Does GRP deteriorate when submerged in mud ?

skipper681 said:
Can't believe I took the time to read all of this :ambivalence: After a heart attack you are attempting to pull a fifty quid speedboat out of five tons of mud (subjective force, maybe more)? This is foolhardy to say the least, you do realise the transom is made from wood? What shape do you think that will be in, any kind of pulling that hull will rip it off, the bow eye will without a doubt break first anyway. Your picture of using the cleats will not work as when you ever got it moving the pressure on each line will not stay the same. I recommend petrol and matches, just to save you time and effort. I wouldn't attempt to take that thing out even if I had a Chinook.
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I'm beginning to think you're right. I was getting all excited by the warm weather last summer and the thought of tootling up and down the estuary in my own little boat, visiting hidden coves etc. Now, in January, I'm looking at the hull sticking out of the freezing mud and it doesn't seem half as attractive now !
 
Hi aneng, fascinating thread!
I spent an awful lot of time on soft estuary mud when I was younger, digging bait so can offer a small amount of advice.
Estuary mud like that is very variable in nature. Mostly it will go over welly depth, but not by much. The problem is when you have gullies (like the one behind the boat.) Typically, one side of the gully will be relatively firm, but the other side can be dangerously deep.
There are little telltale signs, the surface of the mud changes slightly, little patches of weed or algae, small channels of gravel etc that can give an indication of the nature of how deep it is.
The suction is the biggest danger, I can't begin to describe just how much of a grip it can get on things when you go past a certain depth. You wouldn't dissapear into it completely, but it is certainly capable of holding you there until the tide comes in.
It's also murderously hard work to dig, you'd have to dig large hole around the boat as it slowly oozes in on itself as you're working. Also, you'd have to complete it over one low tide as the next high will undo most of your hard work.
What would concern me is just how far it's gone down. The mud must be very soft, and very deep, unless the stern of the boat is rotting as it slowly sinks!
I love the idea of your project, it sounds a lovely idea to get her out and maybe breathe new life into it but I don't honestly think you have a hope in hell of recovery without huge resources behind you.
I got into trouble twice out on the flats, once when I sunk a fair way down but managed to wade through to slightly firmer stuff, the second time I went down to my waste on the lee side of a gully and only got out by laying belly down on the mud and "rowing" myself out across the top by using the shovel. Both frightening experiences and I was young and fit back then!
Very best of luck to you if you do have a go, but I don't think you'll manage it and please be careful.
If you do strap some flat wood to your wellies, please ensure you can pull your feet out of the boots if you do go down.
It's not fun wading through mud in your socks but infinitely better than being pinned in the mud watching that tide flood across the flats...

I don't want to be the voice of negativity, but I don't think you'll get her out and it would be risky to try in my opinion.
 
Please don't give up. As a slight encouragement, I once found just the fluke of a huge anchor sticking out of the mud, at the bottom of a spring tide. With chains, seven 45 gallon oil drums, and a bit of perseverance, I recovered a 1 ton anchor.
 
For me, it would not be about the boat but the fun of trying, satisfying one's curiosity... that is what life is about, we do lots of things that do not make financial sense. Like boating, for example.

While on holiday in Spain, I once spotted what looked to be a sony memorystick that has fallen into a roadside drainaway. Back then, they were expensive. So, I manufactered a 2m long contraption that will go through the 1 inch opening, grip the memorystick and pull it out. All from pieces of rubbish I could find. Turned out to be a memorystick adapter that one could buy for a few quid, but was a great project with the little one and lots of fun, and positive memories.
 
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aneng said:
I'm beginning to think you're right. I was getting all excited by the warm weather last summer and the thought of tootling up and down the estuary in my own little boat, visiting hidden coves etc. Now, in January, I'm looking at the hull sticking out of the freezing mud and it doesn't seem half as attractive now !
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There's nothing more rewarding than your own little boat, here you go, take your pick http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_t...ect&_nkw=speedboat+project&_sacat=0&_from=R40

My advice may have sounded a tad negative but the danger of wallowing around in mud has been explained by Murv in a previous post. hope you can pick up a boat and you become a regular poster on here.

Please remember the boat has not been removed by the owner, for a very good reason...

Good luck.
 
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If you did manage to get it out you are looking to buy, seats, steering, windscreen, trailer, carpeting for inside, engine etc etc... This would be an expensive project so the ebay projects in the link I posted would probably be a better option, if you can pick up one with a trailer and seats it's not a really hard job to 'do up' even if it needs a floor, that's just a weekends work.
 
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