Emergency: need traditional Boatlift(?), my 50ft-er sinks without shore-pumps...

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woodenMFV

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I managed to being towed to a marina for Hauling-Out (..and almost sunk on that 7 miles!) just to been told that they don't and can't haul her out with their 30-ton-Sling-Travel-lift, after the first few meters out! So back in the water again, pumping and patching since then, nothing helps since now.

Reasons why it did not work:
- the slings only carry 30 tons (..the water in the structure made the boat heavier than I thought!)
- the slings apply too much pressure to the old hull (16ft beam), it could collapse

Now I check pumps every tide (twice a day), and search a boatyard with the "old-style" facility, the "rail-System" with the 4 posts to hold the boat upright. (..a subaqua-lift (for real ships) is too expensive for me, starts at over 1000)

Does anybody know the exact eglish term for such a facility? Or if anybody is familiar with UK's southcoast near Portsmouth, any hint would help! It seems all those trolley-systems has been scrapped over the years...nobody here knows anything (apart the fact that they don't like old boats)

There are some modern alternatives, which could work:
- found an american company,"sea-lift com", which is a hydraulic trolley.

Any other ideas? I appreciate ANY hints or tips, it's very urgent. The boat should go on the dry for a longer period for complete sheating.

Thanks very much!
 
Lallows in Cowes used to have a ramp system years ago.

Looks as if it still there on Google Earth
50 deg 45'35.83 N
01 deg 17'40.22 W
 
woodenMFV said:
I managed to being towed to a marina for Hauling-Out (..and almost sunk on that 7 miles!) just to been told that they don't and can't haul her out with their 30-ton-Sling-Travel-lift, after the first few meters out! So back in the water again, pumping and patching since then, nothing helps since now.

Reasons why it did not work:
- the slings only carry 30 tons (..the water in the structure made the boat heavier than I thought!)
- the slings apply too much pressure to the old hull (16ft beam), it could collapse

Now I check pumps every tide (twice a day), and search a boatyard with the "old-style" facility, the "rail-System" with the 4 posts to hold the boat upright. (..a subaqua-lift (for real ships) is too expensive for me, starts at over 1000)

Does anybody know the exact eglish term for such a facility? Or if anybody is familiar with UK's southcoast near Portsmouth, any hint would help! It seems all those trolley-systems has been scrapped over the years...nobody here knows anything (apart the fact that they don't like old boats)

There are some modern alternatives, which could work:
- found an american company,"sea-lift com", which is a hydraulic trolley.

Any other ideas? I appreciate ANY hints or tips, it's very urgent. The boat should go on the dry for a longer period for complete sheating.

Thanks very much!
Click to expand...

Endeavour Quay in Portsmouth should be able to lift you, they've got a 60 ton boat out on the hard at the moment. Failing that there's a very big travel hoist at Saxon Wharf in Southampton capable of lifting over 100 tons.
 
Internal Shoring

What would be wrong with continuing the pumping, sealing and drying as best you can, then applying shoring internal, external or a combination of both aka large spreaders to absorb the pressure / stress. This assuming you can get her down to < 30.
 
It's hardly convenient but the Excelsior yard at Oulton Broad, Lowestoft has two such slips - precisely for dealing gently with elderly hulls. The big one would take your MFV easily whilst the smaller, longer one is used by most of the Broads wherries. OF
 
what's the boat?? (pics/name??)

how bad is the leak, and where is it leaking is it a seam or a rotten plank? I'm not totally unfamiliar with that sinking feeling on an old fishing boat (see blog!), depending on what is leaking it might be repairable from the inside, had to go down that onerous little path a while back myself

is there a keel shoe fitted? not matter how big the slings and spreaders are, if she's really waterlogged theres a good chance of her hogging when lifted, these things weren't really designed for hoists

really needs to go on a slipway bogey. is there nowhere you can dry out against a wall?

if there's any commercial fishing boats in the vicinity, ask them, they might have the best answer as I guess traveling long distance is a non starter. I was even contemplating treking her back up to scotland to get a few bits done that I need doing

but more than anything I'd try avoid any capacity travel hoist if you can, you ould do some seriously terminal damage
 
Still here and afloat...

...and really appreciating all of your great ideas and hints!

The reason for not checking earlier was moisture (..what else?) in the power-supply of the Computer. And my own state, which is a bit desolate due to less sleep.

At sunday I checked by car the gosport side, to get some phone numbers and real impressions from facilities found on googleMaps (a good one, but a pity not usable one, was the ex-navy-people boat-yard) Monday some more leak-searching, and regain more sleep, cause fortunately the hightides are almost at daytime now.

