Frozen and Sunk

[PlayDate]

These are pictures of a 32' Trojan that went down next to our marina. The guy was tied up next to the fish market in Washington DC because he could not afford the slip fees at the marina and the marina also required insurance on the boat which he could also not afford.

He didn't close the seacocks or winterize the engines and the result was the strainers froze, cracked and the boat sunk. He was not on board but everything he owned was.

If you think that this is an isolated case....I just got back from the Ft. Washington Marina where they have pulled five boats from the water that have sunk at local marinas because the boats were not winterized .......including a 1998 34' Sea Ray.

Every year we see boats whose engine blocks are cracked by freezing temperatures because owners don't feel that they need to winterize or couldn't afford to.


John

ASE Master Mechanic

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

Those are some sad pictures. There was a discussion on the old SRO Board about what gas prices and the price of boats would do to the level of ownership. Looks like this is a result of "Marginal Boaters Syndrome". :smt021

 

[Dave S]

What a shame. :smt009 :smt009

 

[SearayPaul]

Very very sad pictures.

 

[Bridog]

Very sad. You mentioned "he was not onboard but everything he owned was". Was he living onboard?

 

[PlayDate]

He was living on it. Only the Gangplank Marina in DC officially allows liveaboards. They have about 100 registered liveaboards and a list a mile long to get in as liveaboard (world class view of the monuments and the river for the price of a slip fee!).

However, several marinas look the other way whether you are living aboard or not. In this guy's case, he couldn't afford to be at a marina and was tied up to a temporary barge for free.

-John

ASE Master Mechanic