Does GRP deteriorate when submerged in mud ?

aneng said:
I don't know a great deal about mud and my big fear is that it's a million feet deep and if I start to sink, I will continue down to a muddy grave. Is mud like that, or does it get denser the further down you go ? (i.e. if I get in trouble, I'll eventually stop sinking !). Whilst having a bash at digging, I intend to have a friend on the shore and have a rope around my waist - just in case.

This is insane isn't it ? I must be out of my mind....

As with most things, it's just a question of having the right gear isn't it... This would be an absolute doddle if I had a fire hose and the council didn't mind me plugging into the nearest hydrant ! I could just blast all the mud away with no effort at all.
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the mud gets worse the further away from the shore you go,it gets softer the further down you dig
Don't take it for granted,but as you have stood in wellies and got back out okay it sounds like it is not as bad as it could be.
If you speak to the local boatyards you may be able to loan a dingy with the correct malt?
Just be carefull.
 
Capt Popeye said:
the more I read of this escapade, the more concerned that I become, just would like to suggest that you always take at least 2 people along with you, just in case you do get stuck in the mud; we lost a fella down here in SW last year, got stuck in the mud on rising tide and Lifeboats could not reach him in time.:(
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I think it is essential that the salvage attempts, whether successful or not, are filmed with a time lapse camera and then uploaded to Youtube with a Yakety Sax accompaniment.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I think it is essential that the salvage attempts, whether successful or not, are filmed with a time lapse camera and then uploaded to Youtube with a Yakety Sax accompaniment.
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It sounds like fun but............. I remember some speed boats with lovely outboards. The outboards were secured so well they could not be removed by the light fingered brigade. So they arrived with chains saws and just cut the back out of the boats which all sunk when the tide came in:-( If I was going to try and raise that I would concentrate on getting to the cockpit which I would then stuff with car inner tubes and then inflate them with a hand pump and come back every tide and pump some more air into the inner tubes. I hope you do get this up even if it is worthless. It just sounds like a good project:-)
 
aneng said:
This is insane isn't it ? I must be out of my mind....
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Yes, when you see the price of this (£99), second hand speed boats are pretty worthess and e bay full of them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/speedboat-/300950144296?pt=UK_Power_Boats&hash=item461206c528

Speedboat_zpsd7346ed0.jpg
 
Put a sheet or planks of wood down on the mud to support you and stop you sinking. Use a jet washer to blast the mud away. At least to take a better look. Then use your puller idea. Recruit the local scout tro to help. S bob a job week still on?
 
aneng said:
Yes. Many thanks for the kind offer but mine has just arrived. It only cost £13.50, so it's no great expense.

I've been thinking... always dangerous ! - about dividing the load on the boat. Lw395 expressed concerns that the bow eye may not be as strong as I hope, so what about sharing the load with the various cleats on top ? I don't know a lot about cleats, but I'm guessing the one on the top, nearest the cabin in the centre will be the next strongest point. What about the two little ones on the port & starboard bow ? They're a bit slantey.. so I can see difficulty in getting 10mm rope to hold on there, but if I could, do you think they would take much load ? What are they used for normally ?

If I can share the load about, there's less likelihood of something ripping out.

Marvel at my amazing technical drawing skills... :-)

ropes_zps786ea47a.jpg


IMG_5751Small_zpsd3100179.jpg
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I cant see where the 'yellow' lines are going to get a fix as they are just open cleats, however,the 2 red fixings look ok but gently gently with the pressure and tie a safety line to each of the red lines with plenty of slack and fix to the grab handle,that way if a fixing gives way under presssure the safety line will 'arrest' the broken fixing before it hits you
 
If you want a good solid anchorage for your winch , drill two opposing holes ,the bigger the better,through the bows about 18to24inches back close to the deck/hull flanges . Slide a bar through and attach your bridle at each end . If you are successful in extracting the boat fill the holes with epoxy mat etc.
 
Subsidiary thought.

Although - more or less - GRP won't deteriorate in mud, the fixings holding deck hardware in place almost certainly will. The OP might be embarking on a long and difficult exercise to recover a towing eye and some mooring cleats.

Mind you, they should be delivered at high speed! I'd suggest a crash hat and H&S goggles, combined with a cricketer's box, as a sensible precaution.
 
Just jet wash as much mud away as possible before attempting anything. Yu may find this is just a bow with not much more boat attached!
 
Er.... the boat is still in the mud. The weather turned and I had a bad back for a while and... (insert your own excuses here !)...

In short, I still intend to try - as I've bought the rope and the puller. What I need is a sheet of thin ply or similar so I can stand on it and not sink, to allow me to dig around the hull.

When I get around to it, I'll definitely come back here to update you !

Regards,

Captain Procrastinator !
 
Yeah! We wanna know.

Let me guess, you spent loads on air bags and compressors and after three days managed to winch her out. Fabulous result!

Then, just as you finished spraying off with a high pressure hose, the owner walked up to you saying "Cheers mate, I have been wondering how to get that tw @t out for the past five years!"
 
Just an idea which could be combined with another to create a complete solution - run a rope around the top of the hull, stand at the bottom of the hull / behind the boat and push / pull the two ends of the rope towards you while in a "sawing" motion. The angle of the hull will push the "sawing" rope downwards, loosening the mud's grip on the boat as it goes down. Hopefully, some of the mud inside will fall down and be removed as well. Still, you will need to remove the mud above the boat, if you want any chance of lifting it.

The mud on top could be removed by renting a petrol-driven water pump / pressure washer and using the water pressure to remove the mud on the outside of the hull - as others have suggested. Once you've reached the bottom / aft end, drill a hole or two in the bottom of the hull to break the suction - holes are easily repaired - and use that to attach a ring of some sort so you can pull a float down to it e.g. old fender which will then help to lift the bottom up before it gets covered with mud again.

You could get one of these to prevent you sinking?

Baby-Swimming-Ring-Duck.jpg
 
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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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