The reason the Eldorado sank: ‘It’s just a weird one. It doesn’t normally do that’

The Eldorado sank because of failed shaft packing on the starboard shaft, according to Les Soland of A1 Marine Services/Vessel Assist. The Eldorado, a 39-year-old, 50-foot Trojan wooden boat that sank Tuesday at the Friday Harbor Marina breakwater dock, was raised and towed Wednesday to Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, where it is undergoing repair. "They're pickling the engine and the gen-set. It will need new appliances, new interior and new wiring, but it will be OK," Soland said.

March 5, 2010 4:53 pm
Top photo: Eldorado owner Richard Olin and the Ecology Department's Carl Anderson confer at the site of the boat's raising. Second photo: The Eldorado is raised using a crane and inflatable bags. Third photo: Salvage crew begin pumping water from the boat. Bottom photo: Water is removed from the Eldorado so it can be towed to Cap Sante Marina for repairs.
Top photo: Eldorado owner Richard Olin and the Ecology Department's Carl Anderson confer at the site of the boat's raising. Second photo: The Eldorado is raised using a crane and inflatable bags. Third photo: Salvage crew begin pumping water from the boat. Bottom photo: Water is removed from the Eldorado so it can be towed to Cap Sante Marina for repairs.

The Eldorado sank because of failed shaft packing on the starboard shaft, according to Les Soland of A1 Marine Services/Vessel Assist.

The Eldorado, a 39-year-old, 50-foot Trojan wooden boat that sank Tuesday at the Friday Harbor Marina breakwater dock, was raised and towed Wednesday to Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, where it is undergoing repair. “They’re pickling the engine and the gen-set. It will need new appliances, new interior and new wiring, but it will be OK,” Soland said.

“When you finish a trip, you have to manually snug it up to keep the water out,” Soland said of the packing gland and shaft seal. “But he hadn’t been on a trip. The day he left, he fired up the engine and then shut it down, but he didn’t check it. Typically you don’t. You check it after a long run because sometimes you need to snug it up a bit. That’s what happened to him. It’s just a weird one. It doesn’t normally do that.”

Soland said the bilge pump possibly failed as well. “I don’t know if it was a faulty float switch or a faulty switch on the dash. There are too many variables to say.”

Soland said raising and towing the vessel will cost about $20,000. If she had completely sunk — the Eldorado’s portside lines, tied to the breakwater dock bullrails, kept the boat from completely sinking into the 50-foot depth — the bill could have been $100,000.

Richard and Barbara Olin lived aboard the Eldorado. They were on the mainland when their boat sank. They are staying with their son on the mainland while the boat is repaired, granddaughter Crystal Pettit said.

A fund has been established to help the Olins defray the cost of their losses. Send donations to 14239 194th Ave. N.E., Woodinville, WA. 98072.

Harbormaster Tami Hayes said a liveaboard called the marina office about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and reported that a boat at the end of the breakwater dock looked about a foot low. A few minutes later, the same person called back and said the boat was “going down.”

Hayes said she called 9-1-1 and Vessel Assist. Port workers immediately boomed off the area around the boat. Julie Knight of Islands Oil Spill Association and Carl Anderson of the state Department of Ecology arrived later that afternoon and monitored the scene.

“I can’t remember when a vessel this size sank in the marina,” Hayes said, noting it’s the fourth or fifth sinking in the marina in 10 years.

Wednesday morning, as IOSA volunteers replaced fuel-soaked absorbent pads, divers placed canvas straps around the hull to stabilize the vessel. Inflatable bags were placed in the boat to buoy it, and then water was pumped from the vessel. The vessel was then towed to Cap Sante Marina for repair.

Knight said the Eldorado had about 100 gallons of diesel and 12 to 15 gallons of engine oil onboard when the boat slipped beneath the surface. A containment boom and absorbent pads captured much of the escaped fuel, although a sheen was visible outside the containment area. Knight said about 27.5 gallons of fuel and oil was captured.

While the Eldorado was not a derelict vessel, Soland said the incident illustrates how important it is that the San Juans have a program to identify and remove derelict vessels that are at risk of sinking.

“The Eldorado was not a derelict vessel. Now, you take one that has not been maintained for 10 to 15 years, and it’s minutes before it’s gone. You’ve got to tend to your knitting and take care of it before they get to the shape where make a big mess.”