CAMDEN — The Loose Cannon was raised off the bottom of Camden Harbor Wednesday, Oct. 1, courtesy of Rob Iserbyt, owner of Rockport Charters. It was raised with 10 flotation mooring balls.

“By using mooring ballls, I could keep the boat upright,” said Iserbyt. “The boat is in good shape.”

The Loose Cannon, a 24-foot fiberglass sloop is a close to 20 years old.

Iserbyt lifted the boat enough from the water and took it to the crane at Wayfarer, where it was lifted into the air and the water pumped from it.

“It sat quietly firmly on the bottom of the harbor in a couple of feet of mud,” said Iserbyt. The boat draws approximately 3.5 feet.

It is thought that the Loose Cannon sank during the night of Sept. 29 because of a leaky sink drain hose. 

CAMDEN — A 22-foot sloop sank to the bottom of Camden Harbor over the night of Sept. 29; the only evidence left was the top of its mast poking up three feet from the waterline.

A sailor noticed it and alerted Camden’s harbormaster, Steve Pixley.

“It is the first time in 14 years I've seen a boat sunken all the way,” he said, Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 30. “This thing is 100 percent sunk.”

But it is salvageable.

Pixley marked the sunken boat with a big red ball, which is approximately halfway between Steamboat Landing and Curtis Island.

“The gentleman who owns it is fishing in Western Maine,” said Pixley.

“We are hoping by the next fall of the tide, we will get lift in her,” he said.

Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-7757