imagineero wrote:
I was down in the harbour today ... how much damage can be expected?
This is aboat that would have no motor, no electronics.
Is it generally worthwhile to put time into
a boat like this which, in good condition maybe only worth AU$2k-3k?
Assuming i could float it by myself and the mast was ok, requiring
only a couple of new shrouds, would it be a steal at AU$500,
or just a waste of time?
Shaun

A few weeks ago I was told about a small sailboat that had been sunk
behind a friend's parents' home on a lake about 25 miles from here. The
boat's owner didn't want it and the family wanted it out from behind
their lakefront home where it's cuddytop was visible. The boat had been
tied to a tree onshore but sank during last years three hurricanes
which came through here. The level in the lake had risen several feet
during those storms and remains up today.
I was told I could have the boat if I wanted it and that the sails,
anchors, seats etc were in dry storage and undamaged and would be
delivered to me as soon as the boat was out from behind the home.
I drove over there and waded out to where the boat was peering up like
a submarine in about 5 feet of water.
One shroud was still attached to the starboard side and I pulled on it
to see if there was a mast down below. I couldn't move the shroudline.
I felt around with my feet and found the mast, swam down along what I
could of it and found it was trapped beneath the hull and some large
tree parts.
That was good enough for me.
The next day I went back with two friends (Andrew & Hughie) and
together we were able to manually hold the boat high enough that one of
us (taking turns) was able to bail water out with a 5-gal bucket.

During all this, I was able to recover the mast. I'd brought a few
tools and disconnected both shroudlines and the forestay and halyards
etc. to make handling easier. I just swam down to where the mast was
and worked it out from under the hull and trees - they're lighter in
the water.

We got the boat "floating" but could tell that water was coming in
fairly quickly so we pushed & pulled and forced it turned around toward
the shore and dragged/pushed it as close to shore as we could. The
inside of the "cabin" area had been damaged during the hurricanes and
there was no keel winch line or handle.
We wound up forcing the boat forward to "drag" the keep to as "up" a
position as we could manage. As we got into shallower and shallower
water, the keel came up farther and farther, but if we stopped forward
progress at all, the keel would settle into the sand. I had tied it up
as best I could, but that was one of the big hassles of the whole
project.

I'd found one anchor while poking about on the bottom (by grabbing a
piece of rope and following it) so we tossed that ashore to keep the
boat from drifting back into deeper water. Fat chance ...

We rushed home, hooked my truck to my pontoon boat and another truck to
an empty sailboat trailer (for my old MacGregor Venture) and headed
back to the lake where we put the pontoon boat in at a ramp about a
mile from the home where the sunken sailboat waits.
We got the pontoon boat over to the sailboat only to discover the
sailboat filled with water.

We bailed it out again, stuck a battery and a bilge pump in it, tied it
to the back of the pontoon boat and made serious speed back toward the
boat ramp with Andrew sitting at the rear of the sailboat tossing
water out as fast as he could.
When we got back to the dock adjacent to the boat ramp, Andrew jumped
out, ran down the dock to his truck and backed the empty sailboat
trailer into the water.
We fought the sailboat onto the trailer and quickly discovered - as it
got to the top of the ramp - that there was a good size hole in the
bottom of the hull. We'd been hoping (fantasizing) that the water had
been coming in through the keel trunk ... ha

Well, I thought, at least I got a good mast/sails/shrouds/stays/etc out
of the deal, and my friends' parents got the boat out of their
backyard. All I hadda do now is cut the old boat up and leave it out
for the garbage truck. I was looking forward using the mast & sails on
another project.
But in the harsh light of the next day, I discovered a very slight bend
in the mast about 75% up. And the former owner, who was going to
quickly show up with the sails, boom, seat cushions and lots, lots
more, has ... vanished ...

The only identifier I can find on the boat is "Newport." I haven't
measured it but it's about 18'-20' as it sits just a little short on my
trailer (for the 23' MacGregor).
The hull is badly damaged: good-size hole in the bottom, deck separated
from the hull probably halfway around, and lots of water trapped
between the hull and one-piece sole. It smells really really bad ...

But it sure was fun ... And I did get a couple of useable stainless
fittings out of the deal.

CJ