notthd

New year starts off badly- Boat sinks in the slip story w/pics. (see it hauled))

Hey all,

Hope everyone’s NewYear is off to a good start, thought I’d share a bummer of a start. As if working the last 18months endless hours my one week off in almost two years this happens. On new years day I got a call from my slip mate asking where my boat went. ???? Should be in the slip – well it’s not. A good friend of mine that lives close called and said he would g look for me. Called back, “Mike- I hate to tell you but she’s on the bottom.” NottHome was a 36’ express, my slip is 25’ deep and you could not see the boat but 3 of 4 lines were still attached to something and the power cord still had her energized. By the time I got there it was dark, I lowered a dive light on a rope and could make out the tip of the UHF antennas….. @#$%!!!!!!
Sure enough she sank in less than 24hrs. I had just redid the entire interior, all new vinyl up top and spent $12K on a new port motor just this July. It only had 20 hours on it and I only got to use it once with all the improvements. Oh Well…. It was insured so I am not out everything but wanted to share some things I learned the hard way and the cool hauling of her to the surface. Was pretty interesting getting her afloat again.
Lessons- get an agreed upon policy if you do not want to lose your ***. Home owners does NOT cover anything in a boat if it sinks. We lost $6K of stuff once we added it up thinking I could claim it- Nope, only 1K on the boat policy- 0 on homeowners. Make sure the policy covers hauling and storage if an accident happens. The Barge, 50ton crane, divers, and lift gear cost over $9K to get her afloat again. $600 to lift on share plus daily storage… WOW, that smarts.
Here is the cool process of hauling her- bittersweet- the only glimmer was it was interesting to watch and participate in. Quite a job


At the slip- notice the ropes still attached in the front

Hooked Air bag to the rudders, crane to the sides, righted her- was on the bottom on her side. First peek at the ole girl.


Now for th ecrane and come-alongs tied to the pylons




First peak in side



After all day she is at the top and we can start pumping out the hull. Th ecanvis acted like a catch bag keeping all the oil, gass, and sewage inside the boat, it went everywhere. Not to mention dirt and soot.




Finally could see in - total loss. - Now out and on land 2 days later could go down inside. It was a disaster..... Oil, gas, soot, lined everything.



the bed and teh under the bed storage, Guess that is all trash..




WE salvaged what we could which was not much, with a stiff upper lip said our goodbyes. Had alot of good memories over the years. Oh well I can always save for another one once we get it all settled.

So- I’m OK but have to make some adjustments - no simpathy needed here.. I am going to be selling my collector 930 and most if not all of my spare 968 parts for now. I can always get more later. If you guys need something PM me. I have 2 cabs and one coupe worth of parts. I’ll do my best to get back with you. There still are a few outstanding $ from some guys- I know I have not even asked to be paid because of my schedule but if you guys remember what you bought let’s settle up.

I am going to make it to Hershey this year no matter what- I need it. Cheers, Mike

bogey1

Ouch, thats certainly not a good start to the year, or decade for that matter. What sunk her? The 6th picture down looks like she had a few "water lines" inside before heading to the bottom. Sorry for your loss!

notthd

I had a trememdous amount of activities done in the engine room- Either while in there the acuation switch for the bildge was broken or it died. the boat weaps water around the prop shafts but the bildge pumps it out. With the main switch borken it would fill until it reachs the emergancy bildge. In my case the battery charger was mounted lower than the emergancy bildge on switch so it tripped the breaker for power once the level reached the charger, the E-bildge ran till the batteries were dead and she went down.

Large amounts or rain did not help but was not the main cause. - Thanks for the kind words.

cheers, Mike

SeanR

Wow, that is very sad to see.

Noah930

Ouch. I realize it's "just a boat" but sorry for your loss. Your post makes you sound like you're coping surprisingly well.

Last930

Shaft logs would have to drip an awful lot to sink a boat that size - how bad were they leaking? It's supposed to be a drop or so every few minutes I believe. You must have had something else let go. Sorry to see that happen.

notthd

She was taking on about a gallon a day, a little more than usual, when we got her afloat the leak was more like a gallon an hour from shafts and rudder seals. We also had colder than normal temps up and down, one day 15 degrees F next 70 and back. I had friends check on her but I had not been aboard since Labor day....

Thanks for all the kind words. If anyone has a boat do not live what went wrong for me. Ins, hauling and storage included, personel effects coverage, delivery costs for a repacement, battery charger location, and frequent checks....

It is just a boat but still sux.Still positive though. I think I'll invent a bildge remote calling device that sends me a message to my phone when X amount of water is in...

cheers, Mike

A930Rocket

Sorry for the mess. The good part is nobody was hurt and all can be replaced.

Looks like Mama or someone in the truck wasn't happy...

notthd

Thanks Jim- Yep Mama wan't happy.... She cried when she broke the surface.

Chaos

So Sorry

Noah930

That's not a half bad idea. Push it through, either as a stand-alone product or sell the idea to one of the bilge pump manufacturers and enjoy the residuals for the rest of your life. There are some motorcycle alarms that will page you if they detect theft, so this shouldn't be too difficult an idea to realize.

944S2IFISH2

notthd,
From a fellow boater, sorry for your loss. Regarding inventing a device...
http://www.theboatnanny.com/