Raising The Western Crusader Part Five

This film documents the sinking and raising of the Western Crusader fishing vessel.

[@garybaris139]

While the loss of the boat is a shame, it is most fortunate that she went down tied to a dock and not out at sea with a full crew. When they lifted her from the water I looked at the deformity of the hull and very much doubted that it would be viable to repair. Nice video. Thanks for taking the time to film this for us.

[@andrewbatty8954]

A sad end after 70+ years. Comes to us all I suppose. I was sceptical at first but the whole story was well told. Good stuff!

[@jimsonbrown9768]

I find it hard to believe this boat was insured. Any insurance company knowing that it was a wooden hulled boat built in 1942 would have Required a survey which this boat clearly wouldn't have passed.

[@M3rVsT4H]

Thanks heaps for following this story to it's conclusion and sharing it with us. Sad to see it go, I really liked the hull lines and size of that boat. But it was held together by the paint.

[@peteacher52]

And collapsed when even the woodworm couldn't hold hands any more. Emotional for the owner who had financial and sentimental reasons for hoping for a different outcome. Col, NZ.

[@jwarmstrong]

@@peteacher52 The owner was to cheap &/or lazy to keep the boat in good repair so this end likely saved someone's life from an unseaworthy deathtrap

[@thechaplain9906]

@James Armstrong I was thinking the same thing. I bet if it hadn’t sunk he would’ve had a crew out in it. Thank God no life was lost because of that!!!

[@2024bear]

awesome Job narrating and filming this for us .............. Loved Charley .

[@paulsaliba4119]

You did a fantastic job with the video well done very interesting

[@petenash7994]

Just found these videos - sad but she had earned her keep and a bit more by the state of her hull. Thanks for your patience in filming and for the closure.

[@ionracer24]

This is incredibly sad, sorry to sea an old salt dismantled and crushed unceremoniously.... Thank you for filming this for us all though...

[@2341jasonb]

Such a shame about the boat but great coverage thanks for sticking with it till the end great job

[@Ced.H]

wow this is sad my grandpa always told me about her when they were fishing also used to see her every day when she was still in campbell river

[@georgemalakasis3846]

In very first place I thought that she supposed to be restored, that's why I watched all this ! But unfortunately it didn't happened ! It is really sad seen such as these beauties dying like that !

[@stevehuffman7453]

Sad end, but expected. Wood hulls require maintenance. She obviously did not get that for many years. The costs to repair her would be more than a new vessel - even before she sunk.

[@jdmxxx38]

This was a great set of videos. I binge watched them all and had a great time. Thanks for your work. Telling my boating family to check it out.

[@midgoog2]

It is so sad to see a old boat end up as mulch because the owner scrimped on the routine maintenance needed to keep her afloat and working. Cheers Eric

[@jeffallen2923]

Sad indictment of today's 'use it then throw it away' mentality. Dont bother with expensive maintenance. Use it to the end and throw it away. Such a waste.

[@richardcline1337]

I hope they were able to force the owner that neglected her for so long to pay all of the costs of raising then scrapping her. Such a sad ending to a fine old boat.

[@petemoss8125]

NI MAINTAINCE SAD Sad His livelihood trashed

[@EricH_1983]

You're welcome :\

[@Tr1pMind]

Wood rots. Main reason why most of the older looking boats on the water are actually replicas. You can try as hard as you can to seal the hull on wood boats but other factors such as rain, seepage, osmosis, barnacles, etc can cause slow rot even with fresh paint and other sealing methods. I think there was a chance they could have glassed the rotten parts but its a wood boat, not fiber glass, it would be a temporary fix. Main reason i see they scrapped it is because rebuilding the rear and fixing the major rot and other damage would include ripping apart major sections of the hull and deck, pretty much the cost of building a new boat - except modern boats aren't build from wood so it would be severely more expensive to do the job.

