sailboat sank Sunday

[fatlazyless]

... isn't that sunk boat an old wood 17' Cat sailboat with a heavy keel beneath it .....like maybe a 1923 Crosby Cat, made in Cotuit, Mass.

....for want of two monster foam noodles ..... available at Walmart in three colors .....green, blue, or red ..... on super sale at 2/$6 ..... that have sooooo much floatation.....just two monster foam noodles.....one lashed to the port thwart .....and one to starboard ....and the old Cat sailboat would never have sunk ..... don't u know .... plus there would be no super duper expensive retrieval fee.....to fetch it up from the deep.... just two monster Walmart noodles ...... hindsight is so totally 20-20 ...... boo-hoo-hoo

[AC2717]

So I have a question about the recovery

Once the air bag floats up to the surface the hull is still underwater. What are the next few steps to get the hull above the service floating again?

thank you

[fatlazyless]

They fill the old wood hull with enough foam monster noodles, maybe six fat noodles, to keep it stable, and above water, and start bailing out the water with a blue $2.69 Walmart, 5-gal bucket .... 5-gallons water weighs 40-lbs ..... so, every bucket full of water removes 40-lbs weight ..... much faster than many small electric pumps ...... Walmart to the rescue! Ya know......this would really get it done on the cheap. Then, tow it to a trailer on a boat launch ramp, or if available, to a boat lift. And, start thinking about installing some flotation.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Originally Posted by AC2717

So I have a question about the recovery

Once the air bag floats up to the surface the hull is still underwater. What are the next few steps to get the hull above the service floating again?

thank you

A single airbag was used to float the sailboat to the surface from 58 feet deep. Once on the surface, additional airbags were tied to each side of the stern. This still did not float the gunnels above the water so a fourth airbag was inflated inside the small cabin of the sailboat. This brought the gunnels above the water and a small gas powered pump was used to easily bailout the water allowing the sailboat to float. The sailboat was then towed back to the owners dock.

All three of the snowmobiles that were also recovered last summer were floated to the surface using the same front/rear airbag arrangement, however, once on the surface, the sleds were towed to shore, put on a trailer and removed. The sleds were recovered from 93 feet, 78 feet and 68 feet depths.

[C-Bass]

How much does something like that cost. I imagine insurance would cover some or all of it.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by Senter Cove Guy

A single airbag was used to float the sailboat to the surface from 58 feet deep. Once on the surface, additional airbags were tied to each side of the stern. This still did not float the gunnels above the water so a fourth airbag was inflated inside the small cabin of the sailboat. This brought the gunnels above the water and a small gas powered pump was used to easily bailout the water allowing the sailboat to float. The sailboat was then towed back to the owners dock.

All three of the snowmobiles that were also recovered last summer were floated to the surface using the same front/rear airbag arrangement, however, once on the surface, the sleds were towed to shore, put on a trailer and removed. The sleds were recovered from 93 feet, 78 feet and 68 feet depths.

Are the snowmobiles you’re referring to the ones where the people perished in the lake? Just thinking about how tragic that was was and hoping riders are more careful this ice season...

[fatlazyless]

Talk'n 'bout drown'n while snomo'n cross a froz'n lake: here's an el cheapo swimmer's/pfd belt that really works and is also light weight and easy to wear.

All you need is a thin foam swimmer's noodle that has a hole running down through the length of the noodle, and thread a 3/8 or 1/2" sturdy line down through it to make yourself a swimmer's belt/pfd. Tie it off somewhat tight with a square knot, around your waist, and under your outer coat.

Should you have the bad luck to crash through the ice, just knowing you have flotation will dramatically increase your safety, because it will make you much less likely to panic, and panic is a big factor for drowning to happen. Plus, it will keep your head above water which of course makes all the difference.

People can stay alive in 34-degree water, over their head depth, for 90-minutes, and survive after they get thawed out, which is a painful thawing process similar to having frozen hands ..... just don't panic.

Carrying a loud whistle is good, too.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Are the snowmobiles you’re referring to the ones where the people perished in the lake? Just thinking about how tragic that was was and hoping riders are more careful this ice season...

Two of the sleds were the ones that went down off the southern tip of Rattlesnake where there was one fatality. The other sled was not involved in a fatality.

Here we are, winter 2017-2018. I too hope that it is a safe one.

[AC2717]

Originally Posted by Senter Cove Guy

A single airbag was used to float the sailboat to the surface from 58 feet deep. Once on the surface, additional airbags were tied to each side of the stern. This still did not float the gunnels above the water so a fourth airbag was inflated inside the small cabin of the sailboat. This brought the gunnels above the water and a small gas powered pump was used to easily bailout the water allowing the sailboat to float. The sailboat was then towed back to the owners dock.

All three of the snowmobiles that were also recovered last summer were floated to the surface using the same front/rear airbag arrangement, however, once on the surface, the sleds were towed to shore, put on a trailer and removed. The sleds were recovered from 93 feet, 78 feet and 68 feet depths.

thank you for the info, wondered how gunnels got above the water line in order to bail it out