Sinking Boat in Berkeley Marina

There is something wrong with the picture above. If you look dead center in the middle of the photo you'll see something that no boater would wish on his worst enemy. Coincidentally, I was taking my 1979 28' Uniflite Mega to the ship yard at Berkeley Marine (www.berkeleymarine.com) this weekend to have a potential leak inspected when I spotted a sinking boat in the marina. I can't say I didn't get a little choked up when I saw it as this is a reminder to all boaters who keep their vessels in the water to be vigilant about the proper functioning off all bilge pumps, float switches, batteries, battery chargers and shore power connection.


With all the recent rain lately in the Bay Area it is critical to check on your boat regularly and very shortly after any heavy rain. I was fortunate to have caught the broken float switch in my boat after a trip to Sausalito. Had I not caught the problem, and my aft float switch went out as well, my boat could have ended up just like this one. I tried imagining what I would do if I came upon my boat in this condition and could not even fathom what my reaction would be.



Some people will look at this photo and just see a sunken boat. Boat owners look at this and see a whole lot more. Time, money, life experiences and even a home, for some of us, slowly making its way to the bottom of the harbor. Other people will say that he should have done this, or should have done that, but any boat owner knows that this could just as easily happen them.



I just hope that anyone who happens to read this makes that extra trip down to their boat to check their bilges, float switches and shore power connection. That little bit of extra time will save you thousands of dollars not to mention all the heartache that no doubt follows an incident like this.


The cost of repairing any of the aforementioned items is minor in comparison to the cost of having your boat raised from the bottom and then hauled off to the junkyard. If you can't do the work yourself or afford to take it to the ship yard hire a local contractor. I've had a lot off success with finding good, affordable contractors under the Services section on Craigslist (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/bbb/) or on the bulletin boards at the harbor master's office.