[@rudybishop9089]

Charlie is great - thx for posting

[@garylandrum9036]

This is very interesting and thank you for this video

[@themerrigans2734]

Spent the last several hours watching this project unfold. Great job with the 5 segments. Time for one more cup of joe.

[@RichardGottshall]

Sweet job on the series and filming.

[@f.k.burnham8491]

You did a good job filming this. Thank You.

[@P61guy61]

Thanks for documenting this. Sad to see. Glad it sank at the dock and not at sea with loss of crew.

[@philipbassett9069]

One of the most interesting (all five) you tube videos I have ever seen. I don't think in the condition it was in it would have survived even one more trip out to sea, let alone rough weather. It was lucky it sank in port. I feel sorry for the Skipper, its not easy running an old vessel. Hope he manages to get another boat.

[@teamidris]

Great vid set :o) Would have liked to have seen the engine get pulled out just to see how much strength remained in that area.

[@duanelundgren7985]

All FIVE... captivating!!

[@WARRANTW3]

Nice job on the series, I was USCG for 24 years. Towed many a trawler like her on the northern California coast. Many of them were in that same shape in the 1970’s.

[@peteacher52]

A very poignant series. Thank you, MBK.

[@Vintageguy73]

Interesting story, thanks for the videos.

[@jeffbetts2]

A lot of history there. Felt bad for the owner. Great video series, well told.

[@rustyguts133]

It is always a sad thing to see a ship destroyed. Good videoing, don't know if I would have the patience to stand around that long. Thanks.

[@lloydprunier4415]

Yes it is sad, but I know from experience that sometimes maintenance is just too costly and we keep working and hoping for better days. Sadly those better days don't always come. We all have to go when our time comes.

[@M3rVsT4H]

Well said Lloyd..

[@libraiis]

The story went that the owner had took her from Campbell River to Richmond's Shelter Marina to have work done on her and she was waiting to be lifted out for the work when she sank. She was being used as a live aboard and had not been fishing in years. The owner had had it 12 years at this point. She was built in Victoria BC in 1942...so she had a few years on her. every thing is fixable all that is needed is some one willing and able, guess the owner was neither. Sad that this was such a loss as there are fewer of boats like this one all the time. Heritage in Canada means nothing any more.

[@ianrutherford878]

It would be good if people read this.Most of us too easily assume the owner was fishing with her and neglected her or was unable to keep up with the work.

[@jwarmstrong]

@@ianrutherford878 12 years is plenty of time to make repairs while living aboard - drydock would have cost him but he choose to float free & rot....

[@brianbrinn9781]

Nice footage. Would have been interesting to hear from the boat owner about his history and that of the boat.

[@Bertaboop1955]

Many years ago I fished on an Alaskan cedar 40 ft. double-ender called "Memories" out of Port Angeles WA. If I remember correctly it was built in 1921 but fully maintained. When wood boats hit logs and solid objects the wood becomes bruised and must be replaced or rot takes over. Those were good times.

[@WalkerKlondyke]

I crewed on an old 50' wood seiner out of Petersburg AK called the Lara Lee. I'm pretty sure I remember it being built in the early twenties also. She wasn't pretty and when they filled up that RSW fish hold I'd always say a little prayer! Got caught in a rare thunderstorm running back home from Port Snettisham, that old boat was creaking like crazy, like she was screaming at us.

[@Bertaboop1955]

@@WalkerKlondyke We got caught in a storm once that we couldn't outrun. 40 ft. swell, and probably one of the most uncertain times in my life. We ended up in Canadian waters from the Southern WA coast in a day and a half. It was a sturdy little boat and my Captain came from a family of worthy Skippers. His older brother died years later in Alaska fishing with someone else as the Skipper. Very sad.

[@newton5651]

You've get the courage to start to save its life... Honor is upon You... Sincerly Newton

[@Femmpaws]

I remember seeing the Western Crusader in the 70s as we were running south from Alaska at the end of the troll season. Looks like the old girl was falling apart... to many years of neglect...

