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Vessel Assist San Diego Raises Another Wooden Boat Headed For The Land Fill.

Robert Butler — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:59:19 +0000

During the sixties private boats started popping up on lakes and waterway making boating an American favorite for relaxing on the water, fishing , or just sightseeing. Most if not all of these boats were made out of Wood. Made from high quality wood and hand craftsmanship they were built to last a life time, or so the builder thought. The late sixties brought a new type of boat Fiberglass. Fiberglass changed the way Americans boated. They could be built lighter and faster than their wood counterparts, but, wooden boats still ruled the roost. By the mid-seventies and early eighties, most of the wooden boat manufactures had either changed to fiberglass built boats or were run out of business altogether. But, the wooden boat still thrived, the splendor of a well maintained wooden boat stood out in front of the quickly overpopulated fiberglass built boat. Although Fiberglass had taken the boating world by storm lots of wood was still used for bulkheads, doors, trim, etc. Builders were still using enough wood make the transition to fiberglass a slow but steady process. The eighties and nineties brought the all fiberglass boat, low maintenance, molded sharp modern lines, planning hulls for speed and fuel efficiency. The wooden boat was quickly becoming a collector’s item. Boat yards started to re tool to accommodate fiberglass repairs and restorations. Most boat yards would still have a wood working shop but would more often sub contract the work out, as the wood working gear took up too much space. Y2K was the beginning of the end for the wooden boat era. Wood rot in the older boats that had gone unchecked became more and more expensive to repair. Often times a wooden boat would go into a boat yard with all intentions to repair some minor wood rot. But, after inspecting further the cancerous rot would be found throughout the boat. With the yard bill becoming unaffordable the boat would be abandoned, leaving the boat yard to flip the bill to dispose of the boat. Today wooden boats are rarely welcome at any boat yard without a large cash deposit to be paid before the boat is even lifted out of the water. The other major factor in the future extinction of wooden boats is insurance. Very few yacht insurance companies will underwrite wooden boats. Most people who have wooden boats in disrepair have few options. Taking a boat to the land fill is expensive; insuring their wooden boat without extensive repairs is becoming impossible. Marinas require insurance to be able to moor their boat in the marina. Some insurance companies will write Liability only policies that will give the boat owner the ability to keep their boat in a slip but offers very little if nothing as far as coverage. Often times wooden boats will sink in their slip and the owners have liability or no insurance all. This leaves the boat owner responsible for the raising of the vessel, the environmental fees, the emergency haul out and disposal of their boats. Sometime this nightmare is placed on an unsuspecting new boat owner often after they were given the boat or paid very little thinking they were getting a great deal. In the end Wooden boats are in danger of becoming extinct. Even the nice bigger yachts are becoming harder and harder to sell. So, if you have a wooden boat in good shape, keep it up and don’t turn your back on your maintenance program. If you have a wooden boat in disrepair, you may want to look into a solution for either getting back into insurable shape, there are several woodworking shipwrights that do an awesome job of restoring wooden boats. Or, think about selling it, several people are still willing to invest in a wooden boat so long as it is not too far gone. Finally, sending it to the land fill before the unthinkable happens and it sinks, Vessel Assist San Diego has a disposal service for boat owners looking to get rid of their boats. It is not cheap to properly dispose of a boat, but, it is just a fraction of the cost of raising a sunken boat, paying for the environmental fees for the oil and fuel spill, and you still need to dispose of the vessel now more expensive to handle. It is not uncommon for a 40’ wooden boat with twin diesels to cost over $20,000.00 to raise the boat plus the environmental fees plus the disposal.
Vessel Assist has disposed of hundreds of boats before and after they sink on their mooring. Feel free to call us if you have any questions 619-235-8273

Vessel Assist San Diego travels to Lake Powell to raise boat from the depths before spring thaw.

