TowBoatUS San Diego salvages boat from 400′ of water

Robert Butler, President of Vessel Assist San Diego received a call from a marine surveyor. “Rob I have a task that I think you may be able to help me with.” Always into a challenge Rob was all ears. “I have a 30’ vessel sunk on the bottom of Lake Powell in 400’ of water that I need raised to the surface. “ Still listening Rob’s wheels turned as the Marine surveyor laid out the scenario of why the vessel needed to be raise.  Rob’s first idea was simple send a tech diver with a rebreather (a rebreather is a SCUBA apparatus that actually scrubs the divers used air and delivers it to a tank to be re breathed over and over) This has been done before with success. “No way said the Surveyor the Insurance Company will not allow a diver to Deep dive on the lake.” Rob, who had been looking to purchase an ROV, Jumped at the opportunity to purchase an ROV and use it to perform the deep water operation, “What guarantees do the surveyor asked.” Without actually seeing the wreck itself it was impossible to guarantee the success of the operation, but, Rob Butler has jumped in to new methods of salvage and wreck removals and had always prevailed. Rob offered to perform the salvage operation for a base cost of crew and equipment but the actual removal on a no cure no pay basis. (A method very common in the marine salvage business, where if the job is not finished no additional compensation can be asked for or expected.) The only thing Rob required was the permit process is provided for. With the Insurance Company pressured to remove the vessel from the depths of Lake Powell and the next option of removal almost three times the cost of Rob’s estimate they agreed. So it was scheduled to start on December 7th 2006.

Salvage Plan

To take crew and equipment to Lake Powell, get on a house boat, launch a salvage vessel, locate the sunken vessel, send down an ROV, attach a salvage line to the Bow Eye, raise the vessel 50’ at a time, attach more float bags to the vessel, pump out the water, tow the vessel to the launch ramp, place it on the trailer, clean up our equipment, relax and enjoy the rest of the trip exploring one of the most beautiful lakes in the world while fishing for striped bass. Sounds easy … keep reading.

That day Rob jumped into action by staging a preliminary salvage plan that was comprised of several small but very important steps.

Step one. Assemble a top notch crew capable of completing one of the toughest salvages in rob’s 18 year career.

Rob’s first choice was Captain Greg Rood. Captain Rood was fresh out of Washington State University and while only working as a captain for only 1 year he had the technical savvy needed to be able to master the ROV in only 3 days while setting up all the audio and video to record just about every minute for documentation for the insurance company. Captain Rood also was a very competent diver as multiple 60’ bounce dives would be necessary to complete the Salvage.

Next was Rob’s Brother Tom Butler. Tom Butler owns Butlers Weed abatement and Tree Service out of Santee, CA he is a master of small engines and has performed hundreds of salvages as pump master and Rigger. His commitment to getting the job done no matter what is second to only Captain Rob Butler himself.

Lifelong friend and master salvage diver Augustine Malfavon was rob’s clear choice for salvage diver. Augustine or Augie as we call him. Is a relentless diver, his toughness and general knowledge in salvage situations was the key to Rob’s success in several salvages where Rob could take his mind off what is going on underwater while he orchestrates the topside salvage operation.

Next was Captain Steve Lambert (Shaq) Shaq Started as a Vessel Assist Captain for Rob 5 years ago and has some of the best small boat handling skills in the industry. His task was to run the vessel assist Lajolla during operations. One of the toughest things about open water salvage is the work platform is limited to a 24’ Work boat everything must be in perfect order this would be Shaq’s job.

Art Wheeler rob’s father in law retired after a long career as an electrician. He is an expert when it comes to knots and rigging lines considering he spent a good portion of his career on 100’ towers and rigging lines to run electric cable on various light rail projects he headed. Also an expert boat handler his job would be skippering the 60’ House boat we would use as our floating hotel / staging area for equipment.

Food would be an issue and who better to be on board than Rob’s Step dad Frank Henderson. One day out of retirement Frank’s successful career in the grocery business assured us that there would be plenty of food. Franks official title is Logistics director he would be in charge of logging every working minute while this tremendous operation would unfold.

We did have one stowaway, the younger of Rob’s two daughters. Hannah Butler 13 years old rivaled the speed of which Rob and Greg mastered the ROV controls. Being homeschooled allowed Hannah to partake in an adventure in some of the most beautiful country in the world. Fishing was her main goal but running the video camera was her job.