[@georgerenton965]

It amazes me that there are so many comments inferring that this boat was active in the fishing industry, and the owner was some erasable scallywag who would go to sea and endanger the lives of his stalwart crew all for the sake of making a dollar, and Transport Canada would turn a blind eye, to this, and on top of that, the thought that someone could make a living by fishing, with no gear, no fishing licence number panted conspicuously on the house. ( note the opening of video # 5. Behind the excavator you can see the wheelhouse of the vessel that he has previously broken up, notice the huge numbers painted on there, the CRUSADER had no #’s, therefore no license to fish ) no crew going to see, no captain, just an old boat that’s time had run out. It wouldn’t surprise me if it couldn’t move under its own power, yet there are some strong emotions on display here over a pile of rotten wood. Educate yourself, learn about the fishery, wooden boat building techniques,, that said, find out how much planks of yellow cedar, 14” X 4” X 20’ cost. Where there is a wood working shop with a plainer that will be able to handle wood of those dimensions, and people who will work outside in the elements, to satisfy your perceived noble cause. Learn that, and more, then do the math.

[@trimmerman1]

Do you happen to know how much in cost to recover?

[@timmorris3056]

Ha! Too bad nobody here gets a clue why it's done this way. "Should'a Would'a Could'a doesn't cut it in the marine industry. Those people have Never owned a High Maintenance working boat. The owner is overwhelmed with business expenses from moorage to maintenance to repairs and rebuilds then to the ultimate destiny, dismantle and recycle at a cost of well over $100k. OR..... carry insurance, use the heck out of it, squeeze every last penny from it, then burn it or sink it and let the insurance handle it. When it belonged to the military, they had a bottomless checkbook for maintenance, not true in the private industry, especailly the day the Coast Guard inspection calls for extensive repairs and upgrades to continue commercial fishing, the vessel gets retired and sits to rot. This is a Great ending to a good boat with a Long history of good and faithful service.

[@gbowne1]

apparently it was a naval minesweeper at some point.

[@georgerenton965]

Gum Boot Navy you say ?

[@philmapockitz8216]

Any idea what the final tally was?

[@brustar5152]

I predicted the cost of replacing rotten frames and planks would far outweigh what the thing was worth. When they don't bother cribbing a wooden boat to properly support it while out of the water, you know it's going to the heap in ittey-bitty pieces. Everywhere you look you see a fibrous rotten mess of wood from her stempost to her frames.

[@crob4son]

just read there are 151 derelict boats around there, 121 have been addressed and are no longer a threat to navigation

[@georgerenton965]

Was this boat always a table seiner, or did it have a roller and beaver tail in later years ?

[@Fumingzeus]

Did they get all the brass work and hardware off of her. They could use it in restoration projects....

[@peterhamill1567]

great clips of the whole lot 1 to 5 & give charlie a pat for me &. thanks.

[@chuckcarpenter6858]

The only thing about the filming is Charlie should been on a leash or left home for his safety. Very interesting & educational videos!!!!!

[@scottfirman]

Neglect. Flat out neglect. No ship looks like that unless it was extremely neglected. That boat had never seen dry dock. Years and years of just run it boys. Glad to see it being demolished. It would have never made it back out to sea.

[@SpiritBear12]

Yeah, better it sank in the marina in shallow waters than sinking out at sea during a fishing trip and forcing it's crew to be plunged in the water and possible drown. She chose a good place to go down. You're right, looking at the condition of the whole boat, esp the hull, it saw no care for a very long time.

[@tbirdracefan]

Fact is this was just a piece of equipment to make money with. It could have been kept like new but at a greater cost. Same things happens with cars. They get to the point it is just not worth spending the money to keep it on the road. Thanks for the complete documentation of the vessels last days.

[@flatusinteruptus]

Was this the sistership of the western flyer ?

[@jimhard6625]

Kinda sad watching something like this...