Robert Butler — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:00:31 +0000

The deep water vessel recovery team at Vessel Assist San Diego, led by Captain Robert Butler, was tasked with raising a 21’ vessel from almost 200’ of water before the record spring thaw filed the lake. The Vessel was on the remote side of Lake Powell near Bullfrog Marina. The 15 hour drive, for the three truck and trailer caravan, was slowed by winds in excess of 40 miles per hour. Two 28’ salvage vessels and a towable RV trailer were required to accomplish the wreck recovery. Vessel Assist San Diego had to bring living quarters and supplies, as most of the summertime facilities were still closed for the season and Bullfrog Marina is in a remote part of Lake Powell. The first objective was to locate and inspect the vessel. A mark was placed near the wreck during a failed attempt to recover the vessel by another company. Captain Greg Rood skillfully maneuvered “BOB”, the Seabotix 150 ROV (Remote operated Vessel), to the general area of the reported sinking. Within a few minutes the sunken vessel was located and a survey of the boats position as it lay on the bottom. After marking the exact spot of the wreck, “BOB” returned to the surface to be rigged for the salvage line attachment. Captain Rob Butler and Captain Greg Rood spent endless hours designing a specialized system to attach the clip to the bow of the boat in near zero visibility. Captain Greg Rood made short work of the attachment procedure attaching the salvage line in just a few short minutes following the attachment plat to the tee. Once attached, the salvage dive team of Augustine Malfavon and Captain Shane Thompson attached float bags lifting the boat 40’ at a time. Because of the altitude of Lake Powel l (Over 4000’) authorities have very strict rules about commercial diving at deep depths on the lake. By attaching the line in deep water with the ROV the divers need to only dive 40’ at a time to attach float bags lifting the vessel in steps. Vessel Assist San Diego has raised several vessels from waters as deep as 450’ using this proven technique, so the process was like clockwork for the seasoned team. With the vessel 40’ from the surface float bags were attached directly to the sunken boat. With float bags inflated and the boat just a few feet the vessel was towed to the local launch ramp. Once at the launch ramp two 6000 lb. float bags were used to cradle the vessel, lifting the vessel to be pumped out and placed on a trailer, then taken so investigators could determine the cause of the sinking. After securing from the job the crew of Vessel Assist San Diego took the day off to explore the unbelievable views of Lake Powell before driving back to San Diego. Rainbow Arch was the highlight (the longest natural arch in the world.

