Raising a 21 ft Thompson 21 in Kissimmee, FL

This 21 ft Thompson 21 cuddy cabin had her outdrive removed and never reinstalled, and she sat at a lake dock while the owner sorted out a move. When the plug in the transom hole corroded through, water came in slowly. By the time anyone looked, the deck was awash and the bow only slightly up.

The dock was the obstacle. It was narrow, wooden, and had no truck access with the boat tied to the far end, so everything came in by hand and by skiff. We patched the transom from outside, ran bags under the hull, and let a drain line work while she came up level. Then we drew her back along the dock on lines.

The wood under the deck was saturated, and the owner had given up on the project, so there was little to salvage. A tow to the ramp and a truck to our yard near St Cloud ended in dismantling and recycling. The sunken boat removal took about four hours.