Sunken Dawncraft 25 Salvaged from Northampton

Boatbreakers were asked to collect a dispose of a Dawncraft 25 that had sunk in Northampton. According to the owner the boat had been caught out by exceptionally high river levels after the heavy rain that battered the UK. With the river flooding much of the yard the boat was in it managed to flood the boat as the mooring lines didn’t have enough slack. The boat was submerged but luckily the lines didn’t break which made sure it at least stayed on her mooring.

Her owner and the club then had the job of pumping the boat out and once the conditions improved she was floating again. However as the Dawncraft 25 had been under the water her engine, electronics and interior were all ruined. The owner’s insurance company wrote her off and asked us to arrange for the disposal.

Our main issue whilst planning the collection was access to the site. Inland waterway yards and clubs can often have tricky access. Especially for our trucks. This particular club had a single lane which passed over a bridge and then onto an island. However the main complication was that the island was partially submerged still. So there was a real danger our truck might get stuck.

After speaking with the club they suggested using their slipway. Another member had a boat delivered the week before using a trailer so we agreed asking this haulier would be the best course of action. The owner of the boat made sure that the boat was fully pumped out and that it was waiting on the slipway.

Then our chosen haulier simply reversed his trailer in and loaded the boat. We had been worried that a Dawncraft 25 might be too big for the trailer. But this particular transport guy was an expert on inland waterway boats. Within no time the boat was out, loaded, strapped down and on the way to the boat scrapyard.