Vessel Assist San Diego Salvages Two Boats After Fire Rips Through Them

Robert Butler — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:06:49 +0000

Once again faulty wiring looks to be the cause of another boat fire. This one was at the Lowes Coronado Marina. A 55’Cabin Cruiser and a 45’ Trawler were burned beyond repair Thursday night. Vessel Assist San Diego deployed an 8 man crew with two boats and two truckloads of equipment, to secure and remove the first boat, a 45’ Trawler. The second boat, a 55’ Cruiser was sunk after it burned to the decks. The night before, Coronado Fire Department responded in full force, keeping water on the fire from land. The new, million dollar San Diego Harbor fire/police boat, was put into real action and performed as expected. The new 32’ Metal Craft and and its well-trained crew, used its high powered water cannons to attack the fire and keep it from destroying other boats. As with most boat fires the amount of water used to put the fire out usually is more than the buoyancy of the boat can handle. The 55’ boat sank in its slip. NRC environmental came to the aid for the huge environmental spill after a reported 500 gallons of diesel fuel, debris, and ash polluted the water. NRC used several trailers full of oil containment boom and sorbent sweeps and pads to contain and clean up the spill. Vessel Assist San Diego and its salvage team arrived after the USCG completed its initial investigation. Captain Shane Thompson and Salvage Diver Augustine Malfavon had the dangerous task of diving in floating fuel and fire debris. The first task for the Salvage crew was to secure the badly burned 45’ Trawler and tow it for an emergency haul out. One major issue was 5 SCUBA tanks full of air were aboard the vessel and the J-valves were burned to a point of failure. This created a very dangerous situation. Coronado Fire Came to the rescue and in their highly skilled response discharged the SCUBA tanks. Next float bags were attached to the boat to stabilize her as the amount of water in the boat used to extinguish the fire threatened the stability of the vessel. The side of the boat was burned as were all of the thru hull fittings. Special putty was placed where water was entering the vessel. Because the water inside the vessel was contaminated, pumping the boat free of water before moving her was not an option. Captain Greg Rood and his deck hand, Garrett Malfavon, slowly and carefully towed the burned vessel to Marine Group Boat Works, for emergency haul out. The second vessel was much tougher, after it sank, it drifted under the finger of the dock. A special lift technique was used to get the boat to the surface and out from under the docks. Captain Tony Olson and Salvage Specialist Tom Butler set up float bags for the divers to place in the charred vessel. Once the vessel was off the bottom Salvage Master and Captain Rob Butler directed the crew and divers and in a combined effort slowly moved the large hull out of the slip. Once secured, 50,000 pounds of additional, float bags were placed in the vessel using belly band lines going all around the boat to lift it high enough to pump the water out of the boat. “Usually we can tie to cleats and other areas of a boat with our lift bags, but, this boat was structurally unstable to use standard methods. Belly bands effectevley uses the lift of one float bag to counter the lift of another equal bag on the other side of the boat.” Captain Butler stated. After several hours of maneuvering float bags the vessel was pumped out until Captain Rob Butler decided the vessel was seaworthy enough for the slow tow to Marine Group Boat Works. Captain Butler knew they were on borrowed time and the stress of just lifting the hull from the bottom was enough to break it apart. Captain Tony Olson aboard the Salvage Vessel “Shelter Island” took the boat in tow on a short string (about 25’ tow line) this enables the 900 hp twin screw tow boat to maneuver through the tight waterway and across the bay, yet left it close enough to keep adding air to the attached float bags. Captain Greg Rood aboard the Salvage Vessel “Lajolla” with Salvage divers Shane Thompson and Augustine Malfavon aboard the burned wreck monitored the water still entering the vessel and controlled the damage until it could be hauled out of the water. Once the burned vessel was in the grasp of the giant sling straps of the travel lift the inevitable happened. The boat started to tear in half. NRC environmental responded with additional boom and a Giant Vacuum truck. 3000 gallons of contaminated water were removed by the truck and the boat, over 20,000 lbs. lighter, was removed from the water. NRC teamed up with the Vessel Assist San Diego Salvage Crew to remove the remaining 3000 gallons of fuel and contaminated water from both the boats the next morning. I appeared a short circuit in the 220 volt shore power cord may have been the source of the fire. The owners were on board when the fire started but escaped injury.

Vessel Assist San Diego Removes the Remains of a 38’ Sailboat After it Ran Aground on the LA Light Sea Wall.

Robert Butler — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:54:16 +0000

Often time’s boats lose power and the boat survives to see another voyage. This was not the case for a 38’ shock sail boat after the operator reported to be out of fuel was repeatedly slammed against the giant sea wall that protects LA/Long Beach Harbor from the Ocean. Life Guards were able to get a line on the boat but the line parted. The giant swell and pounding waves made the conditions too dangerous for even the most experienced Life Guards. When a vessel goes aground it is required by law to be removed as it poses an environmental and safety hazard. After two storms smashed the once sleek racing vessel into pieces, Vessel Assist San Diego was contracted to remove the debris. Diving against a sea wall is very dangerous even in small swell, the surge is so powerful you can be picking up pieces one second and be pinned to the seawall the next. Captain Tony Olson led the Wreck Removal team on the water as Captain Robert Butler Combed the local beaches with a land clean up team. Dislodging the 4500lb keel from the rocks proved to be very difficult. Vessel Assist San Pedro was used as both a work Platform as well as a tug to pull the heavy debris away from the rocks so float bags could be safely attached without the effects of the surge near the sea wall. Vessel Assist Point Loma was used as a rescue vessel and use to transfer the debris from the sea wall to the San Pedro. Salvage diver Captain Shane Thompson and Augustine Malfavon worked in tandem to make sure every piece of debris was removed while watching out for the dangerous surge. 4000 and 6000lb float bags were used to lift the heavy parts to the surface then they were towed to a nearby crane to be disposed of. The deepest pieces of debris was in about 44’ of water but most of the debris was imbedded in the rock sea wall.