Behind the scenes Was Johanna Henderson Rob’s Mother and Offshore director for Vessel Assist San Diego for four years. MOM, as everyone calls her, kept the day to day Vessel Assist San Diego operation running smooth while setting up The houseboat, Attaining the permits, Secured additional Insurance binders, Ordered Special equipment among ten thousand other things she does in her normal ho hum day. (This job should not happen without her… THANKS MOM…)
Step 2 the Equipment

Good equipment is key in any successful salvage operation this area in Lake Powell is very remote and for the exception of a Wal-Mart marine isle getting equipment would be next to impossible.

To start purchasing an ROV would be the largest and most important item in this plan SEA BOTICS Inc is a San Diego based ROV builder that specializes in the innovation and design of ROV’s for the practical use in the everyday marine environment. Because of the reality that Saturation divers were available at and enormous cost buying a $200k ROV would not fit into the budget of a company that spends most its money keeping the largest fleet of tow boats on the west coast running while assisting over 3000 boats a year. SEA BOTICS had an ROV unit that Rob had been eying of over a year and he knew it would be a perfect fit for the Vessel Assist Operation while saying within a budget that was affordable. The call was made and just so happens Brock at SEA BOTICS had his LVM 150 demo for sale and ready to go. After adding a remote arm and getting a basic looking over by the SEA BOTIC technicians we were ready to go.

Float bags are giant pillow that are attached underwater then filled with air to float objects to the surface. SUB SALV USA was rob’s company of choice for all new float bags. Already loaded with enough float bags to float over 150,000 lbs rob felt it would be better to purchase all new never used bags free of small scars and holes, Blowing out a bag could be disastrous and life threatening to the salvage divers. 4- 2000lb bags and 4-4000lb bags were ordered. Since these are made as they are ordered getting them done was nothing short of miraculous. SUB SALV came thru getting all the bags done and shipped to me with hours to spare.

Lodging was an issue getting a crew of 8 back and forth to the work site proved to be one of the biggest fist stage challenges. Thanks to MOM she secured a 59’ Houseboat from Antelope Point Houseboat rentals. THESE GUYS ROCK!! They had one of the cleanest newest marine fleet of any kind anywhere. Our Houseboat was awesome it had plenty of room for eight of us to live for the 7 days on the lake. Our only setback was we could not secure one of the 70’ houseboats that came with a hot Jacuzzi. Just so happens all 30 or so 70’ houseboat were on their way to a huge party for four of the seven days we were there. Our 59’ boat was awesome and we urge anyone planning a vacation to go to Antelope Rentals for the best boats on Lake Powell.

When it came time for a salvage vessel rob had two choices. Take Vessel Assist Point Loma or Vessel Assist Lajolla. VA Point Loma is a 28’ Farralon with a single 370 HP 6BT Cummins and a 7” Bow thruster. This boat has been to La Paz Mexico and back on its own hull over 1600 miles. With a 10’ beam and huge work deck on the plus side and it’s 10,000lb loaded weight being the deciding factor on why we picked Vessel Assist Lajolla as the salvage vessel for the job. VA Lajolla is a 24’ Seaway powered with a single 155HP 4BT Cummins diesel and a Volvo Duo Prop. Originally used as a harbor patrol boat, VA lajolla has proven itself as a workhorse towing and salvaging vessels in San Diego for years. Equipped with a PTO dewatering pump capable of pumping 6500Gallons of water per hour with the flip of a switch. Best of all it only burns 1.25 gallons per hour and is weighted to tow much easier than the VA Point Loma.

The last major item would be the salvage line used to lift the vessel. Rob needed a line as light as a feather but as strong as steel wire. Amsteel blue line was the answer. ½ diameter neutral buoyant line with a breaking strength of 32,000 lbs (average breaking strength for ½ inch line is around 8000 lbs.) At almost 5 bucks a foot the 600’ spool quickly took on the nickname of “blue gold”.

Other equipment brought was (2) Rigid gas Air compressors; )(2) Yamaha 3000watt ultra silent Inverter Gen Sets; (2) Honda 2” gas dewatering pumps capable of pumping 11,000 GPH each; 2 3700 GPH rule emergency bilge pumps; almost a mile of extra various sized salvage line; Just about everything one could think of to quick patch a hole in a boat; (3) video cameras; (5) digital cameras; just about everything that could be used but not purchased on Lake Powell.

