FloridaThe Villages, Sumter County
Raising a 26 ft MacGregor 26 in The Villages, FL
Mildew filled the cabin of the 26 ft MacGregor 26, and the rudder was gone, which is how the owner described her when he called. She sat at a lake dock with only the cabin roof showing. A water-ballast sailboat like that does not sink fast, but she had been leaking for a long time.
The obstacle was the ballast tank. It had to be drained before anything else or the hull would stay heavy. The crew opened the valve from a skiff, then rigged lift bags under the hull. Once the tank emptied, she lightened enough to come up easy.
A short tow took her to a shore ramp near Wildwood. Mildew had spread into the foam, and without the rudder, the owner had no plan to rebuild. The MacGregor went to our yard for dismantling and recycling. Salvage of the fittings paid for the dock work. About three hours on site start to finish with the dock left tidy. Sunken boat recovery done.
Case summary
Illustrative example — a representative sunken boat recovery in Sumter 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 Sumter County: Wildwood, Bushnell, Center Hill, and Lake Panasoffkee. When a boat goes under in The Villages, photos and a rough depth are usually enough to plan the job, and most recoveries here are scheduled within the same week. We haul in the bags, a work skiff, and a trailer, leaving nothing for the owner to rent or arrange. Shoot us a few photos, and we will explain what lifting it takes.