Sunken Sailboat Recovery in South Miami Heights

Any keelboat showing rust weeping from its keel bolts down the hull is in trouble. On the 25 ft O'Day 25 sailboat it meant the bolts had been leaking for a long time before the water won.

She sank at a canal seawall until only the cabin roof showed. The obstacle was the keel. The bolts had loosened the joint, and lifting a hull whose heavy keel may drop out is a real hazard. We strapped under the keel before anything else and set lift bags on the sides, then brought her up slowly enough to watch the joint the whole time.

We spent about five hours on site. The tow went along the canal to a ramp toward Country Walk, then onto a trailer. She went to our yard, because a rebuild of the keel joint was not something the owner wanted. The lead keel is salvage, and the hull was cut and recycled. Sunken boat recovery sometimes ends in pieces.