Belle Glade, FL: 27 ft Chris-Craft Commander 27 Off the Bottom in One Morning

The fuel smell on the 27 ft Chris-Craft Commander 27 had ended every sale attempt for two years. The owner stopped trying, left her on the mooring, and a bilge pump failure did the rest. The stern settled and the bow pointed up.

Fuel was the whole job of this sunken boat recovery. A smell that strong meant tanks that had been weeping for a long time, and we would not lift her until a boom was down and absorbent pads were out. A diver checked the vents and fittings. Then lift bags went under the cockpit, and the hull rose slowly so nothing sloshed out.

We spent most of a day on site. The tow took her to a ramp, and the fuel went out first with a manifest. The engines were frozen and the tank was rotten, so the Commander went to our yard past Jupiter for dismantling and recycling. The only salvage was the hardware.