Salvage /recovery question

Numpty diver

I found a nice ali boat on sunday 59m on a sandy bottom.
Kinda thought it would be fun to raise it .

Its 5.5 long ish by 1.5 beam. its well made and is pretty thick possibly 3mm.
its got speaders and crossmembers every where.
Possibly used by the germans for beach landings.

So how many ltrs of air to raise it ?.. best method

Got a group dead keen on doing a padi search and recovery speciality type course
Dean

divelermentov

u will need shit loads of lifting gear for that, might be cost prohibitive to do as 59 mtrs is deep for working.

with regards to the legalities - best to ask are the local marine authorities i guess.

the local coastguard over here once had found a moring anker and a member had asked me to help them lift it for them, my pay would have beenn to be mentioned in the local coastguard news paper.
well i gave them an estimate what i thought was needed ( 2 barges, one with heavy duty crane, several 1/2 ton lift bags, divers to be able to work at 30 mtrs, etc) and that was the last thing I heard about it. To my best knowledge the anker is still there. Agreeable your object is a lly boat whereas teh anker was 12 foot solid brass, so your lift will be lighter but form greater depth.


on another note as I am german, i might want to claim customary rights on the boat as soon as you have got it up :-)

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UKSteve

A few issues to consider:

1: Consider working shallow (lift bags) with lines to wreck... much easier to manage when breaking free from bottom. Initial lift clears bottom. Then you can progressively lift the wreck lifting bags stay in shallow water. This keeps required free air volumes low. It also limits how far things could run away from you. If your initial lift starts with the bags at 5m depth then they can only go 5m uncontrolled. One clear of the bottom you use two sets of bags..leapfrogging them down the lines to bringthe boat into shallower water. Once there you might want to bring it close to shore and settle it on the bottom before doing the final lift with bags attached to the boat itself.

2. Don't underestimate the "suction" effect of the boat on bottom. Can almost double the initial lifting capacity required. A number of small bags is a lot safer than one large bag. Once filled to capacity, a small bag will not generate any more lift if it suddenly rises. Try to have as many bags as possible full then one as the variable lift...helps control the lift more easily.

3. Keep any work conducted at depth as simple as possible. Do the tricky stuff shallow. Only tie knots etc in the water where it is not possible to prepare lines etc on surface. Only use knots where you cant use a shackle.

4. Severely limit number of people in the water during actual lifts - and ideally dont have anyone in the water. With lifting bags shallow you can run hoses to them from surface rather than have someone in the water. Safest place when lifting is on a boat nearby.

5. Final bit is tricky - when the boat is nearly at surface and awash. Probably best to use tide to get it close to shore on a high tide then get it out on a low tide. And consider where you are going to put it!!

Good luck and have fun.

Steve

kiwidiver

divethelermotov(christian) exactly what commercial /salvage experience have you gained in this short diving career of yours to be giving such advice to others???You are talking sh#t.

Numpty diver

Kinda guess you have full claim to the boat.
I will post it to you COD ,charge for postage only .

Cheap gas here, wouldnt be to exspensive but good fun.
Ownership not a problem , if we get it up ,will just inform local police .
Dean

Dave Sutton

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UKSteve

OceanOpportunity

sounds like a relatively easy salvage given that the vessel is on the smaller side.

My vote would be to jet around the thing to break the suction, and ideally run straps under the vessel. Dont affix bags to any hardware along the rails cause there is no telling how strong they are. I'd probably run a 1000lb pillow bag at each corner of the stern, and one at the bow. THat should be more than adequate. Fill them from a LP compressor left at the surface and your good to go. Once its at the surface in clean water, you can inspect the hull. If it looks to be intact, you might be able to pump it out and get her afloat to run up on a trailer. If she's a mangled mess...better off left on the bottom anyway!

better yet...I need a vacation. any frequent flyer miles to share? I'll come bring her up!

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aquaxel

going thru that thread...

it all sounds like an accident going to happen.

whatever u do (most likely liftbags) keep clear and away from the rigging and do it very slow!

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www.aquatec-innerspace.com

Numpty diver

Operation "accident about to happen " in full swing.
Lots of ideas from the team.. and of course help from padi manuals !!
Oh sorry and of course you guys.
The plan A is to rig a strop on and under the boat.. four point spider type thing with a big metal ring in the middle .
We put a smb through the ring and fire it off ,Up we go on the reel.
On the surface at low tide, we drag a thicker rope down on the smb line.
The thicker line is then attached to a large mooring buoy.
All we have to do then is wait for high tide !!
This should beat the surface tension on the sea bed .

Next dive attach some emty sofnalime cans to the boat.. just to make it lighter.
Then haul up the boat on the thicker line at the surface.
Beach the boat and wait for low tide .
Guess the boat weighs one ton of aluiminum.
Well what do you think

Michael ,,.Dave suttons boat looks real nice .. save your air miles .. split fuel money ? only two ponds to travel ...
Or take the viking route