Raising a 27 ft Chris-Craft Commander 27 in Orlando, FL

Nobody would buy the 27 ft Chris-Craft Commander 27, because of a fuel smell that ended every sale attempt for two seasons. The owner left her at the lake dock until one heavy storm filled the cockpit, and she settled by the stern with the bow pointing up.

Fuel was the obstacle. Both tanks were still about half full, and the bilge had a rainbow on it, so nothing got lifted until the crew laid sorbent boom around the stern and drained the tanks through a hose into drums. Only then did we start floating her.

Air went under the stern first, then amidships, while a pump cleared the engine room as the hull came level. The sunken boat removal took about six hours. Engines were seized and the stringers were wet, so we towed her to the ramp and trucked her to our yard near Apopka for dismantling and recycling. The props and the brass fittings went out as salvage.