FloridaCheval, Hillsborough County
Cheval, FL: 27 ft Catalina 27 Off the Bottom in One Morning
Standing rigging seized and sails rotted in the bag: that was the 27 ft Catalina 27 when it settled by the stern on its mooring, bow pointing at the sky. The owner had meant to deal with it for two summers.
The complication was the mast. Seized rigging means you cannot drop it, and a tall stick on a half-flooded boat wants to roll her the moment she lifts. We cut the shrouds one at a time, lashed the mast to the skiff, and raised the stern first with lift bags so she rose level instead of pivoting.
It took most of a morning. The hull underneath was sound, and a repair yard near Brandon agreed to take it, so she left on a trailer with the rotted canvas bagged separately. Sunken boat recovery sometimes ends with a boat that sails again. The tow was short, and the salvage was the boat itself.
Case summary
Illustrative example — a representative sunken boat recovery in Hillsborough County, not a record of a specific customer job. Photos are illustrative too.
Posted from United States:
More boat removal jobs in Florida
Crews cover Hillsborough County: Apollo Beach, Bloomingdale, Brandon, and Citrus Park. Same-week turnaround is normal for Cheval jobs because the crew already runs this stretch of the county. Our trailer rigs take the main east-west road out, which keeps a tall mast clear of low overhead lines. The marina side is crowded, so we book a clear window with the owner first.