Raising a 24 ft Bayliner 2455 Ciera in Palm Springs, FL

For years, a green algae line and a chalky hull had been the main thing anybody noticed about the 24 ft Bayliner 2455 Ciera at the lake dock. When the cockpit drains clogged, she filled slowly, and by the time anyone looked, the gunwales sat level with the water.

The obstacle was the dock. It was old and the boards were soft, so we did not want to put weight on it. The crew stayed on a skiff, passed the lift bags under her from the water, and ran the dewatering hose to shore over a line of sandbags. The tank held a little fuel, so sorbent boom went in first.

Three hours and she floated. We towed her across to the ramp and loaded her on the truck. The chalking went all the way through the laminate, so a rebuild would have cost more than another boat. She went to our yard near Greenacres for dismantling and recycling, with the engine and hardware sold as salvage. That was the sunken boat removal in full.