Vessel Assist San Diego’s Crew makes journey to San Jose Del Cabo to salvage a 150 ton Yacht sunk in her slip.

Robert Butler — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:09:41 +0000

Often times when the call comes in to raise a boat after it sinks in its slip, two things are pretty common. One, Vessel Assist San Diego’s crew are usually on scene and working within an hour or two of mobilizing. Two, the boat is usually less than 40 feet long. Both of these scenarios were thrown out the window on a five day journey to the tip of Baja Mexico. The toughest part of conducting long range salvage is making sure you take the most effective equipment with you to get the job done. The yacht was a 75 foot Nordhaven sunk and sitting upright in her slip. When Yachts of this magnitude sink, the pressure is on to get the boat out of the water, and render repairs as soon as possible. The call came in around 11 a.m. and Vessel Assist was contracted around 2pm. The five man crew with two trucks loaded to the hilt crossed the border at 8 pm. Crossing the Tijuana boarder with declarable goods is quite the process. The key is to not play games, go directly to the declaration staging area and get started with paperwork. Often, people attempt to sneak by hoping for a green light. If they pass they are on their way. If they get the red light, it turns into a process that starts with you empting everything out of your truck or car declaring it then loading it back into your truck. We took the high road and declared and after about 30 minutes which included a visit to the immigration office to get our Visas we were under way, paying a modest $250.00us import tax. Now the daunting task of driving through Tijuana and Ensenada at night became our focus. Driving a 3500 diesel Chevy dually, Captain Robert Butler and his brother Salvage specialist Tom Butler took the lead. Captain Shane Thompson, Captain Greg Rood and Salvage Diver Augustine Malfavon followed in Roberts daughters F-250 diesel designed for beach salvage work. Since Otay is the easiest way to cross the border the journey started taking the back road towards Rosarita and the highway toll road. By taking the back way several minutes and one toll stop was saved. The boarder city drive on through Ensenada was un-eventful. Captain Robert Butler has made the trek up and down the Baja dozens of times for both work and play so all the shortcuts were utilized to get the crew south of Ensenada and headed toward San Quintin. Driving in Mexico requires stopping at the military check points. Everyone must get out of their vehicles during a short but thorough search for guns and drugs. The roads from Ensenada to San Quintin are some of the most treacherous roads of the Baja. The two lane road is very busy as the only way to get from one city to another. Cars driving 70 and cars driving 10 miles per hour can be encountered at almost every turn. The Local trucking traffic is also very heavy as San Quintin is a big agriculture exporter. About 45 miles south of San Quintin there is a little town called El Rosario. This town is just after a very steep and winding road. Only about 1 mile long, the first thing you will see is a Pemex station. This is important as you must stop here for fuel especially if you’re towing a load. The roads through the mountains are much improved with extensions on the shoulders of the curvy road and lots of reflectors on the road. Yet there is no room for error, although not as busy as the northern part of the highway, one wrong move or mishap and it is guaranteed your day will be ruined. 220 miles south of El Rosario the salvage team crossed over the State line dividing North Baja and South Baja. After driving all night the crew stopped for a quick bite to eat at El Burro beach south of Mulege. The southern part of the drive like the entire trip went smooth as one could expect. After Lapaz, there is a highway that runs into Totos Santos making the run to Cabo a fast one in terms of driving in Mexico. The wary Crew rolled into San Jose Del Cabo around 8 pm Cabo time or 23 hours after they crossed the border. A quick meeting and a look at the boat and the crew headed off to their hotel for some well-deserved rest. The morning came early as the task at hand was a big one. As the Vessel Assist crew mobilized for the salvage operation a new twist was entered into the scenario. Five dolphins were just introduced into their new swimming pen just a few hundred feet from the sunken vessel. The dive duo, Captain Shane Thompson and Augustine Malfavon focused of keeping any fuel inside the boat. There was a reported 3000 gallons of fuel in the boat and because the boat was in the upright position it only took a little plugging of vents and some extra Haz mat preparedness to insure the fuel would not escape into the water. Seven trash pumps were places in hatches pumping full speed at the rate of 90,000 gallons per hour. 60,000 lbs. of float bags were attached to the stern of the Vessel for additional lift. Lines had to be attached to the highest part of the yacht and attached to anchor points to prevent the huge yacht from rolling over. Ten hours of hard work and the once pristine yacht was floating. A failed bait pump was the cause of the 75’ yacht’s sinking. Captain Robert Butler used a couple super Pongas to slowly tow the water logged yacht to the boat yard. The final obstacle was the travel lift had a maximum lift of 150 tons and the 75’ monster weighed 150 tons before it became water logged. After several hours of pumping the smallest of compartments the yacht was slowly lifted from the water and maneuvered into the yard to begin the seemingly endless job of stripping the boat for preparation to be rebuilt. The tired crew spent a day in the warm Southern Baja Sun with a little R&R before they made the dangerous drive back to San Diego.

