Houseboat Disaster

[boatflipper]

well folks my dad and i received some disheartening news last night.
our houseboat which is on the ky river was struck by a log during the recent flooding.
the manager of the dock said there is nothing he can do because he cant even get to the dock because the water is so high.
so, i plan on venturing down there later this afternoon. i went down yesterday and the road the dock is on was still closed-hopefully today i can get throug. if not, i will try to walk over so i can at least see if she is still afloat.

if she is still afloat, we will be pulling her out to repair the damage. we have ins but are wanting to try and repair the damage ourselves to keep our rates from jumping.

pictures will be up tonight if i can get to it.

 

[SnowHunter]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Oh no! Hope it all turns out ok, and she's still floating!!! Yikes!

 

[dorelse]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

well folks my dad and i received some disheartening news last night.
our houseboat which is on the ky river was struck by a log during the recent flooding.
the manager of the dock said there is nothing he can do because he cant even get to the dock because the water is so high.
so, i plan on venturing down there later this afternoon. i went down yesterday and the road the dock is on was still closed-hopefully today i can get throug. if not, i will try to walk over so i can at least see if she is still afloat.

if she is still afloat, we will be pulling her out to repair the damage. we have ins but are wanting to try and repair the damage ourselves to keep our rates from jumping.

pictures will be up tonight if i can get to it.

Not good news...sorry to hear that.

Your rates are going to go up anyway...they have to make back all the money they're going to spend on claims they're going to receive.

I mean, Katrina didn't do a lick of damage to Iowa...but my house ins. rates jumped anyway. If rates were 100% individually based, I'd be right there with ya in your thinking. (They are to a degree, but not completely.)

I guess that's going to depend on repair estimates & your deductible...but if its major...you know...you pay for ins. for a reason...

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Not good news...sorry to hear that.

Your rates are going to go up anyway...they have to make back all the money they're going to spend on claims they're going to receive.

I mean, Katrina didn't do a lick of damage to Iowa...but my house ins. rates jumped anyway. If rates were 100% individually based, I'd be right there with ya in your thinking. (They are to a degree, but not completely.)

I guess that's going to depend on repair estimates & your deductible...but if its major...you know...you pay for ins. for a reason...

You have a very good point there...

Well I went down today at 4:00 and I still cant get to the dock. The river will have to go down another 10-15 feet before I can even think of attempting to make it over there.

I could barely see the dock through the trees but I think I saw the houseboat still afloat. From what I could tell she was very low in the nose...the thing she has going for her is that her hull has got dividers on the interior so that, like in this situation, if a leak develops, the section would have to fill up before the next one does.

Above the river, there is actually a trailer park, which you can see in the pictures. When I went down today I could see where the water was about a third of the way up the trailers.

More pictures to come....

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

I hate hearing about this stuff. I hope everything turns out ok.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Sorry to hear about the houseboat. I hope she stays above the water until you can get to her.
Good luck
Bob

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

From what I could tell she was very low in the nose...the thing she has going for her is that her hull has got dividers on the interior so that, like in this situation, if a leak develops, the section would have to fill up before the next one does.

Sounds strikingly like the Titanic. I hope your vessel has a happier ending. All of us here on iboats will crossing our fingers. Good luck.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Good luck with the houseboat 'flipper...

TII

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Thanks guys for all the good wishes. It means alot.
I am not counting on being able to get to her today either so hopefully she holds on for a couple more days.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Do you have or can you use someones canoe? They are great to get around in that type of water, assuming the current isn't too swift. You may be able to at least paddle out to it and give it a good visual and make a plan of attack as to getting her back. Hpoe it all works out for you.

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

sorry to hear about the boat, good luck in the retreival process and hope she's not to beat up.... tink

 

[badkins50]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Me too, sorry about houseboat. Best of luck to you both when you finally get to her. Keep us posted.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Hey Boatflipper,
What's the word on the houseboat?
Have you been able to get to it yet?
Bob

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Sorry it's been so long since an update, its been pretty crazy!!
The houseboat ended up being ok. The draintubes for the front hatch were stopped up, sending water into the nose, giving the manager the impression that it was sinking.
There is however a hole above the water line about the size of a basketball

The dock down there is a complete loss. The front half that had a two-level bar and restaurant broke loose and floated down river, and the pull in slips twisted around and shoved some pontoons against the bank. As the river went down, one of the pontoons got stuck on a tree and is now hanging in the tree 15ft above the water
All the cables holding the dock snapped, except two which is on the back part of the dock.
The houseboat has to be moved within a couple weeks becasue the dock has to be cut up. So, now we are looking for a trailer. Too bad the locks still dont work...

I will try and get some pics of us moving her.

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Here are some pictures of what is left of the dock...

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

More pics...

 

[Triton II]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Whoa... big mess. Hope all goes well 'flipper.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Mercy! what a mess. Sounds like you got off pretty easy compared to a lot of others.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Houseboat Disaster

Glad to hear your houseboat is OK.
Bob