Don’t often see a boat that has gone to the briny deep brought back up again, and not sure what to expect watching the retrieval of a wooden sailboat yesterday in Snug Cove. It had been under repair and the upper structure was mostly missing so introducing air and bags to it and floating was out of the question, instead a barge with a crane came over.
Setting up didn’t take long, after waiting for the ferry and its wash to leave the boats in the vicinity were untied and moved out of the way and barge positioned alongside the dock. Not a huge float, perhaps 60 feet long and about a 5 ton crane welded to the ramp end. Slings were brought out and the diver suited up and down into the cold January sea. Experience showed when in less time than it took to eat breakfast he had done the job and broke the surface with news that there was a large hole near the stern on the starboard side.
Not a good sign. The diesel buried in the bowels of the barge cranked up hydraulic pressure, and before long the top rail appeared and then about halfway down to the boat’s water line they stopped and waited for it to drain. The poor thing was in rough shape, the hole in back was easily 12 feet square and ended just below the waterline and then back to the stern edge. In addition, the bow was breached and split almost to the water line too while the top rails of the deck were crushed.
The top of the boat had been mostly removed for repairs, and so much of the structural integrity of the hull was missing as well. It warped and popped and cracked from the strain of the slings, bending and plainly showing that this craft was not going to float period with out a new hull. A pump was brought into play, and it wasn’t long before the crane was able to hoist it almost completely out of the water, and when light enough it was towed to a beach for salvage. A real bummer of a day for the boat owner, it’s never easy to say goodbye.