Vessel Assist San Diego Urges Boaters to Use Personal Locator Beacons

Robert Butler — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:53:39 +0000

For years most commercial marine companies have required all personnel to wear lifejackets (PFD’s). Now Personal Locator Beacons (PLB’s) has become required equipment in several marine companies and for good reason. Cases have come up where a vessel sinks and the EPIRB has gone down with the boat or boaters drift away from the beacon. Vessel Assist San Diego now requires all captains to wear a PLB with their lifejackets while aboard Vessel Assist Boats. “It’s simple, Property is replaceable lives are not,” said Captain Robert Butler Owner of Vessel Assist San Diego. For just a couple hundred dollars a PLB will give you the outright best chance of surviving. There are several ways to call for help in an emergency. VHF radio, Cell phones, SPOT assist, all in the right conditions can work to get help when needed. None of them are as certain as a PLB. The PLB transmits at 406.028 MHz/121.5MHz and attached to a person, the beacon will be honed in to the person not the vessel. Some boaters have set up ditch bags in case they have an emergency. But there have been cases where boats have hit objects and before anyone has a chance they are in the water, the ditch bag is either lost or stuck in a capsized boat. If a person has a PLB attached to their PFD they will have the best possible chance to be rescued. Bottom line is people are still dying in offshore marine accidents. The United States Coast Guard recommends all persons on board to wear a PFD and a PLB. AquaLink® 406 GPS Personal Locator Beacon Is the required equipment for Vessel Assist San Diego Captains. There are other brands like FastFind 210 GPS Personal Location Beacon that are less expensive but still effective.

Aqualink 406 GPS Personal Locator Beacon
Activation Method Manual
Application Hiking, Inland Boating, Coastal Cruising, Abandon Ship Bags, Life Rafts
Battery Life 6 years
Dimensions 2.25 x 5.88 x 1.49? (5.72 x 14.94 x 3.78 cm)
Floating Yes
GPS Enabled Yes
PLB Type PLB
Strobe Yes
Transmit Time 24 hours
Waterproof 16.40ft (5 m) @ 1 hr., 33 ft (10 m) @ 10 min

FastFind 210 GPS Personal Location Beacon
Activation Method Manual
Application Hiking/Inland Boating, Coastal Cruising, Abandon Ship Bags, Life Raft
Battery Life 5 years
Dimensions 4.17″H x 1.85″W x 1.34″D (10.5 x 4.6 x 3.4 cm)
Floating No
GPS Enabled Yes
PLB Type PLB
Strobe Yes
Transmit Time 24 hours
Waterproof 33 ft (10 m) @ 10 min.

