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Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Category: Boating Accidents

There is probably nothing more hazardous to a boat than lifting it out of the water. Here is an example of what can happen when a boat is lifted on a marine railway.

I usually try to discourage anyone who is overly romantic about the sea about putting their life's savings into a project involving boats. Two of the most romantic types of people are potential treasure salvors, and people want restore old boats to their former glory. I'm not always right and I was absolutely wrong in trying to discourage at least one treasure salvor, who went on to make a major find. Many people though, who are romantic about the sea and just can't resist the urge, should.

One person who approached me after the fact had a dream of refurbishing a ferro-cement replica of a famous sailing ship. It didn't work out well.

Most people can't conceive of the fact that a boat hull can be made from concrete, but it can.. Concrete is strong when it is pushed on-- called being "in compression" but not very strong when it is pulled apart--called being "in tension." Steel rods are just the opposite. They are good in tension but weak in compression. Combine the two, and you can create a strong hull for a boat. Ferro-cement, as the combination of concrete and steel is called, is rugged and versatile hull construction material. It does have its drawbacks though. One of those drawbacks is that it can be brittle. Another is that once it breaks, ferro-cement boats can sink quickly.

This boat owner took his hull to a marine railway, a way of hauling boats from the water using what looks like railroad tracks running into the water. The boat is put on a type of wheeled cart and then lifted from the water. The marine railway operator inspected to boat and saw that the ferro-cement had some cracks in it. As they lifted it out of the water, the cracks opened up. One thing about ferro-cement boats is that the hull material isn't buoyant. One it gets a hole in it, it sinks.

When a boat fills with water, it is many times heavier than the weight of the boat itself and the boat is exposed to stresses from the inside out, rather than from the outside in. Once you stress a boat in a way it is not designed to be stressed, bad things can happen. You find out what the weakest link is--in this case it was some rotted timbers.

The boat never floated again. It was too far gone and the owner lost his entire investment.