[@thepostman41]

Wish you had links to history about this boat.

[@trenzmeister]

how much did all this cost?

[@danrossell6375]

The most valuable part of this vessel is the metal scrap

[@swamprat69er]

It is a shame, but the owner of the boat brought it all on himself. Dry rot and rust holes don`t just appear overnight. I am wondering what the total cost of the recovery was.

[@MrBoreray]

It's almost impossible to keep a wooden hulled boat free of rot and worm particularly below the waterline even if you can lift it out,replanking and caulking is long,laborious and expensive,if the boat is out of the water for a few months the timbers dry up,so you either have to fill the boat with water up to the water line for around 2 weeks or watch as she sinks immediately when put back in the water,you need about 3 or 4 pumps running full pelt for about 6 hours until the wood swells and tightens.

[@MrBoreray]

To sum up- You buy a wooden boat you have a job for life,so don't do it,they ALL sink,some faster than others so at least 2 automatic bilge pumps are required or you will come back to a submarine if you leave it for a couple of weeks,if you have to have a boat make sure its metal or fibreglass.

[@stan.rarick8556]

$20,000

[@jolanni7]

@@stan.rarick8556 20,000 for the recovery? I find that hard to believe but if that is what it was, got off light.

[@stan.rarick8556]

"Owner Gibbs, a logger and beachcomber who lived on board, said he does not have insurance but has paid the $20,000 cost of removing the boat from its current resting place. " Documented in the Vancouver Observer article linked to below.....

[@rhor2743]

Happy old dog loving life🐾🐾🐾👍👍👍😜CHEERS 🐾

[@shaneadamiak2153]

The machine operator has one of the best jobs. That would be fun.

[@pondafarr]

Sad. I'm also watching the restoration of Western Flyer, too bad the two groups could not get together, perhaps salvage some of Crusader for the Flyer.

[@nozmoking1]

A wooden sea-going vessel needs more than an occasional kiss for luck. And you can certainly see why. Bon voyage old girl.

[@billsmith8238]

Old dogs & old wooden boats gonna break hearts anyway just leave the pieces when they go

[@robertwilson93]

This was the fete of most our fishing fleet in United Kingdom,even brand new boats did,not escape the breakers yard.

[@ianrutherford878]

People find this 'sad'.2 things stand out for me after seeing all 5 vids. 1--That tough looking owner being allowed to work independently with no safety gear whilst the people hired to clear up his mess tried to get on with it.They must have been stressed with him making quite a few dangerous moves right up to him being told to get off by the lift-operator. 2. a question.Who is really responsible for ensuring that an old live -aboard vessel, no longer sea-worthy, is still safe to be moored on a waterway? From what I read here, he knew she needed lifting out(i.e. he was pumping plenty from the bilges) but cut his timing too tight and lost A LOT of money) If he'd had insurance,the insurers would have insisted on tests--they all do.

[@philmapockitz8216]

BTW... Charlie is a Boss !!!

[@lesmansom7817]

Two men two chainsaws two hours. Might’ve salvaged some planks and made the operators job a bit easier.

[@billadams1018]

Sad ending

[@doughembruff6202]

I sure hope he had good insurance.

[@crob4son]

sad ending but at least no one will be on it out at sea after a patch up fix

[@nicolekelaher1979]

Very interesting videos sad she was turned to scraps. After all that effort to recover her

[@mechanicalking]

1:30 ... lol

[@johnsalt19]

Good advertizing for boat repairs with an excavator rearing a boat to peices lol

[@capttom7772]

John Salt; actually this true, as it demonstrates what not to do. Captain BUCKLEY (ret.)

[@johnsalt19]

@@capttom7772 well wes there is that about it too but on my side of the coin you can see where im coming from too cant you lol

[@richardbrooks3569]

When was the last time anyone dared to take that boat out to sea?