Vessel Assist San Diego chose the Aqualink based on its company research. We encourage all boaters to research what unit fits them best. Vessel Assist San Diego recommends all mariners wear a PLB attached to their PFD. Our West Coast fishing can often drive us dozens of miles offshore and often in Mexican waters. A PLB will allow your location to be transmitted should the unthinkable happen. In closing, once you have purchased your PLB make sure you register it. This is a very simple process and is required for the PLB to be effective. If you have any questions regarding this article please call us at Vessel Assist San Diego 619-235-8273. West Marine has both of the units on display and usually in stock.

Vessel Assist San Diego Raises 150 Ton Steel Boat

Robert Butler — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:30:11 +0000

Vessel Assist San Diego specializes in raising boats after they sink. Weather the boat is in a slip or in 400’ of water Vessel Assist San Diego can raise it. Most boats that sink in slips are under 40’. The Cathy Ann was a steel commercial fishing vessel 80’ long and weighed over 150 tons with the cement ballast added inside the hull to stabilize her for the rough Pacific Ocean. Vessel Assist San Diego was given the task of raising the monster vessel from 50’ of water. The steel vessel offered many challenges. One, the sheer weight and steel hull with cement inside offered zero buoyancy. Two, the vessel was resting on a steep slope bottom leaving only the roof out of the water and the only accessible hatch 7’ under water on the lowest tides. Three the salvage had to be done on a negative tide making the start date of the job New Year’s Day.
Most boats are made of wood or fiberglass and have some natural buoyancy. Steel vessels only float because of displacement. The Salvage plan to re- float a steel boat of this size is to pump the water out and add air to replenish the displacement allowing it to float. With this vessel sitting in shallow water on the bow and deep water on the stern, float bags would have to be placed on the stern to get the stern of the vessel high enough to pump the remaining water out. A coffer dam was built 8’ high and installed on the bow hatch, the first 4’ welded aluminum and the top 4’ heavy plywood so it could be torn down once the bow rises.
Robert Butler (Owner of Vessel Assist San Diego) and his 8 man crew spent the holiday weekend installing the coffer dam and plugging various holes inside the boat. Salvage Divers Shane Thompson and Augustine Malfavon had to enter the dark sunken vessel through a tight hatch. The giant vessel had only two bulkheads, one about amidships and the other about 10 from the stern. These bulk heads made the giant fish hold for the once productive commercial fishing vessel. The bulk heads had several rotting holes in it. Captain Thompson ventured into the dark hull and placed damage control plugs in the various holes. The vessel was listing about 40 degrees to port lying on the bottom. A 6’ by 10’ steel hatch for the fish hold had to be placed back in position. This required Captain Tony Olson to get into his dive gear and with the assistance of a 2000 lb. float bag the three divers replaced and secured the heavy steel hatch. The deck was rusted and had no less than 100 small holes rotting through. Large tarps were attach to the deck and would suck down into the holes once the suction from the pumps pulled the water through the hull. Removing water volume in mass amount was planned to get the vessel removed from the clutches of the sticky mud. Two 6” trash pumps and ten 2” trash pumps would be needed to overcome the sheer weight and the mud suck to float the bow of the boat. With all the pumps pumping from the bow of the vessel through the coffer dam, over 6000 gallons per minute were being pumped. After an hour of pumping the bow came up out of the water as the front 30’ of vessel shot straight up. This presented a new challenge as the 10 2” pumps had to be shut down and disconnected before the pickup hoses pulled the pumps into the water. Captain Butler’s daughter, Hannah Butler, led a team of pump operators and quickly removed them and re positioned them to a new exposed hatch. One giant pump was shut down as one pump pumping 1800 gallons per minute was enough to stabilize the vessel and hold it in the upright position. Because the high tide was on its way in and the salvage crew had already been on the job for 72 hours, Captain Butler decided to maintain one giant pump until morning and let the crew rest for the night. Captain Greg Rood and Captain Butler maintained watch until morning. With the morning came new energy. The three Divers took turns adding floatation bags to the vessel until a total of 28 bags were placed giving 140,000lbs of lift. The vessel wanted to continue to rise straight up in the air and Captain Butler’s concern was the air in the lower part of the vessel overcoming the weight of the vessel and turning her upside down. High strength spectra line was place on the mast on the sides and on the bow. The bow line was attached to a block and tackle tied to a wench, and secured to cement blocks that made up the sea wall. With all the bags inflated to their maximum capacity tension was made on the bow. Damage control plugs were removed in the mid bulkhead to allow water in the front of the boat and air in the fish hold. The wench slowly pulled the bow down until the lift bags pulled the giant boat to the surface. Two hours later all the pumps were shut down and the sunken vessel was afloat where she belonged. A hole was found and patched the boat is now scheduled to be cut up for scrap.