Task 1 Master the ROV. We took delivery of the ROV on Tuesday afternoon after a 30 minute crash course on how to use the ROV. That night we spent the night in MOM’s pool crashing into the wall while mastering the movements of the ROV. On Wednesday we used a 30lb brick used to attach fence posts with an eyebolt attached duck taped with two roll of tape to guard against damaging the pool. With the carbineer attached to the ROV arm we practiced while tuning the video system. On Thursday we found out that Rob’s daughter Hannah was just as effective as Rob or Greg on driving the ROV now called BOB. Friday we finished packing gear and finished our total salvage plan. Saturday was a normal day of towing assisting 17 boats and salvaging a sunken boat at the slip that night. Sunday towing was again normal with 21 boats assisted Pulling Captain Rood and Captain Lambert at noon was tough but Rob called in a back up captain and things went smooth. At 1700 we left for Lake Powell.

Tasks 2 get there. With Rob’s 2006 Dodge Mega Cab with a 6BT Cummins pulling VA Lajolla and his brothers 2005 F150 all loaded to the hilt we took off on our 13 hour journey. Rob’s built in Navigation system though very reliable gave us directions to get there the fastest. It did fail to tell us about the detour around Zion National park. Driving by the detour sign at 2 am caused us to take the scenic tour through Zion and its famous tunnels cut through granite. Once we realized VA lajolla would fit under the tunnels and Rob did not need to back-up over 1 mile to the nearest turnaround we cruised the last leg dodging huge Mule deer and rabbits. We arrived at 0600 to a dennys only a few miles from antelope Point Marina. After a quick meal we headed to the marina. Feeling great about ourselves because we were 4 hours ahead of schedule we moved on to the marina only to find that the lake was down over 100’ which made the launch ramp about ¼ mile long and trekking all our gear down looked like a three day job. Because we were commercial we had to use the private launch ramp and pay to have them take rob’s truck and launch the boat. Best 30 bucks spent. Antelope point rentals had a fleet of modified golf carts and assisted us in getting our gear to the house boat.

Once settled in on the house boat we decided to send bob to the bottom of the lake at the slip figuring that it would be about 150’ of water or less. The marina is in 400’ of water after a successful trip to the bottom and back we found out the marina is held in place with dozens of ¾ inch steel cables. After dodging the proverbial bullet with bob we decided to wait until morning to let our skill show on driving BOB.

0530 Monday morning we warmed up the twin evenrude motors and VA Lajolla now very happy in fresh water for the first time ever. The Marine Surveyors and local authorities jumped on board and off we went. One house later we were on scene to the general location of the wreck. The Rangers marked the spot within 100’ after recovering the body of the person who perished in the accident. Because anchoring in 400’ of water was impossible we would have to rely on no wind a very little current to keep us on top of the area.

Rob took the first Turn maneuvering BOB to attempt to locate and attach the salvage line with a carabineer. 4 minutes into the dive BOB hit bottom and the wreck was found and the line was hooked up within 30 minutes. Feeling good about getting the hardest part over and done within 1 hour, we started to raise the boat 50’ to 60’ at a time. The vessels reported weight was 7900lbs underwater the lifting bags would be 1- 4000lb bag and 1 2000lb bag together. Soon after air started putting pressure on the line the carabineer broke loose. Turns out it fowled and we had overlooked the fact the clip could fowl.

The wreck changed position and the bow making it impossible to hook up to the bow eye so attempts were made to hook up to one of the two stern eyes. Wind made it tough to attach to the boat so it was agreed that we would postpone the operation until morning. In the time it took for the maturities to get on their boats to leave and get back the wind stopped and Rob decided to attempt to attach the line with two 5000lb carabineer clips one more time. The attempt with Captain Rood driving was successful. Now that we had an 8000lb anchor we decided to enjoy a cold beautiful night on Lake Powell.

The morning brought new hope to accomplish our task ahead of schedule this time Rob was a very confident on the stern eye hookup because being one of the three strongest points on the boat. The worry was the carabineer clip was now going to have extra stress pulling up backwards. The first two lifts went flawlessly as we applied air to the third lift the swim step hooked up on a ledge and broke the Stainless steel stern eye. Temporarily dejected rob had his crew pull the line in thinking if the clip bent again we could be doomed from the start. As terrible as it was to lose the boat for a second time we saw a sign of hope when the carbineer came up unfazed and in good condition. With the day short day passing quickly we decided to send bob down with an anchor attached straight to the bottom just to re locate the wreck. It took better than an hour but again with Greg at the helm we located the boat. We got a streak of luck the boat landed bow up. Rob made two decisions first was to appoint Greg as the full time ROV captain as he was mastering it more and more with each minute of practice the second was to attach the line again in the evening when the afternoon wind died.

