Sunken Sailboat Recovery in Leesburg

Left at a lake dock for years on a dwindling budget, the 27 ft Cal 27 sailboat had the boom missing and the mast corroded at the step. She sat until a thunderstorm filled the cockpit, the drain backed up, and she went down until the deck was awash and the bow was slightly up.

The obstacle was the dock. Its pilings were old and not safe to load. We worked from the skiff and the shore side, setting straps and lift bags from the water so nothing leaned on the dock at all. Three bags came up in sequence while a drain line cleared the cabin. The corroded mast stayed unloaded, and we lowered it onto the deck for the trip.

Her hull was sound and a buyer had lined up to restore her, so we ran it as a salvage. We handled the tow to the ramp, then trucked her toward Eustis to a repair yard that could redo the rig. About four hours on site for the sunken boat recovery.