Sunk?

[BuffaloBill]

I had a phone call last night to say that a narrow boat had

gone down on the riverside at Brundall yesterday morning.

Anyone seen this or have anymore info?

Was told that it would be low tide at 11.30 today when they

were hoping to have a chance of raising it but by my

calculations, the tide will be high about then. Or have I got

my calcs wrong?

[fishtone]

I hope your calculations are correct as showing 6ft under Wroxham Bridge at the moment. This is the highest it has been for a while.

[BuffaloBill]

Update.

The boat is/was moored down Riverside road somewhere

around Peachments and Silverline area. An attempt to re-float

her yesterday was unsuccessful and another will be made

today if a larger pump can be borrowed from somewhere. 

So if anyone is near, they could do with a hand. (2 ladies!)

[Hylander]

Oh dear i am sorry that these poor ladies have lost their canal boat.    I wonder what happened.   Is quite a worry.     

[BuffaloBill]

Hi M. It is not their boat! It belongs to a good friend of their's

who has some health issues so cannot do anything himself

at the moment, so they are trying to help him out.

It's a 210 mile round trip for us so not possible due to the

snow here and the roads like ice.

I did suggest a couple of contacts for the loan a large pump

and hopefully may get some assistance from them too.

Fingers crossed.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Give Maffetts a call, they specialise in salvage work, and they`re not expensive on cost either.

 

Their number is 01508 520344.

[BuffaloBill]

Hi Neil. I know and they know about Maffets too.

Not sure why the owner don't just get onto the

insurance company and let them sort it. It is insured

by-the-way. Hoping to hear again later this evening. 

[JennyMorgan]

Some insurance policies exclude salvage, worth checking.

[Hylander]

I checked ours for salvage and have it confirmed by letter that we are covered for Salvage.    Most important and like others hope to God I never need it.

[BuffaloBill]

They have informed the insurance company who are

going to raise it probably next week and say it will most

likely be a write-off. 

[JennyMorgan]

I think it sad that just a sinking should result in a 'write-off'!

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Well, i think they`ll be payed out as a total loss, but it`s certainly NOT a write off. Being a steel narrow boat, the hull and superstructure will be easily re-usable, but the interior will be knackered. With a bit of patient work, gas cookers can be completely washed through and cleaned up, as can the pipeworkThings like stainless teel sinks will only need a clean, as will the cushions if they`re dirty. The fridge will probably need to be replaced, but the biggest problem will be the timber inside. Crockery and cutlery will only need a thorough wash down, And the water and fuel tanks be thoroughly flushed through.

 

Alot of it should be perfectly ok if thouroughly cleaned, but the interior woodwork will possibly need replacing. As i said, definitely doable, but a lot of work.

 

Anybody fancy a project boat?.

[Baitrunner]

As you say speed triple sounds more a case of beyond economical repair to have it done professionally based on its insured value.

Nice project though!!!

[teadaemon]

Unfortunately it's almost certainly beyond economical repair, certainly if it's done professionally.

 

Having been on board several boats that have sunk and been raised, I'd expect the interior to be thoroughly coated with a mixture of mud, oil, diesel, and (if fitted and not empty) the contents of the black water tank. Even short immersion in fresh water will mean that a lot of work needs to be done before it's safe to think about starting the engine, the electrics may well need replacement, as will the gas system (ok, in theory a Gas Safe engineer could probably strip down and clean a cooker or similar, but it'd probably be cheaper just to pay them to install a new one). A narrowboat of this age and type may well be insulated with rockwool, and the interior woodwork is probably from materials that will not survive immersion (interior plywood or various sorts of manufactured board). So, to get the boat to a state where it isn't going to fall apart, or rust away from the inside out basically involves stripping it out to a bare shell and starting again.

 

If the insurance company write it off, then they'll take possession of the boat and sell it to defray their expenses. I've seen similar sized narrowboats that've sunk going for a couple of thousand pounds, which is a fair reflection of the amount of work required to get them back into good order.

 

Although dealing with this sort of situation is part and parcel for my job, I do feel for anyone who has their boat sink, it's a profoundly unpleasant thing to have to deal with.

[Oddfellow]

In fairness, an oven will almost certainly be scrap. Cleaning is one thing, but the oven is wrapped in an insulating material which is not generally available to the public. Coat this in water, mud and oils / black water and you're not gonna want to eat a pizza out of it :-( I am sure you could use some building insulation as a replacement, but it's quite a risk. 

 

A separate hob is generally OK to be cleaned up, but igniter boxes may be scrap along with switches. Blowing out the gas lines will be a relatively simple job with some compressed air. 

 

All electrical terminals that had a current running through them will probably be corroded beyond recognition. 

 

Dan's assessment is likely to be spot on generally.

 

Such a shame. 

[Polly]

Add to that, all replacement mattresses etc and you really have a hull to start a total refit from. Worth doing with a good pot of money but not otherwise.

[Siddy]

How did it go down? failed pumps if so it wouldn't have gone that quick unless the weed hatch wasn't closed correctly and hit reverse. We've raised a couple due to weed hatch.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Siddy,

 

My guess is a perished hose and pump failure/batteries, but as you say it would have taken some time.

 

Weed hatches a great item especially when you have 30 or 40 foot of rope round the prop, we encountered this on our last visit on the canals in October, in the past we have picked up carpets and a lot of other stuff we didn't want to remove.

 

All the joys of boating however.

 

Regards

Alan 

[BuffaloBill]

The boat was an aluminium hulled one. The reason she sank

was that she was tied too tightly to the mooring post and when

the tide came up higher than normal, the mudweight which was

on the bow, got stuck under the quay heading and held it until

the tide came over the top and down she went.

No further updates as yet.

Just to add....all this is from a close friend of ours who is also

a close friend of the boat owner, so not seen with my own eyes.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi BB,

 

If the hull is aluminium then I would suggest that it is worth salvaging, the Narrow Boats that are made from aluminium tend to be very costly compared to the standard steel plate versions.

 

I have heard stories regarding narrow boats that have sunk even though they were moored on pontoons, where the pontoons have been iced in and therefore not floating..

 

Regards

Alan

[BuffaloBill]

Another update.

The owner and my friend have had another go at raising

her and it's good news!

2 days after their last attempt, they tried again as the tide

was lower and it came up within minutes of them starting

the pumps!! From what I can make out, someone from

Silverline came round to give advice/assistance and were

surprised to find her raised.

How the insurance will fare now, we will have to wait and see.

[JennyMorgan]

BB, any clues as to why she went down?

[BroadAmbition]

Buoyancy failure

 

 

Which I admit is only a 'Wild Guess' on my part :

 

 

Griff

[JennyMorgan]

The trouble with non wooden boats!

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

BB, any clues as to why she went down?

 

Hi Peter,

 

Bill said on page one she was tied up too tight, and the mudweight got stuck under the quay, so when the bow got pushe down, water just poured in.

 

 

I still think it`s a doable project, providing you can get it from the insurance company at the right price.

 

 

Whatever happens, it`s a real shame for the owners, and i hope they get the proper value from the insurance company, and get another boat as soon as they can.