Hurricane Sandy Central NJ

Update

The USCG has handed down the order to stick with the Three Belles and set her on a barge and deliver her to a marina that will take her. It can not be patched because the damage is to catastrophic. the hole is approx 6'+ and many more planks are missing and keep coming off as they try to apply a patch. The order came down to place her on the barge and take to a marina that will take her. It can not be boomed to our yard because there's to much distance and to much boat.
Apparently someone from high up in the command of the USCG has been sympathetic to the Three Belles though I have no clue who or why they are going to such extreme to save my Three Belles, It has been on the USCG's morning briefs for the last 3 days since Cody, the guy who contacted me first and put it on the priority list to be raised. They are only supposed to raise, drain all contaminants and then drop her back down.But that someone up that chain of command had a huge hart and passed down the order to save her. Why, or who, I have no idea, and I can't begin to express my thoughts, words are just not enough.
Here are the good people from the USCG that have been assigned to the task, Ann Marie, Michael and Graig

your rite of course but who knows with the demand ther is just so much equipment to go around, I know there choice crane could not fit under the Belt parkway bridge into the Paerdegat Basin so there's allot of perimeters there fighting with

I just can believe the lengths they have gone to to even try, or who up the command gave the order and why??? its just mind boggling

Graig, one of the guys from USCG said that someone high up took a personal interest in this case, thats what confounds me. He has stated that there rules are to decontaminate and drop. thats it. To many lawsuits from Hurricane Irene changed the protical for this huricane, so there not going the distance this time except for a few cases, this being one of them. I just cant understand it. this operation has cost and will cost upwards of 60k by the end. It just dosnt make sence though Im not complaining, trust me i just feel awful for these people and then not to succeed because of the wide spread damage to the hull, she was really battered by that piling, I dont know how they will get her on another barge, its probably going to collapse once it comes out of the water, there just not enough integrity left to support it in the slings

SO sorry for your loss Garrbo! It's such a crying shame when a classic meets her demise. Two straps would be enough to lift her but two additional spreader bars to hold them apart would help immensley with hull pinching. The CG probably won't do it but I've seen 4x4's or similar beams placed between the straps on the foredeck and covering boards, just be VERY careful they don't give way or slip.

As one of the old timers used to say "it's nothing a little wood and epoxy can't fix". Damaged planking and frames can be replaced and it's common on older wooden boats to do that in the course of "normal" maintenence, it's more a question of economics. If they take it slowly and let the water drain as she's lifted she should be fine. Post some pics of the damaged areas and we can tell much more, all may not be lost!

It sure sounds like they have all the best intentions but there is no way their pumps will come remotely close to keeping up with the influx from a 6' hole. Is the crane maxing out it's capacity? It sure looks like it isn't big enough to me for the task. Normal practice in that kind of holing would be to SLOWLY continue the lift while the water level inside is just above outside the hull to avoid too much stress.

That looks to be about a 30 to 40 ton P&H Omega rough terrain crane which even under the best of circumstances wouldn't be able to lift your boat. Even if it was completely dry considering the angle of the boom, load radius and the way it's loaded on the barge would make it impossible. The idea situation would be to get some airbags to get it off the bottom then tow it to a marina with a proper lift. Otherwise it seems like it'll get destroyed if they pull it with the way it's currently rigged.

Keep your fingers crossed, we're all pulling for you.

that one pic of the stern looks like she is almost there, it must still be down in the bow....

every time i log on, i hope to see her up and on the hard getting replanked and pickled...

good luck, dont give up, its not over yet......

Garrbo, There is a 1969 43' for sale I saw on another site. See if this link works, if not it is under Pop Yachts International. The boat is in MA.

1968 Egg Harbor 43 Sedan Sportfish/Convertible for Sale (18896) in Essex County, MA - Specs and Photos - POP Yachts

sorry for your situation .... hope something works out in the end ...