Vessel Assist San Diego Busy During First Winter Storm of the Season

Robert Butler — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 03:47:44 +0000

The first major winter storm sinks several boats while flooding local streets. It was reported that over 8 inches of rain fell in areas of San Diego flooding several roads and business. Vessel Assist San Diego responded to almost a dozen sinking or sunken boats. “Boaters really need to respect the volume 8 inches of rain and the effect it has on a boat.” Robert Butler, President of Vessel Assist San Diego, Says “Boaters need to prepare for storms with their boats.” Make sure all the bilge pumps are operating properly with float switches. Make sure the batteries are maintained and fully charged. Make sure the shore power cord is in good condition and protected from the weather on the ends. Make sure any deck drains are free of debris and unobstructed. One contributing factor in a boat sinking is tarps. Some boaters used in expensive tarps, Blue being the most popular. They cover their boat in an attempt to protect it from the elements. Blue tarps are OK in a light rain but in a heavy rain where several inches accumulate the tarps become rain catchers often times collapsing in the cockpit and plugging the boats natural avenues for water to drain. After several hours of heavy rain, the water on the deck weighs down the stern and the boat becomes unstable and sinks. It is recommended a custom fit cover with proper bracing, to keep water from accumulating, be used on boats. If you need to use an inexpensive tarp make sure to tie it on a slope tight so rain can run off. Make sure if it does fail, it does not cover deck drains. Sometimes it’s best to leave the cockpit uncovered as this is where most of the rain will end up by design of a boat. Either way never assume you boat is OK during a storm. If heavy rains are forecasted check your boat daily. If you need to, there are yacht management services that can perform checks on your boat for a charge. Another Idea is to have a boat watch at your marina. In closing the most important thing is to have a proper insurance policy for your boat. Liability policies will not cover the charge to raise your boat should it sink. Often times Haz Mat charges will match the cost to raise a boat from the depths. A full yacht policy with Haz Mat coverage is a must as you are required to remove the vessel from the water by law, as well at be responsible for any containment and cleanup cost related to the sinking. You could be responsible for the damage to the docks as well as other boats damaged due to your boat sinking. For more information on this subject of if you have any questions feel free to call Vessel Assist San Diego at 619-235-8273.

Vessel Assist San Diego Removes Cement Vessel From a Busy Huntington Beach.