Wednesday morning we had new hope flat water, no wind, and again we were pulling from the pointy side of the boat. This time we attached emergency line in each of the loops just in case one pulled out we had something to attach float bags to. First lift perfect, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Sixth and seventh were perfect. Rob had kept one emergency set of lift bags attached just in case something happened we would only lose the boat 50’. As the eight lift came to the surface the bow of the wreck shot 6’ out of the water. As smooth as things were going focus was lost. The wind started to make working on the boat tough. A nasty wind line threatened to blow 20+ knot winds at us that would churn up the water. With cliffs on both sides that water would just reverberate like in a bathtub. Rob, Shaq, Tom and Augie worked as fast as possible to get the boat to a point where dewatering pumps would pump the boat out. With 1 4000lb bag on the bow eye Rob shrugged off a suggestion that we should get a second bag on the bow eye. One of the stern eyes were broke Rob was worried that the eye had pulled out and thus the remaining stern eye could not be relied upon for lifting. Rob went against his vast knowledge and decided to attach two float bags to the all aluminum welded swim platform that was bolted thru the hull 7 times. The third flaw in what looked to be a textbook dewatering about to go way wrong was we re used the two emergency float bags instead of taking 15 minutes to get more bags from the house boat. All was fine until unknown to us the swim platform broke at the welds. Rob’s first thought was we just lost the stern. The stern went down with such force it sucked the bow down with a 4000lb float bag still attached and hooked to the air compressor. Seconds after we lost sight of the boat Shaq and rob realized the boat was not stopping and it was on its way back to the bottom again. As the salvage line was about to hit the second loop about 100’ the air hose from the bow eye came thought. The 150lb Rigid air compressor sitting on the Starboard side of the vessel ripped across the deck dragging all of the gear with it. VA Lajolla heeled over as 500lbs of gear joined Tom 200lbs, Shaq 150lbs, and Rob 275lbs on the port side of the vessel. VA lajolla surged twice hard over stuffing the entire port side of the vessel underwater filling up the Small salvage vessel. Robs first thought was how I am going to salvage two boats from the bottom as he hit the PTO switch just in case the lajolla would survive. Then as the air hose broke from the weight Tom was thrown overboard. Now there was a life struggle, Tom a professional tree trimmer by trade was used to thinking fast when tree limbs don’t fall in the direction they are intended. Tom quickly swam clear for any possible obstructions even though the only items in the water were from VA Lajolla. Rob and Shaq quickly assessed the situation and resolved the problem. Within minutes they were driving around picking up floating items. Now the wind was blowing hard and the 600’ Blue Gold line was lost and it was getting dark. Rob decided to scrub any possibility of recovering the salvage line much less attempting to raise the boat again until after the crew got back to the dock and regained their control of their situation. The biggest mistake made of the event was because it was warm and progress was so smooth The Rob, Tom and Shaq jumped on the VA Lajolla without dawning life jackets. (Note: A call on the way in to Vessel Assist San Diego Office was from this day on PFD’s are required to be worn on all VA San Diego boats at all times. Lesson learned.) As we approached the Marina a conversation with the now disappointed Rangers and surveyors sparked the possibility of quitting. As the houseboat pulled into the dock Tom was there to help tie the monster vessel to the dock, he was picked up by a ranger’s vessel a drove in with the ranger. Tom walked straight to his younger brother Rob who stands 4” taller and outweighs him by 75 lbs. Tom asked what you are thinking. Rob replied well we got it up on we just need to go find it and do it again. Tom smiled and said that was the only answer I would except from you.

Rob walked into the cabin with head high the rangers packing their day bags and cameras the surveyors doing the same both parties leaving with the thought the job were done. “You will have the trailer ready when we raise the vessel on Sunday right?” Rob asked. The ranger suggested that the only way we could find the wreck again is with Sonar in which BOB was not equipped with. Rob insisted that as long as he had the houseboat, two more days, they were still working towards achieving the goal of recovering the 30’ vessel.

“Sure” the Ranger said. “Good luck and keep us posted.” A Utah state sheriff who was overlooking the operation asked if we would mind if he stayed and observed. He was amazed at our resolve to get this job done without one crewmeber thinking we weren’t. A grapple hook would be needed to recover the line if we had any chance of recovering the vessel.

