Why does the salvage yard off Route 9 in Jersey let barges sit in 12 feet of silt all winter?
I drove past the old dock in Perth Amboy last Tuesday and saw two deck barges half buried in mud where the tide used to keep them floating. The yard guy said they just leave them there from November to March because hauling them out costs $8 grand a pop. But what happens when the hull plates pit out underneath? Anybody on here ever had to cut apart a barge that sat in silt too long, and did the corrosion eat clear through the bottom or just the welds?
Man, my buddy cut apart one that sat in mud for two winters and the pitting went clean through the bottom plate in spots but the welds were fine. It's the silt holding water against the steel that kills it, no tide to wash the salt off.