the water and give some floatation, we may be able to turn it around. Ive also got a few 55 gallon barrels that im going to try lash off to the lower winch and cleats for more floatation. Ive been out gather info and stuff to do this with.

Thats it for now.

WheresTheBrakes, give me a call sometime and i try to explain things a little better.

 

[Snboard976]

I don't think its possible to stop the ingress of water. It looks like the lazerette hatch is under water which would be exceedingly difficult to plug underwater. Too bad you can't trust the rig. My first though would have been to used the main halyard coming straight out of the top of the mast (pulling to the stern and slightly down) to pivot the boat. It would give you great leverage. Part of the problem you are having pivoting the boat by pulling from the bow is that the front edge of the keel is going to dig into the mud unless it lays more horizontally.

As the other posters have said I think the priority is to get the bow pointed towards deep water. Once it is in a position where it could right itself start up your pumps through the overhead hatches.

 

[Izzy1414]

SV,

You've gotten a lot of advice from a lot of different people. Some practical and some not so practical given your set of circumstances. My advice is not so much about the method you use, but your approach to solving your dilema. First and formost remember you are the captain, so don't let anyone talk you into doing something unless you are comfortable with it. Secondly, use the assets you have to your advantage. It seems to me that one of your biggest assets is time. While I've never had a boat in your spot, I have had a few 18 wheelers run aground so to speak, their "keel" out of the water when it shouldn't be. My experience with recovery operations is that more damage is done during the recovery than is done in the original incident. Since you're not creating an environmental hazard and you're obviously not hindering navigation, take the time to devise a plan to keep further damage at a minimum. Personally, of the plans I've read here, I lean towards those that float her free rather than than those that pull her out. Use Mother Nature rather than fight her. It just seems that you need to somehow "raft" her into deeper water before righting her. Heck, I once heard of a guy living on an island he created using empty milk jugs and pop bottles so anything is possible. Not that you need more bad things to think about but 55 gallon drums floating in the water may draw attention to your operation that you don't want. So use your time wisely to devise your plan and then act quickly to implement it. Good luck, Captain.

 

[scottyt]

i still think a few buckets of pumper putty would stem the flow in to the boat. close the boat up except the roof hatch, seal everything that is under water with plumbers putty which sticks under water . then pump it out. plumbers putty does not harden but is water proof and will clean up easily.

What is Plumber's Putty?

Oatey at Lowe's: 14 oz. Plumber's Putty