Rob and Art drove all around town looking for anything that remotely resembled a Grappling hook While Augie Went to the local dive store to refill air tanks; Tom, Frank and Hannah re organized the equipment while Greg took stock of any lost equipment in the mishap.

It came down to 4 L shaped 10” shelving brackets ductaped together and weighted with sinkers that were our grappling hook. Early the next morning Greg and Tom took off in the VA Lajolla to look for the wreck and drag the bottom for the 600’ of line attached to the bow of the wreck. Six Hours after the houseboat arrived on scene still no line. Our Lawrance GPS fish finder was picking up a very strong mark but we couldn’t get the line.

Rob and Augie jumped on VA Lajolla for a last attempt to try and recover the line. Looking at the track marks on the GPS there was a small check where the VA Lajolla changed course while the wreck was trying to take her under. The meter mark was right on the change in direction on the GPS tracker. Rob made 10 passes from different directions on the tenth pass Augie staged and anchor with a tag line and on Rob’s Mark he dropped it as fast as it could drop to the bottom. Moments later BOB was deployed 20’ 50’ 100’ BOB descended with a 16lbAnchor forcing Bob down at 5’ per second. 125’, 150’, 175’ STOP!!! STOP!! STOP!! Rob and augie had dropped the anchor right between the blue steel lines. Perfect shot.

Now the tough part untangling the blue line and using BOB to get the line to 90’ so Augie could bounce dive it and recover the line.

With The limits of BOB being maxed out Captain Rood maneuvered the tangled line over the makeshift grappling hook as we gained 50’ of line back from the depth. Now the line was at a dive able depth. 125’. Again Greg maneuvered BOB as if he had been using the equipment for years over and thru another tangle as we gained another 50’. Before we could attempt to get thru the next tangle Augie appeared on the Video monitor at 80’ he retrieved the bitter end of the salvage line assuring there were no kinks and returned to the surface.

Minds at ease and securely anchored to the wreck on a chilly but calm night Rob and crew retired early with plans of the first stage lift a day break.

It was a chilly morning as Rob and crew conducted their safety meeting as the sky brightened. Augie splashed first and the lifting stages were started. This time with some experience behind us we calculated how long every stage would take and with Bad weather moving in there wasn’t a moment to spare. All seven lifts went as smooth as could be expected.
Now the wreck was at 50’ below the surface the wind has kicked up to around 10 MPH just enough to start a small but confused chop on the surface. Rob ordered 1 6000lb bag and 1 4000lb bag attached to the bow eye and 1 4000lb bag attached to the remaining stern eye. 14000lbs of lift on a vessel that required 4500lbs to float all attached to the strongest parts of the wreck assured that the vessel was to the surface for good.

The Last two issues to be addressed

Because of the catastrophic damage done by the accident the bow of the vessel had to be lifted higher than normal out of the water. On a go fast boat like this 30’ Baja placing float bags under the bow was tough. Rob turned to his Salvage pontoons. These are float bags but instead of being the normal 3’X5’ rectangles they were 1’X20’ tubes. Using 4 of these tubes a cradle was made for the bow. Because of the extreme weight of the padded engine hatch it was almost impossible to lift the engine hatch. Again Rob was prepared as he had the divers place 4 4000lb bags under the stern. Now with over 26000lbs of lift under the boat Rob had levitated the vessel almost completely out of the water.

During the incident that almost ended the operation One of the two Gas pumps launched overboard never to be seen again. The remaining pump was completely submerged as it lay on the deck upside down from the tossing of equipment. Tom literally disassembled and rebuilt the Honda 5.5 Hp motor in less than 1 hour.

The vessel was pumped free of water as it was towed to the trailer waiting for it at antelope Point Launch ramp. Rob Has a tradition when he knows for a fact that the job is secure and guaranteed complete he makes his rounds shaking the crew’s hands and acknowledging a job well done. This time the handshakes would wait until the vessel was out of the water and turned over to the local authorities for investigation.

Ironically the two Items that were requested to be recovered, a small Sony VIAO laptop and a purse remained on the vessel on the back deck through the entire ordeal with nothing to keep it secured to the vessel.

On the long but welcomed drive back to San Diego, Rob revisited the entire operation and welcomed the mistakes as learning tools for future deep water recoveries. And, realized the success of the operation was made thru the skill and persistence of the very crew he chose to tackle what has turned out to be one of the deepest recoveries on a vessel on a lake in the United States.