[@einfelder8262]

My thoughts exactly - the owner lucky to be alive. Those rotten planks did not get eaten overnight.

[@jolanni7]

The boat did not go out to sea, the sea took the boat out.

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

I'm surprised that they don't have a shear attachment for that excavator.

[@einfelder8262]

That excavator driver obviously was being paid by the hour. Hardly used the thumb at all - could have ripped this old tub apart in a fraction of the time :)

[@X-OR_]

That's a dam shame. every ship and a soul.

[@stevespawn1]

How much to raise it?

[@jolanni7]

Someone mentioned 20000. I seriously doubt that. Maybe I read it wrong. Maybe 20,000 a day.

[@MukYJ]

John Lanni probably $20k just to break her up and clean up the debris.

[@jamesatkins3992]

R.I.P old timer

[@island66]

Rip

[@mrchilled85]

such a shame getting less and less old clinker boats about i have spent the last 4 years restoreing a 42ft french trawler and still no where near done

[@EngineEngineer]

That's clearly not clinker built mate!

[@andrewbragger2679]

Is your 42ft restoration project clinker too😂

[@ramseybarber8312]

Hi she is Carvel built.

[@diederikvandedijk]

Of course after five month on the land there's still some important stuff in the boat that's needs te be recovered after demolition has already started...

[@volvowagon70]

I am surprised it didn’t sink at sea.

[@frundlemud]

It must have cost a fortune to dispose of.

[@jolanni7]

Not nearly what it cost to raise her.

[@TheGreenmeeny]

Yep, shame. She was a handsome boat.

[@debbienye6002]

That boat had seen better days. It was falling apart. The owner probably didn't take care of the wooden fishing boat. Next time, get a metal or fiberglass boat.

[@scdevon]

Wooden boats are a constant battle unless you want to make a hobby out of maintaining them. It's a wonder the slings didn't cut this rotten boat in half while it was being lifted. No great loss here.

[@VigilanceTech]

that's a boat that could have easily been saved by ferro sheathing

[@richardcline1337]

To see how really great she once looked, here is a link. She had some fine lines and was once a proud vessel only to come to this sad end through neglect. www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/5388122

[@mpv8mugambi]

and here we have prime example how to not use a excavator , sure it does the job but it is to small , when u use it like sledge hammer it really wears down the machine fast, a 40-45 ton machine would done that job faster and safer.....but hey u use what u have :)

[@capttom7772]

I can't watch! Captain BUCKLEY (ret.)

[@MegaJohnson12]

too bad they can't salvage the planking and the deck wood

[@jankleinstra7855]

LOL 2.15 NICE

[@kenwebb5300]

X

[@railroad9000]

The same sad fate awaited US Navy Wood hulled Minesweepers at the end of their useful life in the '70's. Very sad to see!

[@jwarmstrong]

They were still running in 1985 & I understand 1994 was the end date.

[@railroad9000]

@@jwarmstrong 1977 was when my old ship was sold for scrap and then broken up. Because of their construction they were expensive to build and maintain.

[@robertrockwell7581]

i don't know how this boat was even allowed on the water. it is a piece of junk and the captain was a idiot the way he acted. i hope he lost his license and the owner was fined big time for this joke of a boat. great job on the series and filming.

[@Imwright720]

Exactly what I said 2-3 videos ago. Drag it to the shallows and burn it. Silly wasting money to recover junk.

[@ralphdyson7926]

The dog is the star of this show.

[@kenolson3064]

Rotten through and through. Rest In Pieces

[@Eva-augustin]

Amateur excavator operator... just wasting time

[@kenwebb5300]

All the gumwood and oak should have been salvaged. It's stupid to throw away wood like that.

[@rudybishop9089]

not one inch of that toilet is worth saving

[@scdevon]

100% rotten. If there was any value to that wood, someone would have had an angle on it. The slings alone almost cut this old tub in half when it was lifted.

[@jshkohler]

Well, now I am not subscribing.