It's great that so many of you guys care, I would have thought to get so much response! Thank you!

There where a lot destinations you mentioned how could deal with that weight; it seems Cows has a LOT of facilities left (looking on googleMaps) and of course SHampton.
But as one of you said, travelling with her ,at any distance, is a bit spooky, seeing the waterlevel rising and hearing my BilgePump not stopping; I wouldn't do it again exept with a borrowed petrol-motor-pump - and of course owing in that state is a risk also for the one who towes.

So I still have to googleMap the Portsmouth-side and drive round; maybe today or tomorrow.
Today (in a few minutes) I (try to) patch/seal another leak I found yesterday, stirring up the dirt in the water-pond in the front (empty at low tide due to the bow-up-position on the concrete ramp), so I saw clear-water uprising next to a rib, a little success (knowing where) - now the plan is to close or at least narrow the gaps with concrete,PU-glue etc that a smaller ammount of water comes in.

__________ monkey_trousers asked:
"how bad is the leak, and where is it leaking is it a seam or a rotten plank? "
- it seems there are more than one; three weeks ago I managed to get a sprung plank back in (on the formely scrubbing-berth) but then the front leak still was present (see above)
- seams AND rotten ribs (not so bad the planks for her age of 63)

"might be repairable from the inside"
- might be, but not properly - it will be patching until she comes out.

"these things weren't really designed for hoists - really needs to go on a slipway bogey. "
...I agree fully ;O)

"is there nowhere you can dry out against a wall?"
- no, not that high possible.
________

Apart from searching an old style trolley-system, there are 2 ideas came into my mind:

- craning-companies... still dangerous (hull pressure) and high price
- Lorry-Yacht-Transports...they might use a slipway-loading-system, where the boat goes (swims) right onto the lorry-trolley? And then out and up...have to research.

So now I get into my dirt-gear again, and go patching. Maybe this time it makes a difference at the next high tide...
Thanks again for your advice, guys. Every hint could be the solution.
 
if you can get at the seams from the inside you can make a reasonable repair, to stop the leak or at least slow it down a great deal. did this myself recently.

you need some caulking cotton, white lead putty and linseed oil..

grab a lump of white lead, add a little linseed oil and mix it in, it will be a very wet sticky mess!

get a few metres of cotton and pull it through the lead/oil mix, squeezing it to get as much of the lead/oil into the cotton.

you need to get this intoth e leaking seam from the inside, poke it in gently with a large screwdriver to get it started, then gently firm it up with a caulking iron, or a bolster chisel with the edge ground of if you haven't got a caulking iron

you want the cotton to finish up below the edges of the seam a few millimetres, then fill the seam with straight white lead putty

its a messy job but it should stem the flow quite a bit.

you can also stick a patch of thin bendy ply wood over as well before the putty starts to harden to slow it even more if its a really really bad leak

had to go own this path a couple of months back when we had a burst seam, its sealed ours up totally till we can get her hauled out to repair properly from the outside

http://bf494.co.uk/blog1.php/2009/07/10/better-than-drugs

what's the boats name?
 
This sounds a desperate position to be in. But I'd have thought you need to consider carefully what is going to happen to the boat once out. You can bet that anything you think is rotten now will turn out to be 10 times worse once dried out and pulled apart.
It's not just a matter of finding a suitable yard now- it's finding one that will be happy to let you stay there indefinitely after you start work, at an affordable price.
 
Monkey_trousers:
thanks for the good how-to-chaulk-guide, I definitely note it for the future.
The water in the front travels up behind the concrete in the inside, where there is already a gap between the planks and the old concrete. So t's not visible where it's coming from originally. Can travel a long way up from somwhere below. The filling yesterday was not successful against the water pressure, need to apply another layer today at lowtide.

cliffordpope:
Yes - once dried out, it won't float again like before; the structure would be broken. But I decided the time and hull/rib-state has come to not proceed with "traditional" ways of repairs, so the hull will be sheated completely, "another hull" around the old one, a life for the boat...WHEN I manage to work out the other points you mention...
You're absolutely right with the yards have to be happy with that kind of "visitor", it will work out for around 200 monthly, apart from hauling out. And many yards are not happy with old, big, wooden, not-so-shiny boats - a few are even scared by MFVs cause they were left alone with them.


To all reading this thread: Sorry for the yellowPress-like Title-line, wrote that when I was in panic, I would have better written:

"45 tons searching Hauling-out /slipping-out facility in/near Portsmouth" a pity I can't change it any more.
 
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