A Little Test For The Trawler Forum Diving And Salvage Experts

We came into an anchorage recently and had to go around a large salvage operation. After getting ourselves settled we watch the operation and listened in to the conversation on channel 6.

So a little challenge for you all. When they got the object out of the water we saw that it was the extended boom of a crane which looked like it had snapped off and gone into the water.

They got it out of the water surface but they realized that they did not have enough "head room" (meaning wire left at the top of their salvage crane to get the item high enough out of the water to get it onto the barge). They needed to get their wire attached lower onto the salvaged item to lift it higher.

So they moved from where they were (in a couple of hundred feet) into shallower water - 31 feet. They then put the retrieved boom back down vertically so that the top of it (the black extended boom) was sticking straight out of the water. (I didn't get a photo of that stage). They then were able to just take the lift wire off, take it over to the barge to rework some part of it, and then replace it further down the retrieved boom to give themselves the headroom that they needed.

Here is the question: They had the retrieved boom just sitting there vertically, and they took the wire off, then just reattached it lower down. HOW DID THEY GET THE RETRIEVED BOOM TO JUST SIT STRAIGHT UP, STICKING OUT OF THE WATER, WHILE THEY WORKED ON IT - THERE WAS NO OTHER WIRES, ROPES OR SUPPORT. WHY DIDN'T IT FALL OVER?

I will post the answer later.

Second control wire. It’s thin so you might not have seen it

Looks like it’s still attached to the crane

Let me clarify, it looks like they are salvaging a complete crane with carriage and table

Well done! That was quick!

I was wondering how the hell the boom was standing upright as they untied it and went to lunch, just leaving it there, vertically.

Then they lifted it all!

Well that’s a heck of a thing to lose overboard. I get upset with losing sunglasses

Greetings,
Mr. s. Astute observation. So they just stood it up on it's wheels/tracks in 30' of water and proceeded from there OR....they showed it pornographic bulldozer pictures and...


Aw snap. I typed way too slow.

RT, I think the former.

I’ll see it on flea bay in a few months, “nice crane, needs some tlc”

I was actually impressed with their post retrieval processes - the first of which was to drain all on the fluids into containers - including the hydraulic fluids. Getting the retrieved crane's block and wire down as they didn't know how stable it was etc. Quite interesting to evesdrop on.
When they were finished and leaving I broke in and congratulated them on the successful lift, their professionalism, and thanked them for an afternoon's entertainment.

Looks like a lot of that crane is still in the water. I don't even see the counter weights, car body, or cab.

Don't know what was previously lifted - or if they were going back after dropping off what they had in Freeport. I would imagine though that if that crane was sitting with the boom straight up that would be the priority.

Now what would be interesting is to know what the crane was doing when it went over into the water. I've seen situations of boats in slings of cranes and boat and crane tumbling into the water.