Robert Butler — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:31:21 +0000

Salvaging a sunken vessel in the open ocean is extremely challenging. A vessel sunk in the surf line even more difficult; salvaging a cement vessel in breaking surf makes for one of the toughest salvage situations. When the 32’ Ferro Cement Vessel grounded on the beach in Huntington Beach Vessel Assist Long Beach made a valiant effort to pull the stricken vessel into deep water. The 11 ton full of water by the time a tow line was attached made the boat too heavy to budge with the twin diesel tow boat. Cement vessels are very stable heavy water vessels. But, with the massive weight for its size it has absolute zero bouncy. It was apparent that the fate of the grounded and sunk vessel was sealed. Vessel Assist San Diego was contracted to bring in its experienced beach extraction crew and heavy equipment to drag the vessel out of the water and chop up the vessel placing it in several dumpsters. After the Orange County permit to operate on the beach was delivered, Vessel Assist San Diego Shot into action. With an early morning start the Vessel Assist Crew Rigged a bridle of Plasma Tow line. The bridle was rigged and the heavy tow hawser was attached and positioned for the 6d Bulldozer to attempt to pull the grounded vessel out of the surf. The first objective was to get the vessel to the shoreline so additional bridles could be attached and the environmental hazards identified. The biggest problem with a cement vessel in pounding surf is, it buries itself with every breaking wave. With the boat filled up with sand from 5 days of torture the already heavy vessel was now three times its normal weight and buried in a hole. The powerful bulldozer’s motor was maxed out as the stricken vessel was pulled out of its self-made grave. Slowly but surely the bulldozer pulled and re positioned and pulled again until the vessel was out of the surf and on the shore line. After securing the fuel tank to insure it would not leak fuel the bulldozer was assisted by a Caterpillar C325 trek excavator. The skilled machinery operators worked the heavy vessel up a 10’ hill where the tideline ends on the heavily populated beach. The Vessel Assist San Diego salvage team had to re position the bridle several times to optimize the angle of pull to get the boat up the hill. Once on flat beach the two tanks like tractors dragged the vessel almost ½ mile to a staging area to final destruction. Soon after the fuel tank was drained and removed the giant excavator tore into the hull and placed it piece by piece into 4- 40 yard trash bins. The beach was sifted for the smallest of debris and the beach was cleared for the busy Labor Day weekend traffic of beachgoers.

Vessel Assist San Diego Salvages Helicopter after it Crashes in San Diego Bay

Robert Butler — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:58:03 +0000

As the busy Sunday for Vessel Assist San Diego was winding down, Captain Reggie Curry was tying the Vessel Assist Boat “San Diego” to the Vessel Assist San Diego Headquarters Pier, when he heard the call come in for a helicopter that had just crashed. As he got underway he located the crash site just a couple hundred yards from the pier. San Diego Harbor Police arrived on scene just seconds before Captain Reggie. The Harbor Police Diver reacted flawlessly, dawning a wet suit and mask, jumping in the cool water of San Diego Bay, swimming to the cabin area to see if there were any other victims. Once confirmed that the pilot was the only person on board, he quickly rescued the shaken and confused Pilot, assisting him aboard the Harbor Police vessel. As the Police boat zoomed off to get the Pilot to the Hospital, Captain Reggie hooked a line to the stricken Helicopter as it started to drift quickly under the Coronado Bay Bridge. Once in tow Captain Eric Lamb on Vessel Assist ” Shelter Island” , who had just finished securing a Vessel Assist/Boat US member near Harbor Island, took over the tow because the helicopter would have to be positioned near a crane barge at Vessel Assist’s San Diego headquarters.
The powerful and maneuverable “Shelter Island” with Captain Christina Lamb aboard assisting with line handling, maneuvered the wrecked upside down helicopter close to the pier. With fuel spilling into the Bay, Captain Tony Olson and Captain Reggie Curry deployed containment boom and set up a containment Zone. Salvage Diver Captain Shane Thompson carefully attached lifting straps to first turn the helicopter over then attached more lifting straps to lift the Helicopter out of the water and onto a barge.
The crane lift was slow but deliberate as the helicopter looked like it was going to crumble at any moment. Once on the barge fuel continued to spill out of the ruptured fuel tank and out of the carburation area of the small but powerful engine. Captain Robert Butler inspected the Engine compartment and found one of the fuel tanks had a tear in the tank. A containment pan was placed under the area where fuel was spilling. With fuel spilling and the electrical system damages by salt water sparks caused by an electrical short became a huge issue. Captain Robert Butler and Captain Tony Olson, both boat mechanics started looking for a way to disconnect the battery system. Even with the electrical system disabled the risk of life was great with the highly volatile fuel pouring out of the craft.
San Diego Harbor Police deployed a fire hose from the Harbor Police boat Sweetwater and readied it within striking distance of the helicopter. After the fuel drained and was removed from under the craft the Harbor Police secured and returned to their normal patrol.